Garden Design Requiring Low Water Maintenance

Thursday, 11 December 2014 by Ri Industries

Tending a garden in South Australia can be a challenge due to our dry climate, but it is possible to design a garden to use less water. The following tips come via Hunter Water and can be useful to help you design a dream garden for your home.

Construct draining ditches so that they finish in garden beds.
Paths and courtyards can be pitched to drain to garden beds
Decks, gravel paths and gravel edges to paving can allow water to
soak into the ground.
Minimise lawn areas with paving, paths, decking and garden beds.
Minimise the number of pot plants as they dry out quickly and use more water than the same plant in the ground.
Minimise evaporation by using trees, fences, garden walls and shade cloth.
Mulch is magic for water saving. It reduces moisture loss but also suppresses weeds, maintains soil temperatures and generally improves the soil.
Group similar plants according to their water needs and you will reduce your overall
watering need.

Learn how the Ri –Treat Waste Water System can recycle your waste water for use in your garden and find even more helpful tips in Ri Industries blog “Tips to Save Water in the Garden.”

How To Teach Kids About Water Conservation

Sunday, 19 January 2014 by Ri Industries

At Ri-Industries, we are committed to teaching water conservation to all people – and that includes kids. Believe it or not, children are not too young to learn ways to conserve and recycle water in the home.

Here is a list of 13 water conservation tips just for kids:

Turn off the bathroom tap when you don’t need water, especially when you’re washing your hands or brushing your teeth.
Showers use less water than baths do, so try to take a shower when you can.
Only flush human waste. Don’t throw tissues, sweet wrappers or paper in your toilet. It makes your toilet use more water to dispose of these items.
If you are doing dishes, turn off the tap as you scrape food into the bin. Only use water when you are rinsing dishes.
Let a parent know if you notice a leaky tap.
Find out if you have a leak in your toilet with this fun test. Place a drop of food colouring in the toilet tank. If colour shows up in the bowl and you haven’t flushed, your toilet has a leak.
Observe when your sprinkler system is running and let a parent know if it is running during the hottest part of the day. The sun absorbs the water too quickly then.
If your job is to water plants, remember that you only need to sprinkle them with water. A little bit of water goes a long way when it comes to gardening.
Collect the water from a pot of cooked pasta or other food (make sure it’s cooled off first!) and put into a watering can for your indoor plants.
When you want to wash your bicycle, fill up a bucket with water instead of using a hose. Hoses let out much more water than you need.
Does that shirt really need to be washed? Only put dirty clothes into your laundry hamper. This will save water when you use the washing machine.
Did you know buying recycled paper products helps with water conservation too? It takes about 22 litres of water to produce a dollar’s worth of paper. Ask your parent to look for recycled paper to save water and the environment.
Get your parents to check out concrete rainwater tanks. They collect rainwater that can be used for irrigation or hot water systems.

And for more great water tips, check out this video from Watersong.com.au:

If you need help finding solutions for water conservation in your home, please contact us with any questions.

The Smart Way to Water Your Garden

Monday, 9 September 2013 by Ri Industries

You may have heard the saying, “The grass is always greener over the septic tank.” The moisture and nutrients in the drainage field of your septic tank help to fertilise your garden the natural way.

By taking interest in a Ri-Industries septic tank or aerobic waste water treatment system, you are already well on your way to conserving water and energy for your home. What you may not know is that the benefits of a septic tank or waste water treatment system do not stop with installation. Ri-Industries can help you water your garden the smart way, even after all of the wear and tear of daily use.

How to water your garden, the smart way:

#1: Use Ri-Treat to Irrigate Your Garden

The Ri-Treat Waste Water System works to clean and reuse your waste water from the toilet, kitchen, and laundry to irrigate your garden. Ri-Treat features a high quality irrigation kit for more effective irrigation. This system is certainly a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly way to keep your garden looking green and healthy.

#2: Water your garden only when it needs it

While the Ri-Treat system can efficiently recycle your waste water for your home, it’s up to you to decide when your garden needs watering. To find out if your lawn needs water, use this rule of thumb: stick your finger about 4 cm into the soil, and if the soil is not moist, it is time for a shower!

#3: Put your garden on a schedule

For those of us who do not have time to stick our fingers in the soil every day, it is recommended to water your garden deeply and infrequently (about 2.5 cm a week). But how do you measure how much water your lawn is soaking in? For this, you can use a rain gauge or a cup of water placed in your garden and a ruler. Run your irrigation system for about 15 minutes, check the amount of water left in the cup or rain gauge, and you can do some quick calculations to find out how much water per hour is coming from the sprinkler.

#4: Water early

When you use your irrigation system, some of the water will evaporate before it even hits your garden. To make sure that your garden drinks up the highest amount of water possible, try watering very early in the morning, sometime between 4 am and 9 am.

As always, the most important tip for using your irrigation system the smart way is: location, location, location! Make sure that you are watering your garden, and not the pavement or the letterbox. To discover more sustainable living options from Ri-Industries, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Guidelines for Planting Your Garden Around a Septic Tank

Tuesday, 27 August 2013 by Ri Industries

Your septic tank is made up of a main outlet, a holding tank and a drainage field. The tank receives wastewater from your home plumbing system where it collects for a certain length of time until it exits the outlet and empties into the drainage field. There are certain plants that will fare better on or around your drainage field. So, what plants are good or bad for your wastewater treatment system? Here are some helpful “do’s” and “don’ts” for planting a septic tank friendly garden:

DO stay shallow

While being “shallow” is not considered a positive personality trait, it is very important that you stay shallow when it comes to planting your garden over a Ri-Industries septic system. A septic tank is generally installed about 0.6 to 0.9 meters underground, meaning you do not want the root systems of your small plants or shrubs to extend below this depth. The best plants to use near drainage fields are flowers, grasses, and small groundcovers that will not grow deep enough to disrupt the pipeline of your septic tank.

DON’T plant trees too close to your septic system

While Ri-Industries septic tanks are made from 40 MPa concrete, and the engineer-designed tanks are built to withstand anything, contractors generally believe that no tree is safe to plant too close to a septic system. This is because the root system provides a tree’s primary way of absorbing water, and those roots will extend toward the most abundant source of water in your yard. This means that if a tree is planted too close to a septic system, its roots will grow in the direction of the wet drainage field around it. Trees with smaller, less complex root systems are less of a risk to plant near the septic system, but especially try to avoid planting gum trees, cypress trees, maples, or willow trees anywhere near your Ri-Industries septic tank.

DO use shrubs that don’t require a lot of water, or are drought tolerant

Hydrophilic (water friendly) plants will grow deep into the ground, searching for moisture. The root system of water-loving shrubs can become entangled in the pipes of your septic system if planted too close to your drainage field, and cause problematic clogging. Try planting smaller shrubs whose root systems won’t cause a disturbance to your Ri-Industries septic pipes.

DON’T plant veggies near your septic tank

Fruits and vegetables should be planted at least three meters away from the drainage field of your septic tank to avoid bacterial contamination. This seems fairly simple, but it is also important to keep in mind as you plan out your planting!

DO plan ahead

Lay out the location of your shrubs before you start any digging. Plant shrubs near the end of septic tank lines where the soil is drier, or at least three meters away from the drainage field. You can also plant shrubs at the base or on side slopes of the septic mound, still keeping at least three meters away from the septic lines. Bushes planted downhill will absorb water and prevent erosion. Plants with shallow root systems can be planted right on the drainage field, while trees with deeper root systems should be planted at least 15 meters away.

Have any questions about how to design the perfect garden around your septic tank? Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions.

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