Water has been a topic of conversation down at the allotment.  Many plots have water butts on site, with the majority attached to shed or greenhouse guttering to maximise the collection efficiency.  We have just ordered a greenhouse and downpipes were a must have.  We are lucky in that there are taps on site, so all the plot holders have some capacity for counter-acting drought.

Hosepipes have always been banned for watering, although they could be used for filling containers including water butts.  Now they are completely banned meaning that all water from the taps has to be carried to plots.  In my opinion that is not a bad thing in terms of targeting watering, although it could be hard work for some of the less physically able plot holders.  The reason that I think that limited access to water could be a good thing is that when water is easy to apply we end up putting a lot on the surface of soil that will evaporate quickly in warm weather and can cause the surface structure to break down leaving a surface cap that prevents subsequent rain from draining down to the root area where it is actually needed.

We are experimenting with the use of inverted plastic bottles to help us to deliver water directly to the root area.  Once growth starts, these should be concealed, but at the moment it looks as though our main crop is plastic bottles.

Growing plastic bottles

Of course there is nothing like a good bank holiday downpour and yesterday was a great day in our neck of the woods for growers as the steady rain was not hard enough to cause surface capping or flooding, but lasted for long enough to have some chance of penetrating the upper layers of the soil, with a forecast of sunshine and showers for the rest of the week, this looks like good growing weather and we’ll be keeping a careful eye out for signs of life from our recent sowings.