Any keen gardener knows that there is sometimes just not enough rainfall for some plants they have in the garden. The logical thing to do when this happens is to just turn on the tap and compensate for the difference with purified municipal water.
But this is not always necessary, if you reuse your households gray water you will not only save money but you will also be doubling the waters usefulness.
The term gray water refers to waste water produced in the home excluding toilet water. This can be waste water generated by washing dishes, having a bath or shower, the washing machine or dishwasher. While this water may not be fit for drinking it can be utilised in other ways to extend it’s period of usefulness and save you money.
When starting out try and get an idea of how much gray water you will need on a daily or weekly basis and collect only that much. Dispose of any excess in the normal way by letting it go down the drain. Then give preference to water collected from your shower or bath as dishwater and water collected from the washing machine is less desirable because it will have more chemicals, grease and food particles in it. Dishwater and washing machine water can be used but for shorter periods of time as the contaminants they contain can eventually have some negative effects on your plants.
One should preferably not use gray water on edible plants because of the chance of diseases spreading through tiny particles of fecal matter contained in the shower or bath water. But if you do wish to use it on your vegetable garden use it only on plants where the edible area is above ground. Don’t use gray water on root vegetables like potatoes or leafy vegetables like lettuce because the chance of ingesting harmful bacteria will be higher.
Something to be aware of is the pH level of your garden when using gray water. Detergents and other chemicals contain alot of sodium based compounds which can effect your gardens pH level. Have your soil tested occasionally and if the pH level is above 7.5 it has become saturated with sodium. To counteract this you can treat your soil with calcium sulfate (gypsum) once a month. It should only be a problem if you need to use alot of water from the washing machine and dishwasher.
There are some very attractive storage containers available these days and you could even start a trend in your neighbourhood. Any time you can find a second use for something it is probably a good thing. Especially when it comes to something as important as water, the very thing that keeps us alive everyday.
