Grow Your Own Magazine

Anyone else worried about the pending water shortage?

I'm in the south East and they are bringing in a total hosepipe ban. I'm still waiting to find out whether or not they are planning on putting the taps on at the allotment this Summer !!! If they don't I'm up s**t creak without a paddle. Anyone else worried or have any tips ? I plan mulching everything and using some of these water absorbing granules where I can. But if we have a hot summer and a water shortage I am paniking that all my meticulous plans for intensive veg growing are going to go up in smoke!!
HELP

Use load so butts connected up to any roof, anywhere and you can run a drip system off them and save you lugging cans backwards and forwards. Just stock up on those butts.
http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalo...oducts_id=1458

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Best wishes
Andrewo
Harbinger of Rhubarb tales

my garden is tiny and we only have a few plants in pots, I dont own a hosepipe and hosepipes are banned anyway on the allotment.

So it doesn't really affect me much.

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Blogging Again at..
http://www.wizer.co.uk

On my allotment, I inherited a bath...fantastic for the frogs and so useful for obvious watering. Get down to your local scrap metal merchant or similar?

I too will be affected by the hose pipe ban coming in on 3 April. Despite searching the BBC website and other internet sites, I can't find advice on how far the ban goes, i.e. will I be able to fill buckets/water cans from my hosepipe?

I live in the south east and am dreading the prospect of water rationing.
Stocked up with a 100 litre water butt at the weekend. Highly recommend attaching it to a handy down pipe. Filled up overnight.

However, 100 litres will not last very long. Looking out for much larger model.

Mind you, not much use if it does not rain during the summer.
Any grapes out there with experiences of collecting and using 'grey water' ?

I don't know where the thread is but this topic has been mentioned before and grey water was explained in it, try a search.........

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Hi Amanda,

I'm in South London too so will also be affected. I doubt you will be able to fill buckets from a hosepipe but I plan to mulch quite a bit. Also, as we are on clay, the soil should hold the water pretty well.

I don't have much room for a water butt but am still considering it. Don't know how much difference it will make though esp if it doesn't rain as Hils said.

Mel
You can get water butts in a slimline design now - Two Wests have them, and probably some others, worth checking a couple of websites.
As I'm from North of Inverness, water is never liable to be an issue with us, other than having too much ( psst, missus ! wanna buy some aitch too oh?) BUT
I use a water butt and plan on adding at least another three to my collection - one large to link with my existing butt which takes water from the roof of the house, and two smaller ones to catch rain water from 1. My Sheds and 2. My Greenhouse.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

I've got two at home now, but they don't last in a normal summer so I could definatley use some more. Atlantic supastore (i think they are called) do some huge ones that would be idea for the lotty, trouble is they have a huge price tag as well !!

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

I know what you mean Nick - the GC's and other suppliers certainly ain't shy about charging for butts. Think I read on a thread by another grape that their local council supplied butts as well as compost bins also at knock down prices. They won't do it up here as we never run out !
I have large one connected to house downpipe, but as I'm up here in Sunny Scotland, it only ran dry for about ten days last year, so with my extended family of butts ( ) I should be okay this year.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

I wish our council would do that as well. The big butts (sounds like some sort of dodgy website) I saw advertisesd were about 100gals I think may be bigger, but they were £200 +vat & they weren't new either, they were re-cycled fruit juice tanks I think!!! I wonder how much they pay for them?

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Nick
Suggest we try and keep LJ from this thread or she'll be off googling again - and you know what happens when she googles

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

nuff said rat, nuff said

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Isn't there a song called "I love big butts and I can not lie" ? Do you think that it is being sung by gardeners who are coping with a hosepipe ban?
Jax

Good one Jax

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

Just connect those butts together.

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Best wishes
Andrewo
Harbinger of Rhubarb tales

Thanks Sewer Rat - off to have a look on Two Wests.

I live in Manchester- help we're drowning!
Although we do have enough rain to last several lifetimes up here I quite fancy a water butt & am trying to find a space for one of the slimline ones but they do all seem very expensive ( the Two Wests one does look O.K.though)

Our two plots have two 1000 litre IBC`s on each. All are sat on 3 pallets (that is their footprint) and have taps attached. They are piped into the shed guttering on one plot and somehow will be to the polytunnel on the other.

They are a bit big for home use unless you have a big garden but are ideal on the plot. All four are full and the excess is now filling up half a dozen linked barrels. Sorted, with the added bonus that here in the Midlands there is no hose pipe ban. YET!

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Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated - Sunday 19th at 2100hrs

You could always construct your own, in the past I have used alsorts from wheelie bins to air ducts. If it can hold water, it can be a storage vessel.

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Best wishes
Andrewo
Harbinger of Rhubarb tales

Hi Mel and Sue (not to be confused with tv personalities)

Check on ebay, they have one type advertised for about £35 plus £6 postage, I just put 'water butt' into their search facility in Home and Garden. 100ltr

Thanks Amanda.

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