Get the most from your
garden or allotment and
save water
Use rainwater, not tap water
Use drought resistant plants
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To get the best yield with the minimum use
of water, you need to look at the complete
growing cycle and plan carefully.
Veolia Water’s green fingered
experts have put together a list
of hints and tips to help you
get more from your garden or
allotment using less water.
Your site or garden
• Is it sunny and south-facing? Sunny and
windy sites cause water to evaporate. Use
netting fences to cut down the wind and
shield some of the sun.
Your soil
Know your soil and get the best water
retention.
• If your soil is clay, it will be better at
holding water, but in dry weather it
becomes hard. Try adding some hay or
straw to the soil. Not only does it hold
water but it will also improve drainage.
• Sandy soils will dry out quickly. Add some
clay or dig in gel crystals for slow release
moisture.
• Is there a particular time of year when
your garden/allotment catches the
wind? Avoid planting at this time and
sow earlier if possible. The wind can dry
out the soil and blow water from plant
leaves, leaving them to wilt.
It’s all in the timing
• Are there trees or large hedges nearby?
Trees will reduce the wind, but their
roots will absorb large amounts of water.
Try to plant a short distance away from
the roots.
• Sow early. Early sown crops are usually
well established when the drier summer
months arrive.
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• Sow crops or plants at times when the
soil is already moist.
• Grow seedlings and plug plants to get a
quick establishment.
Crop and plant choice
• Choose crops with deep roots.
• The beet family thrive on dry, free
draining soils.
• Grow potatoes that mature before the
drier part of the year in July/August.
• It is best to grow the first early variety
of potato as they can be harvested
and eaten before the driest part of the
summer. If you plant main crop varieties,
they will need a lot of watering in peak
dry weather.
• Plan your crop map. For example, grow
crops like courgettes, beans, cucumbers,
tomatoes and onions that need a lot of
water together. These are also best planted
near the water butt so it’s easier to get the
water to them.
• Surround your crops and plants with a
mulch to retain the moisture in the soil.
• Put gel crystals in pots; under rows of
peas or beans, or in the soil where any
plants that need a lot of water will be
growing. Gel crystals help retain soil
moisture.
Raised beds
• Ideally your raised beds should be no
more than 20cm high. If they are too
high it will increase water demand.
• Line the inside with heavy duty plastic
such as old compost bags. This will stop
water escaping and will retain moisture
in the soil.
• Don’t fill a raised bed with 100% bought
compost. It has a lot of fibre, which
is poor at holding water. Mix it with
natural soil and incorporate some clay
into it. Natural clay will keep the soil
moist when you water it or when it rains.
You will then have the nutrients in the
compost and an easy soil to work with.
• Cultivate the natural soil layer at the
bottom of the raised bed so roots can
penetrate to find water.
• Surround your plants with mulch, like
bark chips or gravel, to stop water
evaporation.
For further information on the
drought visit our website:
www.veoliawater.co.uk/drought
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Veolia’s top tips!
To get the most
out of your
garden with the
least amount of
water, check out
our tips!
• Often less can mean more. Over watering can
lead to lots of slugs and snails, which will feast
on your crops and plants.
• Cut down on the number of pots you plant
up this summer and go for one or two larger
containers which don’t dry out too quickly.
• Use mulches like bark chips or gravel to retain
moisture and keep weeds down.
• If you put plastic pots inside your terracotta
pots or line your terracotta pots with a recycled
carrier bag, you’ll cut down on water lost
through evaporation.
• Use gel crystals in your planters or ground soil.
These can reduce the need for watering from
daily to once or twice a week.
• Too much watering can make a plant lazy! It’ll
keep roots short, making it less able to cope
with dry weather.
• Choose crops wisely. Pick ones that require little
watering.
• Target your watering times. Watering in the
blistering sun will result in quick evaporation.
Try watering in the early evening and give your
plants an overnight quench.
• Connect a water butt to your guttering to
harvest rain water. Plants and crops prefer this
and it means you’ll need less mains water.
• If you’re choosing pots, choose plastic ones that
keep the moisture in. Some have reservoirs at the
bottom and only require watering once a week.
• Choose plants that like dry conditions – those
with the full sun label in the garden centre or
check out the Royal Horticultural Society web
site www.rhs.org.uk, which has great advice on
drought tolerant planting.
• Don’t water your lawn. Most brown lawns will
come back to green again very quickly when
regular patterns of rain return.
• Reset your lawn mower blades to 4cm to
encourage dense bushy growth, which traps
early morning dew and reduces evaporation.
We would recommend letting the grass
clippings go on the lawn every third mow.
• Store any rainwater in a water butt and use this
to top up your pond or water your garden.
For further information on the
drought visit our website:
www.veoliawater.co.uk/drought
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