In a perfect world every drop of water you put on your plants would run straight to the roots and would be used immediately by the plant. But we have to deal with water loss. Knowing how to reduce it saves water and money. Moisture is lost from the soil in several ways, but you can cut these losses. By incorporating lots of humus into the soil, you will lessen the amount of water that percolates through the soil and out of reach. Humus is a water magnet. A lot of water is also lost through evaporation from the soil surface. Thanks to capillary action through the soil, which draws water up from below, evaporation can deplete water from deep in the ground. Keeping the soil surface covered with mulch (see pages 109111) protects against this. Another line of defense against evaporation is to get less of the soil surface wet in the first place. This means replacing a sprinkler with a drip system, soaker hose, or individual water containers for landscape or large vegetable plants. Finally, transpiration, the way in which plants metabolize water, can steal amazing quantities of water from your soil. One large shade tree on a hot sum mer day can transpire several hundred gallons of water. Misting plants on hot, dry days helps limit the amount transpired and reduces plant stress.
As mentioned, air evaporation is also a major water waster if you use an overhead sprinkler. Water early in the morning or at night for the least water loss. If you want to keep your water bill down, never water during hot, windy weather.
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