A water butt in the greenhouse?? - Comments please

When I was a kid in Scotland living with my grandparents i spent a lot of time in the greenhouse with our gardener, and I remember he had a deep water butt inside the greenhouse in order to have the water readily available and at the greenhouse temperature.
I have this possibility ( a old oil drum inside my plastic/tubular "greenhouse" but wonder whether in the ensuing years folks have found this a disadvantage or that problems can occur ??
Cheers

 

Well I can see an advantage, yes the water will warm up, but in winter if its fed from outside it will be cold during wet weather.
Will it take up a lot of room, it depends on how short of space you are.

 

My father had the same thing a large ground level water tank in quite a big greenhouse.

I agree with Pete, unless you have a huge greenhouse I would be more concerned about the loss of space.

 

The problem I can see Varallo is that standing water in the greenhouse is just a breeding ground for mosquitoes. OUCH!

 

As has already been mentioned the space it takes up may be an issue, but you'll also have to work out a plumbing system to bring the rain water into the plastic.
I've a big water butt outside my greenhouse and use it to fill watering cans that I put inside the greenhouse and my tunnel to warm up each day in summer so I can water with warm water.
In your situation in Italy where you should get a lot of summer sun I'd think about keeping the drum outside (paint it black if you want the water to get hotter) and either fill cans or attach a hose to it.

Will you get sufficient rain to keep the drum topped up or do you have another source of water?

BTW - If you get some lumps of charcoal and put them into a bag (leg of old pair of tights will do) and put it into the drum it will help prevent the water going stagnant.

 

My understanding was that you use tap water in the greenhouse and not rainwater. Tap water is clean, whereas rainwater has picked up spores and bacteria from roofs - amongst them being blight.

Just passing advice on from a very experienced tomato grower (and definitely not me).

 

Hey "Guys",
Thanks for the comments -
1. The greenhouse in my allotment is 5.50mts by 3,75mts I think I have room for a small "butt" in a corner probably the equiv of 15 watering cans - but that is because it is all new. Once things get going you could well be right and the butt will get kicked out ! (Kicking butt as they say in USA !!!)
2. The water is a private source and comes directly from a higher spot (good pressure) in the nearside river and seems very clean and I just fill up the butt whenever needed.
3. Charcoal suggestion - GREAT - willdo
4. If I see even one mosquito then the water will move outside !
5. So far I have planted 7 toms and 8 peppers with basil keeping them company - Plus lettuce (7)
6. It sure has highs and lows temperaturewise - when it is sunny it has gone from 3°C up to 44°C and that is during March. I have since constructed a system whereby I can roll-up the sides to give ventillation. But have had to add strong plastic netting as the local cats came to investigate during the night
7. It looks as though the weather in UK is similar inasmuch as my daffs (some) are only just beginning to bloom now ! the last weeks it has been 3°C in the early am moving to 20°C at 2pm then back down to 3°C - probably caused by the huge amount of snow in the alps just "up the road" !
Cheers

 

is there an advantage to watering with warm water ????

 

Bi9Johnny - to amswer your question - I have always been told that cold water (colder than the temperature in the ambience of the plants) will pose a shock to the plants and therefore slow down their growing process. Q.E.D. water that resembles the ambient temperature supposedly is better and will encourage the plant to continue its growth pattern !!
Cheers

 

I was always under the impression that water was best supplied to plants at ambient air temperature. I may have been wrong. I've just spent a while 'Googling' and what I've found so far from research projects posted on the www is that water temperature makes no significant difference to plant growth. The only exception seems to be that water that is too warm (verging on hot) does not contain the same amount of oxygen and cooler water and may inhibit growth.

Personally as a 'human bean', I'd rather sit down in a warmish bath than a cold one :D:D

 

Hi,
Dave W - Now there is a thought .... Now you quote a research concerniong cold versus luke water on plants ... Frankly I begin to wonder about all these researches that one reads about, inasmuch as one does find an awful lot of contradictions from one research to another. And i am not talking just about water vis a vis gardening etc etc

We brought up our daughter from day one - reading Dr Spock - day be day - month by month and so on.
She is now a fit 42 year old and a great lass.

HOWEVER not so long agao we read in the new York Times (I think) that a research said that virtually everything that Dr Spock had recommended and written was a load of rubbish and was all wrong !!!!

My oh! My ........ what a shock ..... but surely many thousands if not millions of parents followed dear old Spock and apart from that "research" I have never heard negative results relative to Spock's advice. So what does one think ?

Nevertheless it rubs me up the wrong way having just put in a big water butt into the greenhouse !!!
Hey Ho!

Cheers