Creating a temporary shade

[Mrs Ava]

So, as you all know by  now, I have no piped water on the plot and have to bring water from home, or save what mother nature provides to water my seedlings, seed drills and plantlets.  The problem is, I can't be on the plot very very early in the morning to water, or late evening when the ground is cool as I have family and work commitments.  What this means is, if I water when I arrive during the summer, the water just frazzles the poor seedlings off.  What I was thinking was creating a moveable shade.  I have some of that thick orange scaffold netting and I was imagining making a low level frame and attaching the netting to is.  Then once I have seedlings, I could use the shader to keep them a little cooler on the ground until they are large enough to fend for themselves.  Any thoughts?

[Mrs Ava]

[supersprout]

I can imagine how lovely that might look EJ, especially with a framework made of willow?
http://www.allotmentforestry.com/direct.htm

<whispers> If you mulch with (pale) straw, the ground stays cool, and the water won't bounce off the soil like it does if the soil is hot / Water will trickle through the straw long after you and your watering can have left for the day. For tiny seedlings, you might have to adjust row width or orientation to accommodate mulch.  Apologies if you do this already EJ!

[Curryandchips]

My heart reaches out to you, for I have the same problem, ie no water. However, I have 4 water butts which I keep water for the greenhouse (everything else has to endure the water table). I use a roof to capture the water to keep these butts full, but have seen comments about alternative methods, which concur with my survival skills to collect water, ie rig a tarpaulin up to channel water over a surface area into a butt. My butts are connected by syphons but it is easy to transfer water between butts by buckets.

You are an extremely resourceful person, so expect this to be of some assistance.

Good luck

Derek :)

[Mrs Ava]

Well SS, I have saved several sacks of chippings from one of my jobs which I intend to use as a mulch around beans and peas once they are planted to help retain moisture.  I didn't really think about using a mulch around seedlings.  As I said, the problem is as they come through, they quickly get burnt off.  Total turnip failure in late summer.   :(  I was thinking that a moveable shade would allow me to lift it, water the seedlings, then replace it so that the water wouldn't burn the little stems and kill the babies.

As for collecting water, it is a pain isn't it Derek.  Drives me mad!  I have 2 rooves which are sloped to collect the maximum amount of water and deliver it neatly into a series of waterbuts, but these don't last long.  I have also been taking water up weekly by saving the 6 pint poly bottles that milk comes in, rinsing them and filling them with water when I have been running the tap waiting for the hot to run, so I have at least 100 of them stacked neatly along my compost heap - insulation don't you know  ;).  It is the frazzling that I have a problem with.

[supersprout]

the problem is as they come through, they quickly get burnt off.  Total turnip failure in late summer.   :(  I was thinking that a moveable shade would allow me to lift it, water the seedlings, then replace it so that the water wouldn't burn the little stems and kill the babies.

I've been reading a lot of fusty gardening books from the '50s and '60s over winter, and something rang a bell when you mentioned a moveable shade. I can't remember what was used in the example I read, but if it pops up in dream time, I'll post the reference! Were you tempted by a willow cloche? I have meshed small seedlings to protect them from the sun, using the standard cloche hoops that fit the width of a bed (1m). - spinach, Autumn sown onion seed and leeklings last year. Two Wests offfer a portable cloche that seems designed to do the same thing: http://www.twowests.co.uk/TwoWestsSite/product/MUCL.htm - at a price, of course ;)

[Tee Gee]

You don't mention what you plant EJ but why not take a leaf out of mediterranean neighbours do, they plant their plants in bowl shaped depressions.

My mate does this with all his brassicas he digs out a hole about 6"-9" deep at each plant station then he plants his plant in the bottom. Normally the plants at this stage do not come above the rim of the depression.

Once done he covers the whole bed with a sheet of agro-fleece.

In this way they are protected from the wind, and it is this rather than the sun that dries out plants, and should they get a bit of late frost they are protected from this as well.

He doesn't remove the fleece until it becomes decidedly 'lumpy' caused by the plants lifting it as they grow in size.

Hope this tip is of assistance to you and others affected in this way.

[supersprout]

oh, that sounds like a great idea TeeGee, I imagine the stems will get earthed up too when the depression is filled in, so the cabbages won't topple over when they're big ::)

[cornykev]

Sounds like a great idea TG and EJ I can't imagine our site without water, just goes to show I'm overwatering must let the plants roots find their own source.The spuds and toms I must have saturated so less water this year. :-\ ;D ;D ;D

[Mrs Ava]

Well Tee Gee, I lost all of my summer sown oriental greens, turnips, kohl rabi, spring onions and lettuce.  As they germinated, they frazzled off in the baking sun.  With plantlets, the planting them in the depression is a great idea and I think I will try that on the brassica bed.  The reason I talked about the orange netting is I have loads, and it was free whereas the fleece that I have purchased I was saving for my carrot bed.  Looks like I might have to tear open the purse strings to see if I can stretch the allotment budget to some more fleece.