Gardening in a drought

subjecttocontract

There can't be a drought otherwise a hose pipe ban would already be in place......that's if you can trust the Water Company's to do anything correctly !

If there was a shortage of water or likely to be a shortage then action would already be in place.

In my part of Essex the newspapers are reporting no likelihood of a hose pipe ban.

Carry on as normal.

CapricornLass

I planted out beans on Wednesday afternoon, and was surprised to find that under the top inch of soil, which was dust dry, there was quite a lot of moisture in the soil so you might find that the plants planted in the garden may be coping better than you thought (I'm in East Wiltshire) .

Try to grow plants in big pots, rather than in a lot of little ones, which will dry out faster.  Consider using water retaining gel crystals when potting up.  Check  pots actually need watering first - you will have to plunge your forefinger up to the knuckle to really feel if it is wet or dry. Have saucers and trays underneath the pots to collect the water when you do water them, rather than letting the water dribble away.  You can put a saucer at the bottom of a hanging basket when planting it up, to act as a reservoir.  Mulches on top of pots will help, as will using a thick layer of gravel or slate.  If your pot really dries out, plunge it into a bucket of water, and leave it to stop bubbling, and absorb water.  If its really hot, we move pots into the shade.  When keeping compost moist is almost impossible, considering putting ice cubes on top.  They will slowly melt, and the water has more chance of being absorbed by the compost,, rather than rushing straight through.  You mustn't let the cubes touch the leaves or the stems though.

However, I think there's no guarantee that there wont be droughts or long periods without rain in the future - our climate is changing and we will have to adapt.  We invested in a 1000l tank earlier this year.  Its only just been connected as we had to build a concrete base for it but I was surprised by the amount of water we collected off our roof from the rain we had on Wed night- 6 inches worth was collected.  We already have 5 other standard water butts, but as we grow fruit and veg, we will use a lot of this water on that.  More long term, and if your budget allows, water irrigation systems and seep hoses are worth investing in, as they tend to put the water where its needed, can be left to operate by themselves, and some of the controllers are programmable to run when required for a desired period of time..  There are also rain chains - rainwater drips down the chain to be collected elsewhere.  And if you are planning to remodel your garden, you might also want to consider designing at least some of it as a rain garden, where the water is collected for use later on.  

Sarahspangles

I don’t know what the rest of the country is like but in Yorkshire we’re on a Medium risk of drought. It rained last night but the cumulative deficit is significant. We had twice the average rain in January, half in February and March and 15% of average so far in April and May.

We don’t have lots of pots, the ones in sun are drought tolerant plants, and the rest are in shade. The grass takes its chances. If we end up having a dry summer, as in previous years I will put a bucket in the shower and use Ecover washing up liquid to water pots.

silverwhistle

It's been a wet, windy miserable day on the south coast but at least my water butt is full. I also drew off a fair bit into a builders tub before the rain arrived. That's just from half an outhouse roof and shows what is possible with not too much effort.

TheBanker

We had some lovely rain over the bank holiday weekend which the garden appreciated. And it was perfectly timed to avoid the times when I had family visiting, Forecast shows next week being wet so I can ease up on the buckets and bowls for a bit, I guess. 

twopenny

Ok, back to bone dry here with heatwave so here's what I do for pots that makes it quick and easy.
Water is saved in buckets and a day for chlorine to evaporate . Surprising how much the little bathroom and kitchen bits add up.

Scoop water out of bucket and drop over each pot. Bubbles will happen at top of compost.do this 3 times or until bubbles stop.
They drain into bowl.
You then tip that into the bucket to use on the next lot. No tooing and froing , pots are wet through and speed.



Big pots leave at least 2" 
Tip half a bucket of water to fill space. Repeat untill bubbles stop.
Also something that you can sink in the compost when potting to take the water half way down the pot.
I've used plastic piping with holes drilled in and upside down water bottles with bottom cut off.

Working_Mum

I am about to dig out and plant up a new border in my garden and it is on the sunniest side of my garden. I have been thinking about watering and remembered that I read a little book a few months ago and it mentioned "wicking" as a way of keeping potted plants watered. Thought I'd share:-

Wicking Water Plants: The Ultimate Guide To Watering Your Plants | ShunCy

I'll definitely wick any pots to go in my sunniest border - I think it'll be a sensible way of keeping them watered without spending time and money doing so.

RipleyG

About 10 years ago we decided to start shifting to a garden that was more resilient to longer term predicted environmental changes, and didn't require our time/money to water. So, nothing in pots (ever!), shifting to plants that tolerate drier conditions, and taking a minimal watering approach.

We don't generally water the 'pretty' section of our garden at all. Exceptions are settling in new young plants for the first month or so (we never plant anything in late spring or summer), and if it hasn't rained for a month we give large shrubs and fruit trees a large bucket of water. We do this as late as possible in the evening to minimise evaporation. We've installed watering pipes by the fruit trees to get water down underground, encouraging better root systems and making them more resilient.

Polytunnel veg gets watered every second day - from our collection of water butts if possible (3, attached to shed). Outside veg every 4th day. Fruit bushes (rasps, currant, goosegogs) are never watered. They're 10+ years old and going strong. 😁

The lawn is never watered. It goes crispy midsummer and bounces back as soon as it rains. Letting wildflowers spread through it keeps it looking greener, and the range of insects and feeding birds we now get is lovely. 

And, finally, we've let anything that doesn't like this regime gradually die out, and we're only planting things that do well.

We have a garden we like, copious amounts of fruit and veg to eat, and feel fairly good about our eco-impact.

For context, it's quarter of an acre, in one of the hottest, driest areas of the UK. I'll see if I can post some pics... 

Yorkshire_Dangermouse

Hopefully enough for the moment....

subjecttocontract

Have started to switch on the sprinklers on the lawns in the early morning during the heatwave. Don't want brown/yellow patches. Had the patio jet washed so most of the pots got soaked. Gardeners are here today cutting grass, strimming edges, tidying up the planting areas and I'm rushed off my feet sunbathing......wouldn't want to get in their way!