Allotments 4 All

Hi Y'all, this probably hasn't come up for the past two years, (too much water!) and I have had my lottie only for that time.  Down here in my part of Cornwall, which is generally quite damp, there has been no rain for 10 days.  Temperatures are rising.

I have planted and coming on very well:

Peas
PSB and WSB
Caulis
Toms - OK they need loads of water
Potatoes earlies mains and lates
A 3 sisters planting of s/corn. beans and curcubits on a well manured mound
Chillis
Carrots
Beetroot
Parsnip
A late sowing of broad beans (looking a bit manky)

There are other things such as herbs and salads but I think I know how to cope with them
From my main list what would you say are the biggest priorities for watering.  Apart from the toms/salads which I can only water well once a day, I have to water other things on an alternate basis, as weekday time is limited.   I did read in one post that one lottie owner NEVER waters ANYTHING!! But I just can'trisk that strategy, specially with temps going even higher.

So any advice would be very welcome.  Actually it is sweltering here, and tho there has been a lot of rain elsewhere in God's own county, none in my area. Never thought I'd pray for rain..have to be careful wha I wish for.

Any advice would be really welcome.

Caro

Welcome Carosanto,
Well i read, & have seen on Gardeners World, a chap who said he plants his veg waters them in then leaves them to fend for themselves, he mulches them well with rotted manure & his runner beans looked great!!!!.
Personally i am not brave enough to try it with beans, but it certainly worked for our potatoes, we have got loads of first earlies so far & still lots to dig up.
So good luck whatever you choose to do. ;D

There are so many variables to consider that I don't think you can have a rigid atering regime. Depends on:

How wet the ground is already and how much rain you get
How hot it is
How windy it is
How fast the plants are growing
The drainage of the soil

No plant will thrive if its dries out completely and the other extreme of standing in water for days on end will also kill off most plants.

Generally I water when first planting out. After that I look at the soil (on a daily basis) imedaitely around the plant. If the soil is dry then its time to water. Do this each day for a week (or more if its really hot) and then less often (but keep checking even as the crop matures) as the plants get their roots deeper into the soil.

I mulch many of my crops with straw, but if the ground is dry to start with, it's a bit pointless. Some things I tried watering the ground then mulching, but  it wasn't enough and I'm watering again. The ground really needs to be damp quite a way down before the mulching is enough to exclude the need to water at all, I find.