Sharon Bywater

Despite some light rains and cooler temperatures in July we continue to slip deeper into drought. As gardeners we must get creative in finding alternate water sources for our gardens. One of my favourite approaches is to find ways to use the same drop of water twice.The kitchen is an excellent source on "untapped" grey water. Keep a container in your sink at all times to catch water from hand washing, cleaning fruit & veggies, soaking dry beans, rinsing rice, grains any number of things, water used for cooking vegetables or leftover tea, you get the idea. An added bonus, this water contains nutrients that are beneficial for the garden.I keep two tubs in the kitchen one for washing dishes the other for rinsing, all of that water can be recycled into the garden.Two watering cans are kept near the door to keep my tubs empty for the next opportunity.I avoid using water with soap on my acid loving plants as it is alkaline and could create discontent with plants like Rhododendron.…