Allotment watering

[Two_Sheds]

I've found that if root veg (like spuds and parsnips) tend to be disappointingly small when I don't water them in dry spells.

mulch, mulch, mulch.

I am mulching my spuds with wet newspapers, topped with earth. Works a treat. (do it after rain, when the ground is wet).

[Storm]

mulch, mulch, mulch.

I am mulching my spuds with wet newspapers, topped with earth. Works a treat. (do it after rain, when the ground is wet).

We are starting to use much more mulch this year now that we have secured a constant source of good quality material - a mixture of hay mowings, wood chips/dust (partially composted) etc.

When we started out with the lottie, I tried using cardboard and paper and it worked a treat for keeping in moisture - but it also turned into Slug Central

they just loved all those damp little spaces between layers of card and paper but otherwise it was great for keeping plants moist when we were away for example.

[janeyo]

I don't see how you are all getting so much water off a small shed or greenhouse? My 12 by 8 geenhouse has one water butt on it and even when it rains hard it only half fills the 100l barel. What am I doing wrong with it then?

[Two_Sheds]

My 12 by 8 geenhouse has one water butt on it and even when it rains hard it only half fills the 100l barel. What am I doing wrong with it then?

Perhaps you are just using more than you are collecting?
I have four butts linked together, collecting from my 7' x 5' shed.
My seedlings (in pots) use a lot of water, but once on the lotty, I hardly ever water. I still get loads of crops, and on free-draining sandy soil too.

[Sue]

100 litres from that space seems very little, I get 3 butts filled and refilled from my 6 x 6ft shed every winter so thats 660 litres.
And I agree mulch, mulch, much, was waiting for yesterdays heavy rain so I could get covering and that's what I'm going to be doing the next few days.
In my first allotment year which coincided with that really hot summer, I hadn't learned about mulching and was carting 70-100 litres of water a day to keep everything watered and it still wasn't enough.
But then I learned about mulching and usually get away with giving a good soak on planting and that's it. Helps that I'm on heavy clay which if covered comes into its own in the summer.
The other thing I'd recommend if you've anything in pots is to stand them on that thick black matting in their saucers - that retains water and also cover the soil at the top of the pot after a good watering in. I keep all old crocks, broken pots, large stones and all the odds and sods I keep finding in the allotment to cover the soil.

I'm the only one on the allotment who gardens with all raised beds and I do feel a weeny bit patronised - in the nicest possible way - of course. well, when I look at the cracked dusty earth on the rest of the allotments I smile privately and go with the jokes, relieved I haven't got to break up those granite like clods of earth.
Sue

[janeyo]

It rained all night and most of the morning and the 100 litre tub is now just under half full.
I do have a lot of pots that get watered everyday and the greenhouse gets watered most days.
Luckily the butt on the house is a 250l and that does get full. We have another to put on the other side of the house. But then it means a trek of 150 feet with the cans! The one on the greenhouse was meant to save my legs but doesn't!

I am going to stand out in the rain next time adn see wheer the water is going as it's not going into the butt! (maybe it's got a leak)

[rana]

I have four butts linked together, collecting from my 7' x 5' shed.

If my maths is correct assuming those are 220l butts, from a 7x5 roof you will need over 12" of rain to completely fill them and that's assuming every drop is collected.

That's about 6 months worth!

[singleseeder]

I am in the 'treat them mean' camp.

Some years ago I found a book about the watering needs of various veggies in the library. What amazed me was that some veggies have roots metres long. However much you water, you are not going to change the moisture that deep in the soil.

[Two_Sheds]

I'm not going to water my plot this year, as an experiment. I'm going to mulch everything really well, and just water individual plants if they look wilty.

I just found this old thread, and can report that I had really good crops of most things (esp. pumpkins, sweetcorn & spuds) except brassicas.
I think it was because we got really hot dry weather in September and they never really got going (from a July planting).

I've already started the year's mulching-with-newspaper regime. It annoys the neighbours though if I forget to weight down the edges with soil and they keep getting the sport pages wrapped round their plants

I must get a source of grass clippings too: they need to be seed-free and weedkiller free.

[Alison]

I only watered when planting for most things last year and didn't touch the vast amount of water I'd collected from my 8 x 5' shed. Quite happily filled a 1000l IBC plus 2 normal sized water butts off it and they were back brimming well before Christmas. This year is going to be more interesting as we have the polytunnel. Have filled 2 water butts next to it from the IBC (plot is on a slope so could inverted syphon) but yet to sort out the guttering from the polytunnel (plan A didn't really work ) and run a soaker hose of them which is working well so far.