Starwberry Tubers

[Lesley Jay]

Nick you keep saying that we have had a mild winter - not where we live it has been freezing. A really freezing cold, wet winter and spring. Will it ever warm up?

[SueA]

Same here Lesley Jay, I've been checking my diary from last year & the temps seem to have been a couple of degrees lower this year & some of the cuttings etc. which I normally successfully overwinter in my plastic greenhouse have died off.

[Shortie]

I've also noticed that they haven't banned businesses from using high-powered hoses for washing cars and trucks, which can use up to 12 gallons for one small car.

My OH was telling me about someone who contatced a local council to ask if he could still fill his outdoor swimming pool from the hose whenthe ban was in place, and they said yes as it wasn't to water the garden. Where's the justice??!!

[andrewo]

Yes, pools are exempt too. Silly law. For me it has been a bad winter, we are in a valley and rarely get the snow, it literally blows across us, we were snowed in three times over Dec-Jan and had snow/hail yesterday.

[Jaxom]

People who have swimming pools tend to be on meters and fill them just once. The filters and chemicals then kick in. With gardens it is never full unless you live here in Cardiff and then our garden turns to a bog/swimming pool during winter
Jax

[Shortie]

Ah but Jax, don't you have lushous greenery? Every cloud has it's silver lining..

I spend quite a bit of time in Caerphilly with family and there's definately a different quality of green

[nick the grief]

I can honestly say that we've not had that bad a winter. We have had cold & freezing temps for a couple of weeks and snow only recently from memory/ what we haven't had is the bright crisp days and this is what has help back all my plants lack of light.

I totally agree Andrew, I had to go th St Neots yesterday so was listening to the radio in the car & some Guy from a water company was blethering on about people need to change the way they garden, we get less rainfall than parts of america & they grow drought tolerant plants. I asume he was talking about his area here and I know that a friend f mine kives in Treorchy he gets about 30 " average & someone els in peterboror gets about 19" average. If by "droght tolerant" he measn we all turn our gardens in to mini arizona desserts, then yes they may well get more rain but they don't get prolonged periods of cold & damp which will see off most tropical plants.
He also tried to say that the sale of the smaller resevoirs for building land didn't have any affect on the storage of water & there for supply as these were only distribution reservoirs DERRR if you aint got it you can't distribute it so these would have acted as a buffer.

Anyway I'm getting off my soap box now and going to suck a teabag as no doubt I won't be allowed to fill the kettle.

[Shortie]

Maybe I should construct a swimming pool in my garden for the sole purpose of watering my plants... No-one has said you can't fill your plants from a swimming pool did they?

... Oh wait a minute.... how do I get the water out of the pool easily with no hosepipe...? Back to the drawing board maybe