I was wondering how how people water their allotments, i have raised beds and they drain quicker and will retain less moisture than a conventional lottie, so in what way do you guys water your lottie that will make the best use of the water you use, bearing in mind i mulch to conserve whats in the beds. :) :) :)
PS. I have loads of new garden hose i bought at a closing down sale! Any uses?
Some people put a mulch over the top such as straw or grass cuttings. This retains moisture and prevents the ground drying so quick. I personally think the downside to this would be that it would have to pour down for the rain to penetrate through the mulch before getting to the roots. But I can't be sure as I do not use this method. Another method is to put shredded newspaper in the bottom of the planting hole as this does retain the moisture so it does not evaporate as quick.
If you over water then plants may not grow as much because the roots stop searching for water, if it is frequent.
Hi KT cheers for the advice, i've got plenty of paper i could use and theres always grass clippings from the lawn. :)
You never mulch dry soil, if the mulch dries out the rain just trickles through it so it works well. The mulch prevents evaporation of moisture from the soil underneath.
If you are growing beans you can put lemonade bottles with the bottom cut off and placed top down buried 3/4 of the way down the bottle. As you pour water it goes straight to the roots where its needed.
The hose pipe can be punctured along its length to act as a seep hose.
Hello Star, i guess your idea would kill two birds with one stone. Ta very much. :)
A bit like Star, but I use plastic bottle collars- this deters the slugs and also helps to direct the water to the base of the plant (though not as effectively as the bottle tops)