I’ve been reading about greywater usage in the garden. We have 17 rose bushes and other non-fruit producing plants (jasmine, bougainvillea, artemisia, geraniums, jacaranda, etc) that we can water with dishwater.
Since we moved in a few years back, we have used the kids’ bathwater to flush the toilet. But last week, I decided we needed to go further. I bought two plastic buckets that fit into the kitchen sinks, and use that water for the plants out front and out back that can stand dishwater (with biodegradable soap, of course).
Here’s the deal: it’s a pain in the ass to hoist buckets outside constantly when I’m cleaning. A pain in the ass, but eye-opening. Just this morning, I emptied out three buckets of water in the process of doing my dishes. That’s with careful practices such as turning water off when cleaning and using as little water as possible to rinse. My roses are very happy, but I’m pooped.
So I’ll keep it up, but when my ship comes in, a greywater drainage system had better be on it (along with a solar heating system). Just sayin’.
Little Farm, Big Hopes 