While we're all trying to go greener, sometimes it conflicts with activities we enjoy doing.
One such activity is gardening.
We may feel on one hand that we love the decoration of beautiful flowers, or growing our own vegetables, but on the other hand we might feel bad about the water we use in the process.
Luckily there are some gardening techniques you can use to minimize your environmental impact by reducing the amount of water wasted in our gardens.
The first technique involves the timing of the watering of your garden.
It's best to water your garden at sunset.
This is when temperatures start to cool, and your garden will have all night to absorb the water instead of the water simply evaporating.
You can also avoid the water lost due to evaporation by adding a layer of mulch to your garden.
Mulch isn't used simply to cover dirt to make your garden look nicer, it is functional as well.
A solid layer of mulch allows water to seep through to the soil, but prevents sun from penetrating to the soil.
This keeps the soil cool, which prevents evaporation.
Reducing water consumption also includes the repurposing of water, rather than just reducing usage.
You can use repurposed water in your garden by collecting rain water.
Usually this water would run off your house, down your gutter, and into the ground.
Eventually it would wind up in the water supply after having been processed, which requires a great deal of resources.
You can cut out that whole process by collecting this perfectly usable water.
They make barrels specifically for the purpose of collecting rain water.
They have an opening on top, which you would put under your gutter, and a spigot on the bottom that you can attach your hose to.
The system is gravity fed, so no pump or electricity is needed.
By employing these techniques, you can greatly reduce the amount of water you use for your gardening.
This will allow you do go green while enjoying the labors of your green thumb.