Topic: Watering the allotment when away

[reddyreddy]

Do any of you incredibly imaginitive and money saving gardeners have any ideas of how to water whilst on holiday? I am thinking of water bottles stuck in the ground with some sort of dripper but the ones you can buy are soooo expensive if you need a lot, is there anything free you can suggest? ???

[Tee Gee]

I never water anything that is outdoors and I arrange with a fellow allotmenteer to water stuff under cover.

There are a few of us who have a pact which is; I will do yours if you do mine any time we are indisposed, for what ever reason.

The system works quite well! See if you can organise something similar.

Only last weekend I stepped in for a plot holder from Friday till Monday and they will look after mine when I go off later in the year!

[Digeroo]

I am very lucky I mentioned I was going on hols and several people have volunteered already.  Expect I can return the favour soon enough.

[Mr Smith]

The only stuff I have watered when I'm away is mi Toms, otherwise watering my lotty just makes the bloody weeds grow quicker, :)

[lightyears]

i have a auto waterer for my greenhouse, the rest has to go hungry, the old boys club at my allotment has a witch hunt agaist me because im young and everything i grow has not died yet.  ;D ;D ;D

[Justy]

I wouldn't have thought that anything outside would need watering at this time of year?  I am going in July and plan on giving everything a serious soaking before I go and then hoping for nature to help. I will keep in touch with people here and if we have prolonged dry spell then will call on friends/family to pop down and give another soaking!

[gardentg44]

I never water anything that is outdoors and I arrange with a fellow allotmenteer to water stuff under cover.

There are a few of us who have a pact which is;[ I will do yours if you do mine ]any time we are indisposed, for what ever reason.

The system works quite well! See if you can organise something similar.

Only last weekend I stepped in for a plot holder from Friday till Monday and they will look after mine when I go off later in the year!

I never water anything that is outdoors and I arrange with a fellow allotmenteer to water stuff under cover.

There are a few of us who have a pact which is; I will do yours if you do mine any time we are indisposed, for what ever reason.

The system works quite well! See if you can organise something similar.

Only last weekend I stepped in for a plot holder from Friday till Monday and they will look after mine when I go off later in the year!

 i agree with you TeeGee.

we all like to go away without worries

[tim_n]

I had an interesting idea the other day for a coldframe autowaterer.

Place coldframe next to shed, drainpipe to hosepipe connector at the bottom of the drainpipe.  Leaky hose put in coldframe.  When it rains it waters the plants but retains the heat.

Otherwise the 'outside' should really look after itself.  I only water in newly transplanted plants.

If we have a nice hot summer this year, I might reconsider if things are looking a bit drab.

You'd be better off putting down some mulch around your plants to keep the ground moisture in and stop the ground setting hard.

[thifasmom]

I had an interesting idea the other day for a coldframe autowaterer.

Place coldframe next to shed, drainpipe to hosepipe connector at the bottom of the drainpipe.  Leaky hose put in coldframe.  When it rains it waters the plants but retains the heat.

Otherwise the 'outside' should really look after itself.  I only water in newly transplanted plants.

If we have a nice hot summer this year, I might reconsider if things are looking a bit drab.

You'd be better off putting down some mulch around your plants to keep the ground moisture in and stop the ground setting hard.

what a good idea sounds like a top tip

[daxzen]

Where I am, we have no mains water and we all have developed a water saving mentality - in the heat of summer the only water onsite is what I bring with me - I find that necessity is the mother of invention.


So we adapt our behviours to cultivate deep beds which are full of humous and water retaining materials.

For me watering oudoor plants would be such a pain! i would never have any time for cultivation

I find that mulching after a good period of rainfall works well - thus conserving energy (yours) and rainwater too which can be used for plants in pots and in containers and inside -