10 tips for watering like a green thumb

Water is a precious resource, but it's easy to use it sensibly while watering plants. Whatever the size of your garden, just be frugal when watering thirsty plants, and carefully consider how and when you water. Here are 10 tips to help you grow a strong and hardy garden.

• To keep the water you use for watering from evaporating, watering your garden in the early morning or in the evening.
• These times are best because they'll give your plants the most time to absorb water before it can evaporate or otherwise dissipate.
• Because summer heat is usually the most intense during the day, the best time to water when the weather's warm is the evening.

• Giving your plants a little bit of water often encourages them to keep their root systems shallow and less drought-resistant.
• You should water these plants less frequently, but with much more water so that the water can soak into the soil.
• This practice is called "deep watering" and will see your plants develop hardy root systems and will keep the sub-surface soil damp.

• Cut the bottom off of a soft drink bottle and pierce some holes in its shoulders.
• Leave the cap on the bottle and bury it bottom up, next to your plant.
• Fill the bottle and the water will seep out slowly.

• A simple upright garden hose reel is convenient but they sometimes tip over when you're trying to wind them in or out.
• Screw your reel into a piece of railway sleeper or a chunk of treated pine to keep it upright.

• You should keep two watering cans handy at all times.
• One watering can should be used for regular watering and the other for water-soluble chemicals, such as weedkiller, fertilizer or pesticides.

• You can achieve consistent deep watering if you use a soaker hose – a porous or pierced tube that lets water seep gradually into the soil.
• Snake your soaker hose around your plants and close to their root zones.
• Cover your soaker hose with mulch to inhibit evaporation.

• No matter what time of day it is, if a plant looks stressed out due to a lack of water, give it a drink.
• If there is a hose ban in place, use a watering can.

• You can repair pinpoint-sized leaks in a garden hose with a soldering iron.
• Heat up the iron for a few minutes.
• Caefully touch the heated iron to your hose's leaky spots until its surface melts and seals together.

• You can reuse empty plastic containers of washing powders or liquids as watering cans
• Thoroughly rinse these containers out.
• Then drill 2.5 centimetre (1 inch) holes in the top of the cap and a one centimetre (1/2 inch) hole just above the handle to let air in and to help the water flow freely.

• Using a watering can for tending to vegetables instead of a hose can save time in the long run.
• A watering can helps you to be more precise with your watering so that you water your plants and not the weeds growing in between.

Remember and follow these 10 tips and you're sure to help your garden grow strong and hardy.