The water butts have long run dry, and feeling a bit guilty about watering the garden, not to mention thinking maybe we shouldn't have had a water meter fitted, we've started showering in the bath with the plug in and siphoning the water off afterwards for the garden. Surprising how much there is, certainly enough to make a difference. It's a bit of a faff, but it feels good not to be wasting all that perfectly re-usable water.

I also noticed that one of the veg beds which I had covered with cut open compost bags months ago (mainly to keep the cats off until I planted it) has actually stayed quite moist underneath, as well as weed free. I'm wondering about planting through a plastic mulch for larger plants like courgettes and tomatoes, since it seems to be so effective in preventing the soil from drying up. Obviously need to make sure that rainfall (if we ever get any??)gets channelled to the plants rather than running off, but on a flat bed that should be possible.

Anyone else got any crafty water-saving tips?

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