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Dry dams and waterholes, parched and cracking soil baked hard by the sun, starving animals searching desperately for food. These images have become all too familiar over the last few months as more and more of Australia falls into the drought’s grip.
Thankfully for gardeners, nothing is quite this desperate. Gardens do suffer during dry periods however and water restrictions exist in many locations across the country. Making the most of the available water to maintain your garden in as good condition as possible can be achieved with some sensible precautions.

Established Gardens.
The best that can be done for an established garden is to maximize the effectiveness of any water that comes along either from rain or watering. For most plants water is absorbed from roots that are from 3- 30 cm under the surface. The priority then is to get the water to penetrate the soil and get down to the roots where it can do the most good. These four things will assist in making the best use of water.
  Firstly, use a wetting agent to assist the water to penetrate. Wettasoil is Australia’s biggest selling wetting agent and the most effective. Available either as Wettasoil Concentrate, Wettasoil Hose On or  Wettasoil Granular, Wettasoil overcomes surface tension, minimizes runoff and assist the water to penetrate deeply into the soil. Wettasoil is now enriched with Seaweed extract to minimise transplant and drought stress of plants and to help feed the soil.  All garden and lawn areas should be treated paying most attention to the areas immediately around trees and shrubs.

Secondly, loosen compacted soil. Gently break the soil surface to further assist water penetration. Be careful not to damage the surface roots around trees and shrubs. Around the drip line of trees and shrubs it is quite safe to be a little more vigorous in breaking up the soil. A crow bar, pick, mattock or garden fork can be used to create passages for the water to enter.

Thirdly, mulch as much as possible. A 100 mm layer of mulch will greatly reduce the amount of evaporation from the soil. There are many different types of mulch that can be used from garden compost to sugar cane, lucerne, tea tree and bark mulches. Check out the range of Amgrow Superior Mulches at your local garden supplier for the one that will best suit your garden. For extra effective mulching use Amgrow Water Saving Mulch. This mulch contains fertiliser for added nutrition and Wettasoil Granular to improve wetting up and moisture retention, making watering and rainfall more effective
 

Fourthly, water deeply but not too often. It is much better to water very heavily once a month than to give the plants a light watering once a day. It is a good idea to work out a watering plan that will have the whole garden covered over a one-month period. If sprinklers are still allowed in your area make sure that the area is watered for at least an hour before the sprinkler is moved. When watering by hand use a very coarse spray. When watering mulched areas a solid stream from the hose that penetrates the mulch will be more effective than wetting the surface of the mulch.

New Gardens
Setting up a new garden provides the opportunity to minimize the impact of dry periods by sensible planning and preparation.
Firstly, choose plants with a low water requirement. Generally native plant types have a lower water requirement but check with your local nursery for species that will suit your location. It is also important to group plants of similar water requirements together otherwise watering effectively can become almost impossible.

Secondly, prepare the soil when planting. Use Biogrow Planting Compost to create conditions which will encourage good, deep root growth. This is extremely important because good preparation will enable the plant to establish quicker, grow faster and be more able to withstand periods of water stress. The objective of soil preparation be it for a single plant or a whole garden bed is to provide ideal conditions for the plant to establish a large root structure and to provide conditions that will assist water and nutrient supply. Plants grown in pots are grown in an organic potting mix and supplied with all the water and nutrients they need. Simply digging a pot sized hole and placing the plant in the ground will provide no encouragement for the roots to move out from the original root ball.

The simple rule of thumb is to dig a hole twice as wide as the pot and at least half again as deep. Mix Biogrow Planting Compost in equal parts with the soil removed from the hole. Fill the hole with water and allow this to be absorbed before planting the plant. Once the water has been absorbed place the plant in the hole ensuring that the original surface of the root ball is still at the surface. Backfill with the soil and compost mix and firm down to ensure good contact between the root ball and the soil. A raised rim of soil around the edge of the hole will assist in directing water to where it is most needed. 
Once the plant is correctly planted water heavily. This means using an amount of water equal to about twice the volume of the pot the plant had been growing in. For example an 8-inch pot is about 5 litres so water with at least ten litres of water. This should be done every second day for the first week, then weekly for three weeks and then once a month. The objective is to first get the plant established and then to train it to expect watering infrequently. This will encourage the roots to grow deep and wide and will provide the plant with a greater ability to withstand periods of water shortage.
Thirdly, mulch the soil surface. It does not matter greatly what mulch is used. Any material placed over the soil surface will greatly minimize evaporation of water from the soil. By keeping the soil surface cool and protected from direct sun, evaporation will be greatly reduced and the plants roots will be protected from the heat stress and damage.
The Amgrow Superior Mulches range provides many choices of mulches, including chopped lucerne, sugar cane and tea tree. Along with the more common pinebark mulches all of these materials will effectively mulch while providing an attractive finish to the garden.
It is important that the mulch is coarser than the soil. If the mulch is too fine water will not penetrate easily and plant roots will start to grow up through the mulch making the whole exercise rather ineffectual. With any mulch raking or disturbing it with a garden fork from time to time will assist in water infiltration and prevent root growth into the mulch.
And don’t forget, using Wettasoil wetting agent on mulched areas will make watering much easier.

Lawns
Now might be the time to think about whether you really need to have a lawn. While lawns can look great (when they are in good condition) they probably account for about three quarters of the water used in the garden and require large amounts of fertilizer and chemical treatments to keep them looking good.
Removing the lawn or at least minimizing the size of the lawn will make a significant difference to water usage. With careful planning it should be possible to have the look of the lawn and some space for play and recreation while minimizing the water use and the time spent on maintenance.
A small area of lawn of about fifty square metres may be more than enough for small children to play and will be much easier to keep looking good than a much larger area. Obviously, teenagers backyard games of cricket and football will require more space, but isn’t that what parks and ovals are for. It can be easy to reduce the lawn area without a major landscape redesign. If you have a lawn surrounded by garden areas, simply make the garden areas wider. An extra metre or so of garden width will make a significant difference to the area of lawn. If you have a large lawn, additional garden areas could be added in the middle to further reduce the total lawn area without doing away with the lawn completely. To reduce the lawn area simply mark out the new edge of the lawn and spray the unwanted grass areas with Eraze Weed killer. In five or six days the treated grass will have died. Install new edging, or move the old edging, plant some plants and add lots of mulch and you are done.

Watering and Watering Systems.
If water restrictions permit, a properly set up watering system will provide the correct amount of water in the right place and result in less water usage if the system is set up correctly. The common error is to have watering systems set up to water too frequently.
Whether watering by hand or with an automated system it is important to train plants to cope with periods of low rainfall. Too often watering systems are set to run on a daily basis which leads to poor root development and great susceptibility to dry periods and periods of water restrictions when the system cannot be used. Set your watering system to run for long periods very two weeks or even once a month. Deep watering of the soil will result in less water used overall to maintain your plants in a healthy condition.

Choosing the correct means of applying the water is also important. Micro sprays or drippers that apply the water close to the ground will minimize evaporation and maximize water effectiveness.
The time of day is important. There is frequent debate about whether watering should be carried out in the day or a night and what impact that may have on plant diseases which tend to be encouraged by moist humid conditions. In absolute terms it probably matters little. Common sense should prevail; applying water in the hottest part of the day will mean more water lost by evaporation. Watering early in the morning will allow the water to be absorbed into the soil while allowing the foliage to dry out relatively quickly.