“I’m going to water the bananas.” My family knows that means I’m going to shower outside using the hose with a watering wand attached and hooked to an old bird feeder stand, placed next to some banana plants. It’s one of my favorite parts of summer.
I like killing two birds with one stone: both cleaning myself and growing food. I feel clever and resourceful.
It also just feels good because it’s hot outside and the water cools me down; I usually “water the bananas” after having done some yard work or exercise.
In the past, I had lamented not being able to reroute the water from the showers inside our house to the yard because we have a concrete slab foundation. But there are some advantages to setting up an outdoor shower with a hose just during summer. I can change its location easily, anytime. I can therefore easily control which plants get the water, and how much.
Which plants
Bananas have always been my favorite recipients of shower water. They use a lot of water in the summer and they’re tolerant of a little soap mixed in. Currently, the other plants I’m showering are avocados, pineapples, and passion fruit. But I don’t know of any plant that can’t be included as long as it likes irrigation in the summer and you don’t use a lot of soap/shampoo.
Generally, I don’t use my shower water as the only irrigation for the plants. I only use it to augment what they’re getting from driplines. And I aim the shower water to land near the driplines so I’m confident there will be roots in that area.
Clean, comfortable ground
Key for me to enjoying my outdoor summer showers has been to have a comfortable ground to stand on. I’ve used bricks and wood grates in the past, but this year I’m using a sidewalk. I don’t like to stand directly on mulch because it splashes up.
Privacy
n the past, I have propped up reed fences to create privacy, but such measures reduce the ease with which I can move the shower. These days, I prefer to forego attempts at privacy and simply shower in a pair of shorts.
For about a dozen years now, I’ve been enjoying these simple outdoor showers in my food garden. At the top of this post is what this year’s looks like. Here it is again:
Below is where I was taking showers in the food garden thirteen years ago, back in the summer of 2013:
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