Di Tornai writes
Hi Everyone
It's been madness lately with no rain and high temperatures making gardening a little arduous this last month or so.
As some of you will be aware, there is talk of water restrictions coming into play if the wet stuff fails to fall out of the sky in sufficient quantities. The following link shows an interactive map allowing you to check what conditions apply to your departement and town/village.
From what i understand, the use of hose-pipes and well water is currently/maybe restricted. There are some well-tested strategies to conserve water that may be the difference between your garden making it through or not. In fact, conserving water is always wise.
1. Place a bucket in the shower to collect water while your shower reaches your preferred temperature.
2. Use grey water from your washing machine. Consider using environmentally detergents.
3. Use the water from your condensing dryer reservoir.
4. Use washing-up water.
5. Clean your hard surfaces with a broom rather than hose.
6Place a brick in the toilet cistern to reduce the capacity each flush.
7. Water early in the morning and, preferably, later at night when the lower night-time temperatures allow better/longer absorption and less evaporation.
8. Spot water your plants so that you concentrate on plants that have higher value rather than randomly water the entire surface.
9. Water deeply and less frequently as opposed to lightly sprinkling the surface daily.
10. I'm not going to mention the value of mulching to conserve water - you know my views on that!
11.Similarly, i'm not suggesting showering with a friend, but someone might want to explore the merits and report back!
Do your best to stay cool and hydrated. It will pass, eventually!
Di
NB the restrictions locally place the Baye, Seye and Bonnette rivers under the maximum crisis alert until 31st October, so if you use these rivers as a source of water check the instructions in the link above.
