Help - Gardeners - garden wilting in record heat (me too)

Do you shower? Put a few buckets, pots, etc., in the tub with you and they will fill up before you're thru. Then run tubing from your air conditioner to a bucket or directly to your garden. You will be amazed how much water your a/c puts out. Ask a plumber to hook your clothes washer run-off so you have the option of directing it to the drain or to your garden. Soap is good for the garden. Invest in those new garden globule things that retain water and release moisture slowly so there is less run-off.

Get a rain barrel for when the rain returns - clean water is precious even in times of plenty.

My tomatoes and peppers are in pots this year - and I'm using shower and a/c water most days. It was over a 100 here today and no rain to speak of on the horizon.
Luck

What a great idea! It is such an obvious solution (the bathtub or shower) that I didn't even think of it. I swear, sometimes I miss things that are right in front of me.
We are sweltering here, so this info is great to know.

That is a great idea!

Did I miss something or is it just a midwest thing that we are supposed to water???

Do you have mulch around your plants? A few inches of mulch will also help prevent water from evaporating and will keep the roots cooler. I noticed a huge difference when I began mulching my plants a few years ago. In addition to Perle's tips, you can also save any cooking water (e.g. from boiling pasta), but be sure to cool it off first before using it to water the plants.

I see a few of the things I do listed here already but I will list all the ways I conserve water in my home and garden. As a side note though, I think this is the first summer that I have ever known my area to go without any water restrictions since we have had constant rain and flooding.

Still here is what I do:
1) I wash dishes in the sink instead of the dishwasher. When I am through I empty all the water into a bucket and take that outside. Note: if there are any meat scraps in the water make sure you sift them out.

2) I also take a couple buckets of water from my shower or bath and carry those outside.

3) Two gutters in the back yard empty into a rain barrels that have a hose spiget attached to the bottom of them.

4) I also do what amy does as far as reusing the water that is leftover from cooking: water drained from pasta, water from steaming vegetables etc.

5) Since I use environmentally safe cleaners and laundry detergents in my home I add that water to buckets. From the washing machine you can simply lift out the hose that drains and let it drain into a bucket.

6) Use mulch to reduce evaporation. I also take empty, cleaned out milk gallons and poke a few dozen holes into the sides. Dig holes into my garden and "plant" the gallons so that the top is level with the ground. I fill those up with the water from my buckets about every two days and they slowly leak into the garden keeping it moist all the time.

Yes, its a lot of bucket toting and extra work, but its water that would otherwise be going down the drain. Plus your garden will be blooming. Luck

Thanks, everyone! We aren't supposed to water till Friday :( but with your help I am keeping my garden going.