Allotments 4 All

Hi all,

Thames Water is banning the use of hosepipes from April 3rd.

I'm new to this allotment business and I'm worried that come July all my lovingly tended crops will wither and die. Is it possible to keep a plot fully watered using a watering can and butts?

Although I will be as careful and frugal as possible, it seems likely I'll use just as much water but a lot more time which is also in short supply!

Any suggestions?

Stork.

Lots of water butts, hopefully there will be some water, and how about mulching to keep what moisture you have got in.  We are lucky, as in the North East we have lots of spare water capacity in our reservoirs, but I sympathise with those in the Thame Valley as it could be difficult and with global warming it looks to be a continuing problem as well. busy_lizzie

All well and good to impose a hosepipe ban....how are they going to enforce it....roving patrols....our neighbour will use her hospeipe come what may...she won't be bothered...unless of course someone tells.........!!!!!!!

Anyway, TW ought to be looking closer to home first for there water shortages...they waste a third of the water through leakage...some of it blatantly obvious when its running down the road from the water board stop tap!

Hope it rains soon....water butts need filling!!!

Gerry

I expect the main water supply on our plots will be switched off as is now over the winter, it'l be a right pain won't it. I havent got a tap on my water butt so would have to fill the watering can 6 million times!!  :-X

Severn-Trent are supposed to use helicopters to spy on what people are doing; other water boards probably do the same thing. If it's a really dry summer the stream at the back will dry up - it did last year - but I don't water much anyway.

Even though my allotment is in the Thames Water area we'll be OK. We have hand pumps that lift directly from the flood plain. So unless the council disable the pumps (and why should they) ...

April? Blimey.. I knew there'd be a ban, but expected it nearer July..
Time to get bigger water butts, then..!

Melanie

Yes, gtm - how? Spooky!

It's going to hurt me a lot. I really cannot cope with carrying cans with copious cuantaties of water to care completely for all my cucumbers etc. Up to 90!

And it means that I cannot use my auto-dilution of fertiliser system - I'll have to dose every can.

Oh, God!!

I have to walk 200yds to the tap already - so wont make much difference for me.

But it still really annoys me that Thames water slap this ban in place - yet i here they still loose more water through leaks than any other supplier. They're a complete shower of sh*te. They've been replacing the water main through our village, they started in December and should have finished this month. Talking to the work men in the pub, they reckon they wont be finished till Jully!

By the way, i wonder if its against the law to put your own bore hole / pump in?

No (I think) - but if you do, they'll charge you for the water!!

My storage capacity is around 450 gallons-and it flows over-could I sell it back?

We don't have a water ban here although we have been managing to collect over 1000 gallons per week from the roof of our workshop.

although we have run of out storage now after filling 6 1000 gallon containers.

we use our water for a road sweeper.

I don't actually object to the hosepipe ban if it's for the good of the environment. I think it's probably more aimed at people who are constantly 'sprinkling' to keep their garden lawns green for cosmetic purposes.

I'm ashamed to say, I inherited about 20 water butts on my allotments and only 6 of them are 'actively' gathering water by sitting under guttering etc. This is one of my main jobs this month to get them all 'active' instead of me being lazy and using the hosepipe to fill them  :-[

I think that there should maybe be a hosepipe 'curfew' for allotment holders instead of a complete ban and stricter measures in force for general household use.

You may like to check out this link as one novel solution to water shortages.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4802928.stm

;D ;D ;D

Well that's one solution to the expense of setting up slug beer traps  ;D

My OH would like to live in that Flat! ;D

When we lived overseas all the water collected on our roofs went into a huge tank under the house, everyone has their own supply then, a pump is used to bring it up, always thought it was a brilliant idea, and it makes you VERY frugal with water, no leaving shower on whilst soaping up, no leaving tap on whilst brushing teeth, etc etc. We are so ingrained in this house we still do it all, including not flushing the loo everytime!

And when your tank ran dry, you had to buy a load of water, makes you really conscious of what you waste! Shame it can't be done over here, though why not I don't know!

Mulch , Mulch


maybe a good time to start looking at best ways of keeping the water i use to the best possiblities !!!

Maybe the idea of stones?? om certain items around the base ! and Mulch (see idid watch gardeners world speacial !!!)

best types of Mulch ????

carl

ps where not on a ban yet as far as i know !!!

And an idea for the water companies :- is it time they looked at desalenation units ????? big time

Quote from: Stork on March 13, 2006, 23:10:34
Although I will be as careful and frugal as possible, it seems likely I'll use just as much water but a lot more time which is also in short supply!
Stork.

It's most unlikely you will use any where near as much water just using watering cans.

On my previous lottie we just had a water tank and a couple of butts between two of us.  The only time I really watered was when I planted things out.  I didn't even regularly water my runner beans, cucumbers or courgettes.  The couple I shared the water with watered regularly and yet their runner beans weren't any better than mine.  When you water less it makes the plant send roots down to look for water.  :)

MM

How many butt's can you keep full off the average shed roof? I hav'nt got a shed - but i've got about a shed's roof worth of corrigated iron - is it worth bothering to rig somthing up?

Depends how much rain we have but every little bit helps  :)

MM