Grow Your Own Wants To Know...

[Emma Ward]

Morning all,

Although the weather sometimes suggests otherwise, spring is upon us! The growing season is really getting under way which leads me to a question I've been meaning to ask...

Over the next couple of months the sun will be out and things will start to warm up. There are so many different ways to water plants - so I wanted to see what your best techniques are. Do you simply water with a can? Are gravity-fed drip-feed systems effective? Have you used shallow basins? Do you visit the allotment more just to hydrate your veggies? Do you use water butts? If yes, how many?

Lots of questions on this subject - because I know it's a broad one I'm sure you have lots of tips and techniques when it comes to watering - and I can't wait to hear them! The more creative the better!

Your answers may be edited to appear in the June issue of Grow Your Own!

Thanks
Emma

[shirlthegirl43]

I confess to not watering unless it has been very very dry and the plants look a bit limp - then they get a good long soak with the hose and sprinkler. My theory is that this makes the roots reach down to find water encouraging stronger plants. Mind you, the past two summers have been so wet in our garden that most of my veggies have drowned

[marathon]

I have a gravity feed system for the polytunnel which has really proved itself over the last three years.

I build bean trenches I added cardboard and shreeded paper before kitchen scraps and manure to help retain any water during the warm seasons.

I similar to shirthegirl I water every few days giving the outside crops and really good soak.

[Snadger]

Grow em ard is what I do!!!!!!!! I Water seedlings from the dozen or so water butts I have, plus a 1000 Litre storage container. Heavy organic mulches means plants can usually survive the summer without me having to resort to mains water at all.
In fact the only thing I use the standpipe for, is filling my kettle!

[Paulottie]

I try and be as accurate as possible. Teasing your crops by waving a hose about just wastes water, causes annual weeds to grow and doesn't encourage deep rooting of your veg. If I'm going to water I really soak the plants at dusk.

For thirsty plants like curcubits I normally use plant pots or upturned bottles with the bases removed to funnel the water through a mulch direct to the plant roots. Any mulch will help conserve water at the roots...grass clippings if you have nothing else.

When I grow potatoes traditionally I edge around the row(s) when earthing up to create an irrigation channel to flood. When setting out brassicas it is good to do so in a shallow trench you can flood.

To grow beans, potatoes or brassicas through a woven membrane, I'll use seep hoses.

[Nes]

I cut the bottom off plastic milk bottles and bury them lidless and upside down between my veggies - especially thirsty ones like beans and courgettes. I can then water into these and the water goes straight to the roots where it's needed, and not just on the surface where it will just evaporate. A layer of compost or manure as a mulch helps to keep the soil damp, and as it is incorporated into the soil, impoves its water retaining potential.

[Emma Ward]

Wowser, this is all great advice! How did you discover these to be the best methods for you? Was it a bit of trial and error?

Also, what would you say are the most common pitfalls when it comes to watering?

Thanks
Em

[shirlthegirl43]

Wowser, this is all great advice! How did you discover these to be the best methods for you? Was it a bit of trial and error?

Also, what would you say are the most common pitfalls when it comes to watering?

Thanks
Em

Good question that! My watering system was dictated by my health not being up to standing watering every day. So stuff got watered when it really needed it.

I think the most common pitfall with watering is not giving sufficient too little oo often which can lead to the roots being closer to the surface and therefore not giving good anchorage to the plants.

[weekendwellies]

I have let nature do the watering up til now.
I have a big plastic barrel which I will dip a watering can in if necessary later in the year, but on the whole I would rather grow things that don't need excessive looking after.
Having said that I am putting tomatoes out on my allotment for the first time this year so I may have to rethink that one.

[winstonwobble]

mulch, mulch then mulch again

[taff]

I've got 4 water butts set up off a downpipe [they aren't actually proper water butts, they're large blue barrels with blacklids I've brought home from work - waste not want not etc], I drilled some holes ,two at opposite sides, and put a small piece of tubing running from one to the other so they fill up in sequence.I also take off the lids to dip the can in[I made sure the holes were big enough for the can first], rather than have to bend down to a tap on the bottom.
I don't water anything in the garden unless it's horrendously dry. In the greenhouse,I stand pots in plastic trays [also brought home from work] and water into the tray rather than the top, although I do feed from the top.
and yeah, mulch with homemade compost or grass clippings. When grass clippings are fresh they have the added advantage of keeping cats from using the beds as a toilet

[jbm]

I am going to throw my watering can away. Thanks for the advice this is my second summer on the allotment and all knowledge is greatly welcomed.
JBM

[Glutton4...]

I am going to throw my watering can away. Thanks for the advice this is my second summer on the allotment and all knowledge is greatly welcomed.
JBM

Don't throw it away - plant sommat in it! Then it's still there if you do need it, for watering your seedlings.

[Jeanied]

There are two tips that I am going to use this year for my squashes, courgettes and pumpkins - these are the thirsty plants on my plot.
Firstly I'm going to plant them each in an old tyre - this will give me a defined area for watering, mulching and feeding. Secondly I'm going to put a cane in beside the plant when I'm planting out - so I have somewhere to aim the watering can at when the foliage has grown up and covered the patch - last year was really hit and miss when I was watering as I could't see where the main stem was.
The rest of the plot - I try and avoid watering and mulch as much as I can.

[jbm]

Don't throw it away - plant sommat in it! Then it's still there if you do need it, for watering your seedlings.

Oh yes I didn't mean I was literally going to throw it away - too many pot plants to water. It was just that I thought the various ideas on watering vegetables on the allotment were well worth taking into consideration.