In article YK0le.1483$QF3.1157@trndny06, wrote:

gardenlover wrote:

HELP!!! This hot summer weather in California (90F) is killing all the
plants in my backyard. To make it worse, the state is putting a limit
onto our daily water usage. Any suggestion?!?



It was suggested here in SE PA a couple years ago during a drought that
when you shower, you plug the drain and save the water in the tub. Then
dip out the water with pails and use the water to water your plants.
Recycling at it's finest! LOL

/J-never did it myself

That's a dandy notion. But if one must use soap, select a mild
environmentally friendly all purpose soap that can be used in the laundry
& for washing dishes as well as for a handsoap & bath, & save all the
water. Except for the most salt-sensitive things, most plants can tolerate
a little soapy water, & then when there's good rainfall or better watering
schedules, the salts will be washed back out of the soil.

This is called "greywater garden recycling" & some people put water
diversian systems under the kitchen sink & bathroom sink & laundry room .
The diversion tanks can be turned on & off so that if anything going down
the drain should NOT go into the garden, it can be kept out of the
deversion tank. Diversion tanks have filters that need periodic cleaning
but are otherwise gravity-operating & self-sufficient, the fancy ones
connect right to the garden for underground irrigation through buried
hoses; they cannot overflow as as if too much water is put into them it
goes into the sewer pipes after all.

Check out the paperback CREATE AN OASIS FROM GREYWATER by Art Ludwig, from
amazon.com if your local hippy-run bookshop has failed to carry it. Or
visit Art's website:
http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater...asis/index.htm
There's a free FAQ & lots of starter info besides a book ordering button.

Also ask both your local waste management & water utility about programs
they may have to assist you in setting up greywater systems & what the
legal constraints might be. Greywater for residential use is a cutting
edge issue in California & some small cities have assistance programs to
get people started.

Already in many Australian gardens greywater recycling accounts for 40% or
more for garden irrigating. It does pose some risks & the more greywater
used the greater the chance of salt build-up in the soil or soil becoming
densely clogged such as from clothing particles in laundry greywater. But
in the future these systems so popular in Australia are bound to gain in
popularity in California & the Southwest where even a ten by ten foot
garden can cost major buckos to keep watered or result in stiff fines for
watering the gardens at all. I saw some of these greywater recycle systems
set up in Monterey & thought cool, I'd like to have that even for my Puget
Sound home where they wouldn't be quite so essential.

Some rules for doing this: Never put anything caustic down the drain (like
drain cleaners, which don't really work anyway). Don't use laundry bleach
or any other chlorine product, never use Borax or any other boron product,
avoid harsh cleansers, & don't use disinfectants (if these are
unavoidable, a diverter system will have a valve so you can keep the more
toxic stuff out of the greywater). Use only mild soaps with low
sodium-salt content & minimilize the use of those; liquid soaps tend to be
lower in sodium & phosphorus than cake or powder soaps, but that's a
generality, as Lux flakes are very low in sodium, & some powder brands
found only in healthfood stores are designed with greywater recycling in
mind.

Other guidelines/rules: Don't use a garbage disposal in the kitchen (get a
worm bin for kitchen waste instead). Some of the particles in greywater
function as plant fertilizer but even fertilizer can be overdone so it
takes some planning & thought regarding what is in the water. A diverter
system includes a moderate filtering component that does the job well
enough, but an ad-hoc system requires more thought about filtering out
hair & the largest food particles or lint is necessary, though the smaller
particles can be filtered through nothing more than mulch. If greywater is
used year-round & continuously a slightly more sophisticated method of
filtering might be sought, but for occasional greywater use mulch makes a
more than adequate filter, & most of the impurities will compost in situ
just like the mulch. Greywater can also be filtered through a screen,
panty hose, backwash sand filter, or through gravelled irrigation ditches.

Greywater has to be used quickly lest it get bacteria in it from stagnant
storage. Greywater from the bathroom sink, shower, & laundry is cleaner
than greywater from the kitchen sink & dishwasher, due to the amount of
cooking waste & oils that feed bacteria. Some greywater users leave out
kitchen sink greywater for this reason. Toilet water of course is off the
list entirely, though if you get radicalized on this topic you might end
up witha copy of Joseph Jenken's THE HUMANURE HANDBOOK which at the very
least be in every bathroom in olieu of Jokes for the John. Here's Joseph's
website -- there's even a free e-text of the whole damned book so that
even cheapskates can get radicalized:
http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html

There's more you can do besides greywater recycling. A simple mulching
throughout the garden will help the soil retain more of the water it does
get (mulch extra heavy so it'll also filter greywater even if all you do
is use some from the tub brought out in a plastic bucket).

You can also install attractive wooden wine barrels or less attractive
plastic rain barrels at the base of downspouts from the roof so that any
rainfall that does occur, the water is saved. Clean rainwater can be
stored in underground tanks for long periods, unlike greywater that has to
be used quickly. Rainbarrels can also have low-pressure soaker hoses
attached to their bases that slowly disperse the water into the garden.

If the garden is small you can string out a small drip-system that
separately waters only the immediate root-crown of each clump.

Selecting more xeriscape flowers that don't even need watering could make
future droughts & water-rationing less of a heartache, as the water
situation in California is only going to get worse.

-paghat the ratgirl
--
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"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to
liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot." -Thomas Jefferson