THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

fuddle

Talk is rife amongst allotmenteering social media of hose pipe bans.

Locally, at the moment, we have ample water but demand is high. What annoys me is I'm one woman, not particularly fit, wandering back and forth to fill up a 6 litre can to water my plants. I'm the only one who waters outside with a watering can. My allotment pals use a hose, a one even a fancy sprinkling system. I have to wait, sometimes completely missing a slot before some boogar else turns up with their hose, until my fellow allotmenteers have finished drenching every bit of soil. They're using so much more water than necessary.

It's hard work with my little can but what work I expel doing that means that I don't have to weed all the lush weed seedlings either.

My plants are like my kids - tough things that have to work at life. My lack of pandering means my roots head down to find the water that this winter provided. They say I'm a novice...

Sorry, I've probably offended all growers by my ranting about hose pipes.

Gardener or not, we have had a very wet winter and the thought of using up all that water so quickly should have 'us' hanging our heads in shame.

GreyQueen

couldn't agree morey more. I now have 450 square. The of plots but am using 6-8 cans every other day. I just water the runners and the young parsnips and beets. The rest of the plants are just fine. I mind what Bob F said in a talk about treating plants tough so they, re not all sappy and tasty to pests. Pooter has just arrived
Won, t set up tonight as need to go picking fruit on the plot.

Karmacat

GQ! I'm so glad you have the new pooter!



Fuddle, I'm totally with you on tough love for plants, never fear - though for me, its about establishing perennials that don't need watering (except maybe in a drought that goes on far longer than this). I think its really important not to be a slave to the watering, on all sorts of levels.

maryb

We can't use hoses on our allotments. We have cisterns which fill like a loo cistern with a stop c o c k and you dip a watering can in. Works well and at the AGM the treasurer was very proud about how small the water bill was for last year

Don't think it will be quite as low this year:eek:

Nargleblast

fuddle you have a shed on your allotment. Why not get a rainwater barrel and fix up channels so rainwater comes off the shed roof into the barrel? A few days rain will soon fill the barrel, then you will have your own water supply without using mains water.

GreyQueen

If you can get a couple of planks, and some guttering and the sections which take the water down, and you have a really simple system. Gawd but predictive text is annoying!

[Deleted User]

ok, all egg-sucking grannies will know this but I have written this elsewhere and copied it for people who are not coping in the heat

Hot air rises so landings and bedrooms will feel worst at the moment, slide the loft hatch to release the hot air

please everyone, make sure to drink enough water all day and evening, moisture is always coming out the skin and when breathing and I don`t mean perspiration. You will probably notice that you are pee`ing less and that is enough evidence. We can all start to feel ill when we haven`t got enough water inside us, just normal body processes take up a lot of water daily but this heat is multiplying the need. Feeling thirsty is too late as sign, don`t wait to feel thirsty. I am including me in this as I often forget to drink.

It looks as though we have another 2 weeks of this ahead of us and Aand E will be getting increasingly busy. It isn`t pleasant weather and air humidity goes far too low by mid-day. If you have a fan then put it on behind a wet t towel draped on a clothes rack or similar, it will make the air much more comfortable and cooler

It is 19 outside already but still ok to have windows open but later outside will be much hotter and open windows bring hotter air inside, so keep this out. Draw the curtains before then if possible, the warmth will transmit through double glazing. Take care, this is dangerous weather

[Deleted User]

We don`t allow hoses on the allotment, I did go back and forth with 2 watering cans on a wheelbarrow but am now only using two cans every couple of days and will soon go down to one can. My big tall water butts in the back garden still, I think, contain enough water for watering the pots in the back. I have 2 large troughs of semperviviums and am thankful I put those in, they are coping fine


the front water butt is empty, I will have to replenish that somewhat. I am sure there will be a hosepipe ban soon and they come out of the blue

fuddle

I'm so relieved that my OS pals weren't offended by my rant on hosepipes but really I shouldn't be surprised that we're on a similar page with our thinking.

Utilising roof water is on the way. I've two lidded barrels that DH has piped together, and I've (DH and his work mates) have accrued two bits of guttering so we just need a third, some down pipe, brackets and joining bits. I want to tarpaulin over the shed to make it last that bit longer so the guttering will be competed by the autumn. The shed roof is rubber (acquired freebie) so the run off should be fast and near 100% of what falls. Next year I shall be much better prepared.

[Deleted User]

All we need now then is some rain! sadly the weather forecast this morning isn't going to give us any. SWIZZ! I think that a lot of the current water shortages aren't because people are being irresponsible but because the water companies have an aged and imperfect water pipe system and I'm pretty sure they are losing more from bursts and leaks than they disclose. Instead of paying their shareholders dividends they ought to put profits into renewal and repair of their infrastructure!