Topic: DIY Watering

[jclo]

Hi all

I have been spending some time thinking about what it is going to be like to water all of the plants on my allotment this summer. Now last year it was ok because I only had my garden to water and with watering cans that took around 1 hour. Now the allotment is loads bigger and will need much more water. I don't fancy the idea of spending 3 hours every evening just watering. So Has anoyone got any DIY watering system ideas?

The best I can come up with so far is one of those 20L chemical sprayers that goes on your back. At least if I go round with that I will be halving my trips to the water tap. The thing is though I wonder if the water will come out too fine and therfore wont really get into the ground.

[manicscousers]

try a seep hose, run a 'leaky' pipe around the plants that need lots of water, attach to a water butt, then, when you sit with your cuppa, turn on the tap,  ;D
also, anything like toms, squash, bury a 2 litre bottle, upturned with the bottom cut off, fill and that waters the plant, also, mulch, like supersprout, less watering needed
don't panic, not everything needs watering all the time   :)

[jclo]

try a seep hose, run a 'leaky' pipe around the plants that need lots of water, attach to a water butt, then, when you sit with your cuppa, turn on the tap,  ;D
also, anything like toms, squash, bury a 2 litre bottle, upturned with the bottom cut off, fill and that waters the plant, also, mulch, like supersprout, less watering needed
don't panic, not everything needs watering all the time   :)

ok I see where your going. I like it! What about during ahose pipe ban, would that effect that at all? I like the upside down bottle idea too! How far down would you bury it?

[Garjan]

Hi jclo

Once I saw a system that looked really easy to make. It is a combination of the waterbottle and the seep hose manicscousers mentions.
It consisted of lengths of waterhose with small holes in them, a cork on one end and a big waterbottle on the other side. The man had several of these lying around on his plot. All he had to do was to fill the bottles every three days or so. The water would seep slowely into the ground.

Good luck and just hope the weather will not be as extreme as last year.

[Barnowl]

During the ban in London it was confirmed that so long as the waterbutt is filled solely by rainwater you can use a hose from it, leaky or otherwise.

What about putting a battery operated timer valve in line?

e.g. http://www.easywatering.co.uk/acatalog/Water_Timers.html


NB Not necessariy the cheapest just the first one I found on google

[jclo]

Hi jclo

Once I saw a system that looked really easy to make. It is a combination of the waterbottle and the seep hose manicscousers mentions.
It consisted of lengths of waterhose with small holes in them, a cork on one end and a big waterbottle on the other side. The man had several of these lying around on his plot. All he had to do was to fill the bottles every three days or so. The water would seep slowely into the ground.

Good luck and just hope the weather will not be as extreme as last year.

That sounds a good plan. Certianly some food for thought here

[jclo]

During the ban in London it was confirmed that so long as the waterbutt is filled solely by rainwater you can use a hose from it, leaky or otherwise.

What about putting a battery operated timer valve in line?

e.g. http://www.easywatering.co.uk/acatalog/Water_Timers.html


NB Not necessariy the cheapest just the first one I found on google

Thanks. Not sure that s the way I want to go though. For some reason it feels like cheating just buying something. I want to make something and have it not work ;D

[kenkew]

I've tried quite a variety of home-made systems. I found I had clogging problems with seeping and drilled hose pipe if I used water from the butt. I tried micro system from water butt into greenhouse, again clogging up.
I have tried a big wheely bin which filled from the shed roof and had a hose pipe fitted low down. That worked quite well for plants in reach of the pipe. When the bin was half empty I wheeled it down the plot and watered the lower part.
For my small tommy house I rigged up a wheely bin with a tap at the top and another at the bottom. The bottom one I used to water outside the tommy house but when it rained, the overflow would go via the top hose and into the tommy house. Good for when I wasn't there. Got a pic someplace...

[kenkew]

You could also try laying plasic guttering on top of Y shaped wood brackets. Drill very small holes along it. Run your butt hose into it. It will fill up and slowly drip around the base of your plants. You just have to make sure the gutter is level to get an even drip. This works well and can be moved to the next row quite easily. A bit better than struggling with gallons of water on your back.

PS: Drill holes from the inside to out so the water flows even and doesn't catch on the burr.

[manicscousers]

ok I see where your going. I like it! What about during ahose pipe ban, would that effect that at all? I like the upside down bottle idea too! How far down would you bury it? by jclo

we bury the bottle half way, someone on here said to mark it with a cane, so's you know where it is in the undergrowth, also makes feeding easier   :)

[jclo]

You could also try laying plasic guttering on top of Y shaped wood brackets. Drill very small holes along it. Run your butt hose into it. It will fill up and slowly drip around the base of your plants. You just have to make sure the gutter is level to get an even drip. This works well and can be moved to the next row quite easily. A bit better than struggling with gallons of water on your back.

More good ideas! Thanks!

[Barnowl]

Ok, how about a lavatory cistern from the waterbutt (add or remove bricks to adjust quantity of water) and a water clock that triggers the emptying of cistern into the watering sytem? :)

[legendaryone]

I am wondering if a hose pipe ban applies to allotments does anyone know or can tell us what happened in their area previously.

[kenkew]

A hosepipe ban in an area includes allotments in the same way it covers gardens.

(Water from rainfilled butts belongs to you.....do what you want with it...you could even have a lottie bath time)

[supersprout]

Our local authority sent out a directive last year.

It wasn't permitted to use sprinklers
It was permitted to fill a watering can or water butt with a hose
Soaker hoses weren't mentioned
 ::)

[kenkew]

You could also fill a garden swimming pool with a hose but not use it to water your plant pots.!

[kt.]

I am wondering if a hose pipe ban applies to allotments does anyone know or can tell us what happened in their area previously.

Usually it does apply to them too. The only exception is if you have live-stock - then you are entitled to water, only sufficiebt for you animals.

[legendaryone]

I've been doing a bit of googling and came across this on the South East water site  http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/water_resources.asp

The hosepipe ban prohibits the use of hosepipes for watering private gardens and washing private vehicles. It also prohibits the use of garden sprinklers, which use as much water in an hour as a family of six does in one day.

I will have to ask some of the members down on allotments what has happened in previous years.

[silly billy]

Surely even in the summer you don't need to spend 3 hours watering your plot.We never did anything like that last summer and none of our plants suffered.The toms and runner beans had a soaking but nothing like 3 hours worth.And ours is quite a large plot.

[dandelion]

I am wondering if a hose pipe ban applies to allotments does anyone know or can tell us what happened in their area previously.

In live in Harrow Middlesex and our water company is three Valleys Water. Last year's hosepipe ban applied to watering private gardens and car washing. Using a hose on the allotment was allowed, as was filling a paddling pool in the garden using a hose. No real logic in this, as these days you can get some very big paddling pools! I filled our kids' pool and after a few days, when the water went green, I emptied it onto my flower borders.