I'm looking for ingenious ways of collecting rain water.
I don't have a shed or greenhouse on the plot, so no drainpipes or gutters to tap into.
Any ideas ??
One of my plot neighbours set up a sloping sheet of corrugated plastic to collect rainwater into a barrel. The plastic is nailed to 4 posts, 2 taller ones at the back and 2 shorter at the front to create the slope.
Would sinking a water butt into your lotty at a low point be a solution and channels towards it, better still like Ceres says put plastic sheeting round, ???
None of that stuff will work without taking up too much ground space, and if you stretch a membrane out between posts, it will blow away, and also prevent rail falling on the ground.
The best you can do is dig a well. :)
Quote from: Bjerreby on July 14, 2009, 21:12:23
None of that stuff will work without taking up too much ground space, and if you stretch a membrane out between posts, it will blow away, and also prevent rail falling on the ground.
Perhaps I didn't explain it very well, but it does actually work. It doesn't take up any ground space as it's raised on posts. It's clear corrugated rigid plastic nailed to the posts so it has planting below it and it doesn't blow away. Some people plant their tomatoes under just such an arrangement to keep the blight off, so double benefit.
Digging a well? That's a helpful suggestion for an allotment site.
Oh yes it doe's the chap on the next lotty to me he loves plastic sheeting over his allotment and I get all the run off, ;)
we got several wells on a couple of our sites! the water table is very high / the site is very near to sea-level.
i used to have one on the colbham site
Quote from: ceres on July 14, 2009, 21:22:56
Quote from: Bjerreby on July 14, 2009, 21:12:23
None of that stuff will work without taking up too much ground space, and if you stretch a membrane out between posts, it will blow away, and also prevent rail falling on the ground.
Perhaps I didn't explain it very well, but it does actually work. It doesn't take up any ground space as it's raised on posts. It's clear corrugated rigid plastic nailed to the posts so it has planting below it and it doesn't blow away. Some people plant their tomatoes under just such an arrangement to keep the blight off, so double benefit.
Digging a well? That's a helpful suggestion for an allotment site.
Thanks Ceres.
I collect water from the roof of my house. I use half of it, about 90 m2, (the gutters are inclined from the middle to the drain pipes at each end), and I have water butts totalling 1.5 m3.
These soon fill up in the autumn (when I don't need to water), but in spring, I soon run dry and have to resort to the tap.
Now, my veg beds are about the size of a normal allotment. Our rainfall here in Denmark is about the same as the east of England. I can see that every drop helps, but quite honestly, you cannot save a significant amount of water from a shed roof or a lean-to.
I was only joking about a well, but frankly speaking, I'd love one in my garden. It only needs to be about 5 metres deep, and I could forget all about water butts. :)
We have found 15 wells on our site so far... they were capped when water was put in, and now 15 years later the plots have changed hands and the caps are rotting.... :o
We have two spring lines on site... but they only run in very wet weather... the deepest well we have found was 15'+ ::)
most of the well on our sites in cobholm are only 6 - 10 ft deep, and lined with a couple of 45 gal drums ( with ends removed) ;)
I am always surprised at just how much water I get in anything 'left out' whenever it rains. Buckets and bowls can be moved around to where ever there is a space.
We do have water on site so collecting water is not as vital as it is for some.
If you drive to the site then I suggest that every time you go, whether you need it or not you take as many bottles of tap water you can with you and store water in a butt.
Quote from: Bjerreby on July 15, 2009, 08:06:06
but quite honestly, you cannot save a significant amount of water from a shed roof or a lean-to.
I have 3 (full) butts on my small 6' x 4' shed, 2 normal size and one very large one. The amount of water I collect IS significant. Why are you trying to discourage someone from harvesting water?
Ceres, The gentleman has explained that he lives in Denmark where the rainfall is the same as the 'East of England'. There are some parts of that area where the quantity of rainfall is so slight it actually qualifies as a desert.
I believe that is his point. If there is no rain, it can not be collected.
Most of us in the UK are used to getting a lot of rain, often more than we need. Not every one gets exactly the same.
I live in the 'east of England' (London to be exact) and we are probably one of the driest areas of the UK. I can still collect 'significant' amounts of water.
surely even half a butt of water a year saved is significant?
Ceres, London comes under the South East.
The East in East Anglia.
Heartysoup, you asked for ingenious ways of collecting rainwater. I hope you're able to find something useful through all the noise here. Please PM me if you want any more info. Good luck - collecting rainwater is something we should all be doing!
Ceres I agree!
Water is a vital resource which we should all be endeavouring to use less of and save more.
By my reckoning even a 1m2 panel on a plot could collect 750 litres of water a year on average in London (figures are for Gatwick) and that doesnt seem insignificant. Of course a lot of rain falls in the winter and unless you have a large tank you wont capture it all..
I have seen a tank covered by a little roof which feeds directly into the tank below. Very little space taken up..
Steady on now !!
We're a passionate bunch us growers !!!
I'm in Manchester, so I'm not generally short of rain, it's just catching it that's the problem.
Ceres, I can see where Bjerreby's coming from re:space, but if it can double as a shelter for plants then it's sorted. I'll stew on it a bit more and then look for some bits and bobs to rig something up, I'll do something as a trial and take it from there. And of course there's always the chance that there may be complaints.
zigzag, that's a good idea and if I could lay my hands on one of those bottles that's from a water cooler type thing, it'd be speedier. The dentist round the corner uses them, I'll have a word.
Given that I'm in Manchester, at the bottom of the site and on the dampest plot, it makes absolute sense to dig down. I'll be needing some more top tips from you lot on getting that right...... NOW PLAY NICELY !!
TERMS OF MESSAGE
The author in no way wishes to offend any other member of Allotments 4 All, guests to the site and anybody else who happens upon this topic in some other way. ;)
Quote from: ceres on July 15, 2009, 10:12:52
Quote from: Bjerreby on July 15, 2009, 08:06:06
but quite honestly, you cannot save a significant amount of water from a shed roof or a lean-to.
I have 3 (full) butts on my small 6' x 4' shed, 2 normal size and one very large one. The amount of water I collect IS significant. Why are you trying to discourage someone from harvesting water?
Discouraging? I simply point out that it is impossible to save significant amounts of rain from a shed roof. You might think a 250 litre water butt significant. I don't.
Tell us this Ceres. How big is your collection area and how big is your allotment? If your allotment dries out, how long will you be able to water it using what you have saved? Can you get by, year after year, without mains water, and still provide all the water your plants ideally need? I doubt it. And my explanation is that you cannot save a significant amount of water from a shed roof.
Catchment area is one thing. Storage capacity is another. As spring is the driest time of year, I'd need to store nearly 5 tonnes of water (5000 litres) if I was to be free of the tap. I am not prepared to have 20 * 250 litre water butts standing around taking up space where I can grow stuff.
If I have overlooked something, then please do me a great favour and let me know what, rather than make out I am negative. :(
And for guidance, I repeat, I store 1500 litres in a total of 6 butts. I go in for catchment, but it has its limitations.
How much water do you need? 5000 litres seems a huge amount. How big is your allotment Bjerreby? Can you use all that seaweed to do a bit of mulching and keep the water in? If I had 6 butts I think that most years I would have more than enough water. It must be a lot drier over there.
Also depends on the type of soil, my garden is very much drier than my allotment. Am I right but I remember something about most of the soils in Denmark being very sandy so presume that means it does not hold water very well. Suggest you line your growing areas with that seaweed of yours to keep the water from draining away too quickly.
Quote from: Digeroo on July 15, 2009, 19:37:47
How much water do you need? 5000 litres seems a huge amount.
Well let's take this one step at a time. Take my spuds. I have about 16 m2 of potatoes planted in April. By the time they are lifted at the end of July, they require about 300 mm of rain to stop them splitting and to grow optimally. That means for the spuds alone, I need 16 * 0.3 = 4.8 m3. (Edit: okay 300 mm is a bit much maybe, but 200 mm IS necessary, requiring 3.2 m3)
But then, I have a total of 96 m2 veggie beds, and it all needs water. Not as much as the spuds, but it needs water all the same. Then let me say, I estimate we have had about 0.1 m rain in total between 1st April and now.
I have a SIGNIFICANT shortfall of precipitation, and all I can do is 2 things:
1 Let it dry out
2 Open the tap.
Regarding soil type, I have extremely heavy clay, which I have improved by digging in tonnes of seaweed. The clay retains moisture very well, and the seaweed helps too. Furthermore, I pile on about 0.1 m seaweed as a mulch to prevent drying out. And guess what? I still have cracked spuds.
I am sure you can see why I think a 250 litre butt connected to a shed roof is insignificant, when 5000 litres isn't even enough for ideal watering here.
Here is HALF of my water collection / storage system....
(http://i32.tinypic.com/2u79fkl.jpg)
and here is how I mulch to minimize evaporation...
(http://i29.tinypic.com/34dmpi1.jpg)