h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Grey water is usable if you don't store it - but it's best kept away from food plants etc.(if you really, really want to water the lawn, use it there). Soapy grey water is a different case - that's OK anywhere on the soil (as you say) - or spray it on your roses to reduce the number of greenfly.

Straw - fine, but watch this - straw tends to grab hold of any available nitrogen and lock it up until it decays. Wood shavings (often used for animal bedding)are worse - take anything up to a couple of years to decay. Don't use medicated shavings as a mulch, nor those from hardwood or treated softwood. If you have rabbits (not a rodent if you really want to be pedantic) etc. then it's recommended that you stack the byproduct for at least 3 months before you get it anywhere near food crops.

Newspaper - well, I reckon the best use for newspaper is UNDER the plants you are trying to help, where it acts as a reservoir - if you can get them, sheep daggings are great for this as well - the dung feeds the plants, the wool acts as a sponge, and as a slow-release fertiliser.

Mechanical assistance - HOE your plants. This creates a "mulch" of dust, which drastically reduces the water loss at the surface by evaporation, as the capilliary action is reduced. If you can see the sun, hoe, don't water.

Some good advice there, thanks very much.

It's a nice entry - but it might be worth pointing out that fresh tapwater isn't a terribly good idea either - some has too much chlorine, and it's usually too cold and can check the growth of your plants - better left to stand for 24 hours before use (another reason to use rainwater if you can). If you can spare a couple of butts, chuck a load of comfrey in one (general liquid feed) and a nice loosely-woven sack full of sheep manure in another (sloshed up and down a couple of times a day) to feed the tomatoes on. Moorland manure is better than that from cake-fed sheep for this.
Is the story that they can prosecute you for using a hosepipe to water the garden even if you are only using grey water correct, do you know?

I don't know about the hosepipes, I don't think there is a ban on at the moment - well, not in Essex, which is one of the most rubbish areas for water because of the amount of coastline.

The rest of your comments are more gardening in general, rather than about conserving water, but I've taken note anyway, so that I can use them in my garden.

Fine - they were not intended as criticism. Have you ever tried the "black plastic" method? I've used it for potatoes - gave me a nice clean crop, no greening, minimal watering and no need for earthing up, but I'm rethinking the way I did it.
Yes, I remember the water problems from the days I lived in Chelmsford - but we get hosepipe bans here, despite the fact that all our water is drawn from boreholes and it would need something approaching 20 years before a drought would compromise our supply, but they nick half of it to dilute water from the Severn which has too high a nitrate level to use as it stands (or rather flows).

I tend to use the 'stick some compost on the top' method from the compost heap. Whether or not it's 100% composted. I don't grow veg (well, tomatoes half-heartedly and this year I have pumpkins for halloween), only flowers and herbs and it seems to work quite well (I do enjoy weeding, honest!)

I'm not sure how boreholes work, but I know that round here they were sick of people using hoses to wash cars when the gardens were dying a few years ago.

Hopefully this entry will help some people, I don't water my garden very much, and (apart from the containers) it does very well. I let the plants look after themselves.