water in this hot weather!!

Hi there,

What is "THE" best solution to keeping at much moisture in the upper level of the soil in this hot weather.

Is it worth having netting hanging above the beds to shade them, and would useing membrane and mulch be a good idea.

Would it be worth using old bed sheets as membrane, as they are white and would reflect to sun.

Have you got any other ideas or helpful tips.

Many thanks

Steve

 

Hi Steve.

The trick that the guys seem to use down on our plots is to sneak down late evenings or early morning when few of us are about and give their plots a good old water with the hose which is suppose to be not allowed!

One of the old hands also mulches with free well rotted horse poop on the crops that allow him to do so he had an amazing plot last year so he's doing something right although it's naughty in the eyes of the committee but then again he's on the committee so he can do no wrong.Hel.xxx.

 

How are you supposed to keep everything watered then to grow ? Seems a bit strange your not allowed to use a hose

 

I once saw half a documentary about a project in Africa, where they had their garden in layers to maximise use of the space, and minimise the loss of moisture during those hot dry African days. I wished I'd seen the whole program but I just caught it while telly flicking. Basically they grew some sort of beans that sprawl along the ground, in amongst their taller crops. The beans gave ground cover to prevent the sun from reaching the soil, and to catch moisture as it evaporated out, which was absorbed by the leaves of the bean plants.

 

Water your allotments early morning if you do it at night it gives the slugs easy passage.

 

John the reason some consider the poop trick to be naughty is even though the poop is free for all to use whenever they choose the guy in question takes the vast majority of it...honestly the guys down on our site do act like school children sometimes 'he's got more than me Miss' I just find it incredibly funny!

Sam although we pay £5 per plot (which isn't a great deal) for water we are only allowed to use our hose to fill our water butts and not our plots, silly I know as you empty the water butts super quick in weather like we have been having.

Truth be told it's a case of 'do as I say and not as I do' as the guys on the committee do blantely use their hose to water their plots when they believe no one is around and the newbies use their hose whenever they want on their plots too.

Bob and I are goodies we use our hose solely to fill our water butts and only water our crops via the watering cans as you can imagine it does take some time but then again nothing about gardening is quick!

Clueless I think you mean the 'Three Sisters' planting thing where you can grow such as sweetcorn with beans growing up them with squashes underneath although I think it might be hard to collect your beans and sweetcorn without treading on the squashes!
Hel.xxx.

 

Simple solution then. Connect a hose to your water butt, or even syphon it out. Quicker than using a watering can and still technically you are watering from the butt and not the hose on the tap. Connect another hose to the tap to keep the water level up as it syphons off. Seems that that way you would be complying with the rule that you can only use the hose to fill the water butt, while at the same to complying with the rule of using the stored water in the butt for watering.

Could be, but I think it was a bit more elaborate than that. It wasn't a well established system. It was a combination of scientific research and local know-how.

 

I too would siphon off the wtaer butt-in fact I do for my garden, I am currently trying to improve my knowledge of waterwroks and stuff to set up some sort of irrigation system from all the rainwater and greywater.


I also remember something about that programme, it was more just companion planting I remember.

 

Good idea not so Clueless after all :hehe:

I really don't mind getting up and personal to our crops by watering by hand at least that way I can see any sneaky weeds that have decided to come out to play and it really doesn't take too long with both Bob and I watering together.

Although I truly think we need even more water butts so that's another trip to the pickle factory in Sheffield the tubs are nice and big there although we can only squeeze 3 in the car, last time we picked them up the factory guys were having a huge job packing them in the car another guy came along and asked 'Can I help? Bob quick as lightening answered him 'Only if you're a magican! :lollol:Hel.xxx.

 

Fantastic idea !!!!

You might enjoy watering by hand at the moment Hel but during the really warm summer days (hopefully we will get some!) this would be a god send. You could give everything a really good soaking ..... will still technically complying with 'the rules' :wink:

 

I reckon to give 1 Litre per plant once a week (perhaps twice a week in heat of summer) - I'm guessing though [perhaps I'll measure next time]. I reckon I've got about 300 plants in the veg patch (excluding Spuds [watered with sprinkler], F.Beans and Runners [only just gone out].

Sounds doable from a decent sized water butt, or two

I ought to get off my behind and find some IBC's locally, so I can store more rainwater when we get it ...

 

No need to worry about water day

 

Its too late to think about mulching now as you will stop any rain we get from reaching the soil, unless its a good drenching.