Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi all,

Have just found out I've moved up the list of those waiting for allotments, so thought I'd go and have a little nosey around the site.

Whilst there I noticed the water is provided by a self-filling water trough in the middle of the site.

Does anyone have any advice about the best way to get the water to your plot, a watering can at a time would take forever! But I don't know what other ingenious options people have discovered?

Ta muchly

LumpyJumper

You can get fairly large water carriers for when you go camping, but I don't think they could be called cheap...! Try looking on eBay. water carrier aqua roll type with handle on eBay, also, Cooking Supplies, Camping, Sporting Goods (end time 19-Jan-08 16:29:16 GMT)
Otherwise, I guess you could get a few buckets, and wheel them to & fro in your wheelbarrow?

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Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

I have five waterbutts on my allotment all linked together this tends to last me between periods of rain and because they are linked at the bottom I only need to use the tap on the end one.

Fill up three or four watering cans and put them in your wheelbarrow. Personally I quite like the little walk backwards and forwards, I see it as a little extra excerise, but it's not particularly time efficient.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Tuscany update - 27th September

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I think it was two sheds who posted a pic of her wonderful water butt creations some time back, sounds something similar to crichmonds might be worth checking out, i'm hoping to do something similar myself at some stage.

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

I used water tank connectors and 22mm pipe from wickes to link them.

Thanks, I shall think about all those ideas, I might even have time to find a cheap second-hand aquaroll before I get an allotment.

Thanks again
LumpyJ

I love these troughs, they certainly discourage water-wasting. You really think if you NEED the water if you have to cart it around in buckets.
I use mulches, and have four water butts, linked together, and I only use tap water for watering in new seedlings. Some people on site have hoses rigged up to the tap for hours on end every day, its really unnecessary.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

i remember on a few gardening programs that the victorians used
what looked like a water butt on wheels

I assume your water butts are linked to guttering of a shed or greenhouse?

The allotments I will be on don't allow any form of building other than a mini-tool store and compost bin

At home I have two butts linked together and last year didn't use tap water at all in the garden! But up on the allotment I won't be allowed one it would seem. Here is the extract from the rules.

h) not erect any building or structure except compost bins and tool boxes.

So it looks like it's buckets/cans and wheelbarrows until I get an aquaroll.....

Thanks for all the suggestions,

LumpyJ

No shed?
That's cr*p. How big can the tool box be? 6 x 8 ?

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

This is a 1000L IBC. (An independant bulk container) Has its own collecton system. Just a thought.

http://img11.imagevenue.com/loc15/th...C_122_15lo.jpg

I'm the same as you lumpyjumper. We're not allowed permanent erections () on our site either, it's is therefore difficult to collect water effectively.

Any idea where you get that from seasprout? I've seen a few of those containers on the industrial estate where I work, but have yet to ask if I could have one. That looks ideal with the collection device atop of it!

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Tuscany update - 27th September

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

I'm the same as you lumpyjumper. We're not allowed permanent erections () on our site either, it's is therefore difficult to collect water effectively.

my turn heywayne
do you have a problem with keeping your erection permanent then.

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thoughts from the head of
phil the shed.........

According to the Highway Code all erections have to be illuminated. I think this just applies to those on the highway though .

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"I prefer rogues to imbeciles as they sometimes take a rest" (Alexander Dumas)

Now, whilst I enjoy gardening....

Isn't that above a certain height though?

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Tuscany update - 27th September

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

Should point out its not mine...the picture was posted on this site sometime last year.

on this thread...Water Saving

we have no water resoursces on our allotments so some helpful ideas here folks thanks. Love that IBC thingy; that would beat my plastic bin collecting off the GH hands down!.
Otherwise I have to ferry water by car in a 45L plastic tank (inherited from a boating relative) .Obviously I quickly run out so I need another tank to collect from my GH at least to start this year.

If you can bear to get to your plot really early or late in the day (when nobody else is likely to be using the trough) then you could use a universal adapter to attach a hose to the tap which fills the trough. If it's like the one on my plot, the tap is linked to a ballcock (like in a toilet cistern) so it runs until the trough is full. If you weigh down the float then the tap will run freely and you can use the hose to fill a water butt or other container closer to home.

BTW I notice Wilkinson's have water butts for £15 at the moment (though they're not huge).

Check the water table at the lottie. You may find you can dig a shallow well. A friend of mine did this. The well holds about 30 gallons and fills fast enough to be useable at least once a day. Altenatively, if you're not allowed a water butt above ground, sink an old plastic bath to ground level as storeage. You can then fill it by Paul's method with the hosepipe. Finally, find an allotment association with more sensible rules!

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Why keep a dog when you can bark yourself !

Thanks Terrier but that would then be contrary to a further rule (!)

ensure all water receptacles are stable, not sunken and have secure covers.

My allotment site has a tap which happily is not too far from my plot. I have been thinking of using a wheelie bin to transport water (to save the endless journeys but I think it might prove too heavy to pull, especially as my plot is on quite a slope (about 30 - 40 degrees, I would say). But it might work on a level site, especially for a beefy bloke.

I'd consider myself on the beefier side of things and I wouldn't attempt using a wheelie bin. They have quite narrow wheels and it wouldn't take much for them to become stuck I'd wager. My own wheelie bin at home causes enough problems trying to pull it round from the back of the house on a slate chipping path.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Tuscany update - 27th September

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png