Topic: Helloo - and watering in dry weather

[Halfalot]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new here! We are coming up to our 3rd season with our alotment and we never stop learning. We have had so good produce and those which we've given up on (Sweetcorn doesn't grow here for us).

I just wondered if anyone had advice on watering in this dry weather? I do have a reputation with house plants of killing them through too much or too little watering!

Thanks

[Chrispy]

A short shower with the hose is a total waste of time.
Wherever possible, put a container into the ground next to the plant, and water into this, this gets the water down to the roots where needed.
Other plants give a good soaking every few day. I water most days, but I will water that bit one day, another bit the next day.
Try watering in the evening when it is a bit cooler, gives the water more chance to get down to the roots.

[Tee Gee]

This link might help you; http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Watering/Watering.htm

[Bugloss2009]

Hi Halfalot, i've never thought about it before, but i'll stick my neck out and say it's IMPOSSIBLE to kill something on an allotment by overwatering  ;D Go and prove me wrong
For me, I make sure I water anything grown in plugs (salads) or pots (squash, beans, tomatoes) until they establish. It's also important to keep tomatoes watered in dry weather to avoid Blossom End Rot in the fruit
Any other watering is if i'm in the mood (which I have been in this weather), or if things don't look happy

there was a program about allotments a few years ago with someone from Afghanistan (or similar) who said - why do you English water all the time? It never stops raining..........

[manicscousers]

good soak then mulch it..mind you, might get some rain tonight here so, just the poly tomorrow  ;D
sorry, welcome to a4a  ;D

[tim]

As ever, the old Guru has thrown the book at us. Not much one can add. But let me stress a couple of points?

1. If you're on a meter - as everyone should be - you count every pint.

2. Spraying is a waste of water (yes - lawns are a different matter) & very deceptive.
Photo 1 shows soil flooded by 15 seconds spray @ 9l/min.
Photo 2 shows how useless that was - except for weed seeds!!

3. As Tee Gee says, all water beyond the root area is weed feed.

4. Right or wrong, I aim to give each established plant at least 1-2l, depending on size.

[Trevor_D]

Tee Gee, do you write for the Open University? I can't think of much to add there.

Except to stress that - in most cases - if you can't water a lot, don't bother. (But water it a lot tomorrow or the day after.)

Or be like one of our guys: water absolutely everything extremely thoroughly every day for hours. (But in Ireland, where he comes from, it rains every day....) And he has fabulous crops, which put mine to shame!

[Carls3168]

I dont water anything!!!  :o

'Puddle' them in when they first go out, or slosh plenty of water into the drills.... then its up to them to fend for themselves! Even now in this glorious weather everythings green and growing great!  ;D

[lincsyokel2]

I dont water anything!!!  :o

'Puddle' them in when they first go out, or slosh plenty of water into the drills.... then its up to them to fend for themselves! Even now in this glorious weather everythings green and growing great!  ;D

I only water stuff thats wilting.

[Digeroo]

I think that the no watering regime depends on the type of soil/position of the watertable.  I am on gravel and after a while there is no water above the gravel layer.  Not many plants are able to roots down through this is get to the ground water.  It is like growing in a sieve.  Everything has to be thoroughly watered.   I missed one logan berry and the leaves are now all brown and crispy and the fruits dried up as well.  Volunteer potatoes totally dried up, a few tiny potatoes underneath. 

I have been watering some of my seed beds daily, even so they have been looking very sad at times.

Even with a thick layer of mulch the beans need frequent watering.

[artichoke]

This is only on a small scale:

I have an allotment with no water, and carry up milk bottles over and over again.

Have recently remembered that when they start to leak (after a few years), put them down next to a suffering plant, and they leak slowly into it without pouring away down a slope.

It is all very well not watering anything, but here in East Sussex we have had two days of rain within 2 months.  Either we abandon our plots, or we keep our plants alive with water.