Although at the time of writing, there are no hosepipe bans in the UK, there are official droughts decalred in Yorkshire and the North West of England. So in order to save water, you need to use your hosepipe as little as possible.
If a ban is declared in your area, you must not use a hosepipe that is connected to your mains water supply. A hosepipe is defined as anything that is designed, adapted or used to serve the same purpose as a hosepipe. Garden sprinklers and irrigation systems, connected to the mains water supply are all considered to be hosepipes.
With a temporary hosepipe ban in place, you must not:
- Water a garden using a hosepipe.
- Water plants in your home or garden or other non-commercial premises using a hose pipe.
There are exemptions for your garden if you are:
- Watering of new lawns for the first 28 days after being laid and when undertaken outside of daily peak hours that occur 8am to 10am and 5pm to 9pm.
- Watering plants that are grown or kept for sale or commercial use.
- Using a drip or trickle irrigation watering system, fitted with a pressure reducing valve and a timer, that are not handheld.
That's not great news if you want to water an established lawn and retain its colour through dryer weather. The good news though is that existing lawns that currently look golden brown will most likely come back green again when regular rain patterns return.
The lawn can still be cut with a lawn mower, you can reset the blades to 4cm to encourage dense busy growth. If it is possible, leave a light sprinkling of grass clippings on the lawn to try and keep the little moisture there is in the lawn.
You can also still water your lawn using a watering can or bucket. Using grey water or water from a water butt is perfectly acceptable.
Try a Wetting Agent
One of the biggest challenges after a drought or very dry weather is getting water to penetrate the soil. If your lawn is very hard, it’s likely that it has become hydrophobic and will initially repel water, causing your first soaking to run off rather than be absorbed.
If you do see rain on the horizon, or you are going in for a final watering before a ban might be introduced, we recommend you use a wetting agent to improve the water penetration. Products like Abzorb help to re-wet, retain, and encourage water to move through the soil in order to benefit grass roots.
Abzorb is fast acting, attaching itself to the waxes and lipids left by fungal spores on soil and sand particles which in turn attracts water molecules allowing hydrophobic areas to be re-wet. It contains a blend of soil penetrating surfactants, that help to re-wet dry areas of turf affected by dry patches.
With a watchful eye, care, and use of the right products, you should still be able to enjoy a lush green lawn through the summer, even if hosepipe bans are introduced.
