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Hello and Welcome to A4A Congrats on your soon to be allotment Looking forward to hearing more about it when you get your keys. I've got my veggie plot at home, so can use mains water if I have to, though we are on a meter and it is expensive. I've got the usual buts and barrels which are fed by the greenhouse and polytunnel. But I'm really looking to do more to water save so I'm really glad you posted. I know several here don't have access to water on their allotments, looking forward to advice.
A previous tenant of my plot somehow part- buried four water butts (the big blue drums) at different heights then put spouts made from drainpipe in the sides so that each feeds into the next as it gets full- no rainwater wasted and I've never run out of water in 12 years! Whoever it was, I salute him/her!
The North West is a big place where exactly? (Nearest Town)As you will see from my Avatar I live just over the hill from you in Huddersfield and I never water my allotments well outdoors at least.Mother nature does that for me as a rule, although I help her by digging in loads of farm yard manure or as it now 'horse muck'This along with the natural rainfall has supplied my plot with all the moisture it needs for the past thirty years or so.!OK I have to water my 3 greenhouse, luckily I have a mains tap on my plot, although if I didn't have this then I am sure I would have resorted to water barrel collection.This link on how I have kept my allotment might help you!http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Allotments/Allotments.htmIf that is not enough there are lots of people on this forum who will, although they may not be as close a neighbour to you as I am........I usually get the rain showers on my side of the hill after you lot on your side of the hill get yours, and I manage so I don't think you will have a problem!BTW; Welcome to A4A
Sounds interesting, could certain save height by part burying. How do you get the water out of the part buried ones?
Was it similar to this Merv?
Quote from: Tee Gee on August 24, 2017, 16:42:29Was it similar to this Merv?Yes but I used white plastic waste pipe positioned about half way down the butt and had a plastic tap on each butt. That way I could fill a can from one butt and have soaker hoses from the other three if I wanted.
Once this is done, I'm going to look at laying perhaps some underground hose. Can't remember what's it's called, but you lay a hose under your beds, and it can be gravity fed from a butt. First I'll need to identify how effective and efficient it is. Perhaps it can be done with cheap hose pipe, with something like old cut up tights wrapped around any newly added holes. Might be a project, but time not spent watering could be spent suppressing the weed Rebellion. Or drinking tea.