A week after the re-plant,** my little garden seems to be growing — albeit a lot slower than I like. Granted, my growth expectations are probably a tad unrealistic…. Below’s how the garden looks now; here’s how it looked last week.**

While I’ll have to wait a while to actually start getting food from my garden, I like that the little plants let me reuse a resource that used to be wasted: Dishwater. I sprinkle on the plants the water I rinsed my dishes in. After all, California’s in a drought — and other states are facing their own water shortages as well.

Have a garden of your own? Besides reusing dishwater from the sink, here are some other fun water reuse strategies:

>> Dishwater drip irrigation. Green as a Thistle** came up with this interesting idea: “let everything dry on the top rack of my dishwasher (currently not in use), and stick some plants underneath to catch whatever drips down.”

>> Rainwater reuse. Just put a rain barrel under your downspout, and use that free clean water to water your plants!

>> Greywater recycling.** Greywater — water from the sink, shower, and washing machine — can be reused in your garden! The Greywater Guerillas explain the nitty gritties of reusing this water, from which basic graywater system to use if any to whether or not to treat the water to what state rules to consider.

>> Deja Poo.** Wired magazine explains the inner workings of The Living Machine, a waste water recycling system that’s being put in at The Port of Portland’s new headquarters. Basically, wastewater from the whole building — including the toilets — is sent to a holding tank where solids settle. The cleaner water’s then sent through “garden-like ‘wetland cells’” that clean the water while watering office plants. Then, after a zap from a further cleansing untraviolet light, the water’s cycled back into the plumbing system. What’s unclear from the article is where the settled solids go — but the water savings opportunities are pretty clear.

Got other great ideas for smart garden watering? Share them in the comments!

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