Are you facing drought or water shortages? Gardening with Less Water offers simple, inexpensive, low-tech techniques for watering your garden much more efficiently - using up to 90 percent less water for the same results. With illustrated step-by-step instructions, David Bainbridge shows you how to install buried clay pots and pipes, wicking systems, and other porous containers that deliver water directly to a plant's roots with little to no evaporation. These systems are available at hardware stores and garden centers; are easy to set up and use; and work for garden beds, container gardens, and trees.
Gardening with Less Water introduces gardeners to simple low-cost, low-tech techniques - using terra-cotta pipes, wicks, and recycled plastic bottles - that are up to 10 times more efficient than traditional watering methods. David A. Bainbridge is professor emeritus of ecology and agroecology at Alliant International University in San Diego, California. He is the author or co-author of many books, including The Straw Bale House (Chelsea Green, 1994), A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration (Island Press, 2007), and Passive Solar Architecture (Chelsea Green, 2011). He lives in San Diego and has been researching dryland restoration and irrigation since 1981. Introduction: Running Out of Water
Part 1: Super-Efficient Irrigation Systems
Buried Clay Pots
Porous Capsules
Deep Pipes
Wicks
Porous Hose
Buried Clay Pipe
Tree Shelters
Part 2: Taking It to the Next Level
Water-Wise Gardening Tips
Rainwater Harvesting
Landscaping for Water Catchment
Developing a Plan for Your Patio, Garden, Home, or Farm
Our Water Future
Appendix
Acknowledgments
Suppliers
Index Conserve & Grow
Water shortages have become an everyday concern, but drought or a dry climate doesn't mean your garden has to suffer. With inexpensive materials such as terra-cotta pots, recycled bottles, and nylon rope, you can create simple, effective, and efficient watering systems that will dramatically reduce your water use and benefit your garden, no matter where you live.
Super-efficient water systems:
- Deliver water directly to roots.
- Reduce weed growth.
- Cut back on watering time.
- Work for any size garden and for container plants.
Silver Nautilus Book Award Winner for Green Living Sustainability
"David Bainbridge brings together his deep understanding of ancient techniques developed in desert conditions with modern data on how adaptations of those techniques will work in backyard gardens and small farms."
-Cheryl Long, Editor-in-Chief, Mother Earth News
"If you need to water your plants, you also need to conserve water. This book features methods to achieve drastic water savings that go beyond basic irrigation efficiency. The sustainable techniques outlined here produce better plants, higher yields, fewer weeds, and healthier soil. They are time tested, easy, practical, and cost effective. You can put the information in this book to use right away."
-Mike Evans, Founder, Tree of Life Nursery
"As a potter, gardener, and long-time maker of irrigation ollas, I was particularly impressed with his experiments using common red clay flowerpots for subsurface irrigation."
-Diana Kersey, Kersey Ceramics
Drought resilience lies within these pages in the form of effective, low-tech irrigation strategies, which too few people have heard of - until now. Read this book, and put its teachings to work to save water and time in innovative ways.
-Brad Lancaster, author of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond
I found David's book Gardening With Less Water to be a fabulous read! It's full of insightful ways to help everyone from homeowners to farmers increase their water efficiency while sustaining healthy plants and productive crops. The simple yet proven methods he shares are easy to implement. This informative
