What watering methods do you use to guarantee bumper harvests?

[Rose C]

Hi growers,

It's the editorial assistant from Grow Your Own with another question I'd love for you all to answer.
Even though it's only March, we're already starting to experience some warm weather here in the UK! What i'd like to ask you this month, is what smart watering methods do you use either in the garden or on the allotment to guarantee bumper harvests? As always, I shall pick a few of your responses to go into our allotment inspirations in the magazine.

[the big lebowski]

im knocking up a gravity fed drip system that im going to make from a water butt ,hoespipe and some "L" and "T" brackets , im going to make a rectangle shape with 2 pipes running down the middle and put holes (pin prick size to start with , maybe need slighty bigger later on ) and give them a try on my potato patch ,fingers crossed

[Pepper king]

For seedlings ... Only use micro mist sprayers ...do about 50k at a time .. Depending on whats being planted .... Use either drip ... Sprinklers or flood irrigation ... If veg is 500mm or more apart drip makes sence ... Closer in the row but wide row spacings ... Flood ... If its bunched like onions ...sprikler ..

[SarrissUK]

For growing veg in the greenhouse, my watering tip is to use bigger containers, or in the ground as plants always do better with the more even and steady water supply and retention. I've used IKEA bags both in greenhouses and along a wall outdoors for huge squashes and cucumbers, and they've done very well.

I water as rarely as I can, but lots and lots of water for every pot/container when I do, so they get a decent soaking.

[burnie]

I think this is a bit like trying to find the Holy Grail, not sure anyone could come up with a guarantee for bumper harvests. Most allotments have limited water supplies, so I would suggest adding water retention giving composts and manures along with a mulch to retain the moisture would be the most likely method to produce some results.

[SarrissUK]

For non-edible growing, such as flowers, apparently it's really useful to cut nappies up and use the absorbant stuff inside mixed with compost. Unused nappies, I might add!

[TrialAndError]

Mulch

For growing vegetables in open ground I mulch and mulch and mulch. My preferred mulching ingredient is wood chip because I have access to lots of it.

Any mulch will do the same job, grass clippings, compost etc. At the end of the year the mulch can be worked into the soil to provide nutrients and add body to the soil.

2018 was very dry and I mulched my large bed of sweetcorn with about 8cm of wood chip. Aside from natural rain I watered only twice last year and had the best crop of sweetcorn ever.

Mulching conserves moisture, provides slow release nutrients and also suppresses weeds.

[Chestnut]

For thirsty crops, I find that planting them in a bit of a dip or next to a half buried plastic bottle with a hole in the bottom makes it easier to target the water to where it’s needed.

[Muddy_Boots]

Best method is to get any IBC container for 1000 litres off that well known auction site, just make sure that what it used to contain was not oil, diesel or anything that's not conducive to good human health, some have been used to hold de-ionised water. You may have to collect it as most don't deliver but if you know a mate with a trailer that can carry 2 then its worth getting them and paying him for the petrol, some of them discount if you buy 2 but I have seen them for between £25 - £50 for one.

You can also buy the adapters to change the outlet to take a push on hose connector at around a fiver, if you site it next to your shed/greenhouse you can channel the runoff to fill it with rain water. Raise it off the ground as high as possible so that then you can fit a timer to the outlet to water your vegetables with gravity during the night so water evaporation is at the minimum for your plants and you can set it for a set duration to give your plants the best possible chance to grow.

[veggiechicken]

I water the Greenhouses in the evening so that the plants have all night to drink it up. Outdoors, I only water when I'm planting out, after that the plants have to fend for themselves. They coped last year and I'm sure they will this year (if we have another hot summer).

[Pepper king]

I think this is a bit like trying to find the Holy Grail, not sure anyone could come up with a guarantee for bumper harvests. Most allotments have limited water supplies, so I would suggest adding water retention giving composts and manures along with a mulch to retain the moisture would be the most likely method to produce some results.

i assuming these are small areas ... If there are water restrictions dont plant in the ground ...instead use nursery bags ... Put polythene under it to catch water and let it run off into a buried tank to be used again ... That way u can reuse the water and if u added amendments /fertiliser... Its not lost! Id go with 15mm pipe with a few micro sprinklers .... Its the way i do my 50 meter poly tunnels ... Easy peasy pork so squesy...

[Penellype]

I'm a big fan of self-watering pots and planters and use several types, some of which work better than others. All work on the principle of having the compost above a water reservoir with the water sucked up by capillary action so that the compost is never too wet. There are 3 basic types:

- Pots with a built in shelf, usually with a central recess into the reservoir so that some of the compost is below water level. There is a drainage hole level with the shelf to let out excess water and a tube down which you add water. These work well but it is difficult to see when the water level is low. I've grown everything from salads and strawberries to tomatoes and runner beans in these.

- A drip tray with a custom made shelf (plastic or aluminium) which you cover with capillary matting which dangles over the ends of the shelf into the water below. I use this method for smaller pots and modules, which can dry out very quickly in warm weather. It works well and is easy to see when the water needs topping up, which can be as infrequently as a week or so, depending on the size of the plants. I grow all my indoor tomatoes and peppers and most of my seedlings on these. The only thing you have to be aware of is that the pots and modules have to have holes that are flush with the matting so that there is contact between matting and compost. Some don't and these are useless for this method. Large pots may struggle to suck up enough water to stop the top of the compost drying out.

- A large reservoir with a top, with capillary matting wicks dangling into it through large holes in the bottoms of growing pots or trays. These include the Quadgrow type planters and the Hozelock growbag waterers, which are expensive, but if you are good at DIY it is possible to make your own from strong plastic boxes with a decent lid. These are great for plants like tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes which need large pots. Depending on the size of the plants you can go upto a fortnight without watering, although 3 large tomato plants in a Hozelock planter in a warm greenhouse will need topping up every day.

Of the 3 types, as long as the water reservoirs are kept topped up the 3rd type definitely increases yield. The other 2 are more about keeping the water supply even to avoid losses from drying out.

I'm also a big fan of mulching, which significantly reduces the need for watering. Providing that you can stop the birds from pulling the mulch about and digging the plants up, I find this very effective. I mulch permanent large pots as well as plants in the ground.

[Bex2012]

For tomatoes I always grow them in buckets. What i do is to push a few pin/needle holes in a old plastic bottle and bury it next to the tomato plant, and then water into the bottle, making a drip system. Dont go bigger than pin holes, otherwise the plant sends roots into the bottle, and you end up with a bottle of roots and no way of getting water into it!

[the big lebowski]

muddy boots ,do you have a link for one of those timer things ? sounds like just what i need
do you mean somthing like this ?
https://www.waterirrigation.co.uk/hy...SABEgJpCvD_BwE

[rary]

For potted plants in the greenhouse staging I use capilary matting, tomato plants in pots I push a strip of material to act as a wick fill the pot with compost place a couple of bricks in a tray of water then sit the planted pot on the bricks with the wick in the water make sure the bottom of the pot is always clear of the water, top up tray as required add feed via the pot, in the garden I generally wait for it to rain, though last year I actually had to water my garden plants, so this year I will cover my onion bed with white polythene plant my onions through it and water as required x