Save the rain for a better garden harvest this summer

Harvesting rainwater can give you water for your garden, even during dry months, and help keep your water bills down. Watch our video for details!

 It also helps reduce the water being taken out of our rivers which is particularly important during drought periods.

Setting up a rainwater harvesting system for your garden is easy and inexpensive. To help you along the way we’ve made a ‘how to’ video on installing a rainwater harvesting system using a 250l tank and a rainwater diverter - see the video below.

You’ll find more information on water conservation at nelson.govt.nz/water-conservation.

Water saving tip:
Hand-watering is far more efficient than using a sprinkler in your vegetable garden. A soaker hose can be the most efficient way as you don’t have to stand over it, but use a tap timer so it doesn’t stay on too long. Otherwise, use a water reservoir made from an inverted bottle. Cut the flat bottom out of the bottle, push the narrow mouth into the soil next to the plant and fill with water – it will slowly drip feed into the soil and give the plant a soaking over a longer period. A great way of looking after fruit trees over dry summers.