Nothing nicer and more gratifying than maintaining a vegetable garden. But water is a precious resources so no wasting. The five right gestures for the planet… and your wallet!
1. Mulching.
Setting up a soil cover called mulch (straw, shreds, flowers, dry mowed grass, cardboard...), protects the soil from sun rays, reduces the temperature and maintains humidity in the earth. An even more interesting trick as it lets you benefits from the advantages of mulching: controlling weeds, keeping the biological activity and thus the soil’s fertility... Set up from April-May when the soil is naturally heated and ideally after a rainfall.
3. Properly manage watering
The first common sense advice: water in the morning or at the end of the day – not when the sun is at its highest. Water frequency depends on rainfalls, cultivated vegetables and where they are in their growth. For instance, seedling or young plants need more humidity than vegetables with already well-established roots. Finally, individual watering (watering can, drop-by-drop, porous pipe...) allows to irrigate with precision, regulate the use of water and limit run-off.
5. Pamper the crops
The wind speeds plant dehydration so better shelter the garden (walls, hedges...) and plant dry-resistant vegetables in winded areas. For fragile young sprouts which cannot be mulched, building shaded shelters (e.g. upside-down crates) will protect them from the heat and reduces water needs. And of course, the more local the plants are, the more adapted to the meteorological conditions of the region they will be!