​                      Watering

Here are a few tips and comments about watering.

Firstly our allotment society has to pay for the water we use as our water is metered. As a result plotholder are only allowed to use hosepipes (attached to the allotment water points) to fill up containers like watering cans, water butts etc. Hosepipes can’t be used to water plants directly , via a sprayer or by any other attachment. Also make sure you don't leave taps running and, if you haven't already, invest in a water butt to take rainwater from your shed roof if you have one. It's really amazing how much rain can be collected from even a small shed roof!!

Secondly, the motto is “Water Plants not Weeds”. Dry conditions are good at reducing weed growth so if you are careful to water just the plants and not the area in between the plants you will find you will save yourself a lot of work weeding!

Thirdly, some plants need very little water and others only need it at certain times during their growth. All plants when they just been planted need a good watering but once they are established many need very little water afterwards. Brassicas (cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale etc) rarely need much watering. The exception for broccoli and cauliflower is when they are forming their curds/florets. Root vegetables (carrots, parsnips etc) don’t need a lot of water as does sweetcorn. Beans and peas need a moderate amount mainly when the pods/beans are forming. Potatoes only need water when they are forming their flowers (which is when the tubers are growing underground) but quite frankly I rarely water mine. Bush fruit such as raspberries and strawberries need a moderate amount of water when the fruits are forming. The plants that tend to need a fair bit of water are the cucurbit family (squashes, pumpkins, courgettes, marrows etc). One tip is to cut the end off a plastic bottle, put a hole in the cap and push it in the soil near the plant. Then fill it with water to act as a reservoir. Other plants that need moist soil all the time to do well are celery, celeriac and bulb fennel. Of course if you mix lots of good compost with the soil you will help it retain  any moisture and save yourself work watering!

George Gray