Gardening with Less Water: Low-Tech, Low-Cost Techniques; Use up to 90% Less Water in Your Garden

Are you facing drought or water shortages? Gardening with Less Water offers simple, inexpensive, low-tech techniques for watering your garden much more efficiently — using up to 90 percent less water for the same results. With illustrated step-by-step instructions, David Bainbridge shows you how to install buried clay pots and pipes, wicking systems, and other porous containers that deliver water directly to a plant’s roots with little to no evaporation. These systems are available at hardware stores and garden centers; are easy to set up and use; and work for garden beds, container gardens, and trees.
 

Silver Nautilus Book Award Winner for Green Living Sustainability

“David Bainbridge brings together his deep understanding of ancient techniques developed in desert conditions with modern data on how adaptations of those techniques will work in backyard gardens and small farms.”
—Cheryl Long, Editor-in-Chief, Mother Earth News

“If you need to water your plants, you also need to conserve water. This book features methods to achieve drastic water savings that go beyond basic irrigation efficiency. The sustainable techniques outlined here produce better plants, higher yields, fewer weeds, and healthier soil. They are time tested, easy, practical, and cost effective. You can put the information in this book to use right away.”
—Mike Evans, Founder, Tree of Life Nursery

“As a potter, gardener, and long-time maker of irrigation ollas, I was particularly impressed with his experiments using common red clay flowerpots for subsurface irrigation.”
—Diana Kersey, Kersey Ceramics

Drought resilience lies within these pages in the form of effective, low-tech irrigation strategies, which too few people have heard of — until now. Read this book, and put its teachings to work to save water and time in innovative ways.
—Brad Lancaster, author of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond

I found David’s book Gardening With Less Water to be a fabulous read! It’s full of insightful ways to help everyone from homeowners to farmers increase their water efficiency while sustaining healthy plants and productive crops. The simple yet proven methods he shares are easy to implement. This informative and well-written book should be read by anyone looking for ways to make a difference.
—Lisa Marie Evans
President Owner
Green King, Inc. – Manufacturer of the Deep Drip® Watering Stakes
www.DeepDrip.com

Gardening with Less Water is timely and well researched. Not only does David describe methods that are easy to implement for any gardener — he also gives practical advice, along with examples, on bringing change from your own garden to your neighborhood and beyond. I suggest this book to anyone who desires to do their part in dealing with our emerging water crisis.
—Lori Haynes, Dripping Springs OLLAS

Conserve & Grow
Water shortages have become an everyday concern, but drought or a dry climate doesn’t mean your garden has to suffer. With inexpensive materials such as terra-cotta pots, recycled bottles, and nylon rope, you can create simple, effective, and efficient watering systems that will dramatically reduce your water use and benefit your garden, no matter where you live.

Super-efficient water systems:
- Deliver water directly to roots.
- Reduce weed growth.
- Cut back on watering time.
- Work for any size garden and for container plants.
 

David A. Bainbridge is professor emeritus of ecology and agroecology at Alliant International University in San Diego, California. He is the author or co-author of many books, including The Straw Bale House (Chelsea Green, 1994), A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration (Island Press, 2007), and Passive Solar Architecture (Chelsea Green, 2011). He lives in San Diego and has been researching dryland restoration and irrigation since 1981.