Help - no water!

[Stedic]

I've just found out that all the water on our plot is off due to some damage to the pipes - they don't know how long it'll take to fix it.  We got the plot in Feb and haven't had chance to get waterbutts in yet (mainly because the shed doesn't have a roof).

We've got assortments of young crops in like new rhubarb, March planted raspberries, spuds, spring onion and leek seedlings as well as a load of onion sets and some asparagus just coming through.

I can't water them and the ground is dry and drying fast - what can I do to reduce the demands of the crops - could I mulch with straw round rhubarb and raspberries or something? Might help maintain some moisture in the soil?

[Stedic]

[chriscross1966]

YEs it would help, but you need to get some water there top preserve first somehow.... look and see if your local tool-hire shop can rent you a water bowser for a staurday morning or something (can you tow it?).... that or find some way to transport water to the plot..... Fresh horse manure off the field (not stables) is good for this too, far less issues than with straw..

[Bugloss2009]

we lost our water supply for the whole of the heatwave summer. Want to say it was a nightmare, but it wasn't quite, just difficult.....there was a programme about allotments where they talked to some refugee from a hot country, like Afghanistan, and he said - why are you British always watering? It never stops raining  :)

[BoardStupid]

Grass cuttings as mulch works well. Ask your neighbours to collect theirs for you in black bin bags :-)

Save all your washing up water, bath water (as long as you don't add too much bubble bath or soap), purchase a rainwater diverter for your downpipes and collect everything possible to store your water in.

[chriscross1966]

Make sure there's been no lawn "weed and feed" products appleid to the grass recently though......

[antipodes]

I personally would mulch with all I could get (which I do as a matter of course) - straw, manure, even shredded paper.  Better if you can do some watering first, with priority to the youngest plants and possibly the rhubarb. The raspberries have bigger roots so will try to get their own water.
You can pretty much mulch anything although I find that spuds do OK without any extra watering so mulch the others in priority.  Personally I try to leave as little bare ground as possible and I get my straw from the local stables so it's also rich in horse doings (and it's free)!!  I have never had any problems with straw, I don't see why one of the other posters tried to put you off it? Anything that protects the ground from further evaporation is a help.

[BarriedaleNick]

You could try one of these..

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9257885.htm

[chriscross1966]

You could try one of these..

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9257885.htm

40 liters is only five watering cans full....If it were me I'd be looking at lining my trailer with pondliner adn using it as a bowser....

chrisc

[BoardStupid]

IBCs are the way forward. 1000ltrs of water, just need to get them filled ;-)

[Mr Smith]

I would go down the trailer route and strap a  water butt on the back, bit of a pain to do but better than losing your plants, :)

[artichoke]

I have a huge collection of large milk containers, and just patiently keep taking them up to allotment in car, emptying them, and starting again. I only water desperate seedlings and the strawberries at the moment, which need it or they wither and flowers drop off.

Got four teenagers doing it for me today! Sadly three of them go back to Germany tomorrow.

[lincsyokel2]

Holy Moly, it has just torrented down here in Lincolnshire, it started with 1/2" hailstones, then absolutely bucketed it, its been going ten minutes and still lashing down.

I fear for some of my seedlings, they were bloody big hailstones  :'(

[cornykev]

Cats and dogs for an hour an a half here.   ;D

[BoardStupid]

I tried to buy some rain at our local nursery last week. Got some strange looks from the manager ;-) lol