Flooded...again!

[Norm]

Didn't Monty visit some floating gardens in Mexico?

Nah, it was hanging gardens in Babylon

[Matt.]

Its ok!!

Update on the flooding is that its not as bad as I first thought Although the site was under water for 72 hours the hot weather in the last three days has really helped dry the plot out.

It seems whilst I have lost over half my potatoes some have survived and most other crops have too. Strangely enough my sweetcorn looks better than it did before?! My french bean crop has bit the dust and the runners look very poorly but I've got new seeds germinating already.

I'm really chuffed and it was great to see all my neighbours plots in the same good condition. I have to be really thankful for the sunny weather. I'm going to wait and see how plants fair over the next few weeks to see which make it and which don't.

Yeahhhh woooo!!!

Heard a rumour that the cause of the flooding might be a new pipeline that was put in early last year. Its only conjecture but some are saying the builders left a ridge of earth that stops the fields above the allotments draining as they have for years. The water now has to come across the plots to drain out. Another conspiracy theory!

[Mikey]

I have considered this but last year it flooded three feet deep! How high would I go?! Its an effort versus risk thing and for me its not worth the trade off. Now I've made the plot bed-based I should suffer a lot less with weeds and I can replant later this year and next relatively quickly. It going to be a least effort or minimum loss approach.

I have the answer matt, you'll just have to build the veg ark, everyone will think your mad, but when all the veg are save inside 2 by 2, you'll have the last laugh.

Seriously though I wonder how difficult it would be to make a raised bed in a boat, obviously it would need more watering as the roots would be shallower, but with the aid of an anchor and some extra floats it might just work!!!!(I'm off on one again)

At a guess, I doubt you'd get a boat big enough to put the pumpkins in, even the titanic sank...

[snohare]

I think sweetcorn is one of those crops that originated from riverbanks Matt, hence it does particularly well in rich soil and loves to get the occasional soaking. I think you have rediscovered the secret of the Mayan civilisation - irrigation !
Well worth knowing what that sort of flooding does and does not do - odds are, as Norm said, this sort of thing is going to hit all of us at some point or another, simply because rain nowadays is heavier than it has been in the past. (Must be all that extra carbon in the raindrops !)
Hey Mikey, how about using cut in half plastic bottles as scuba tanks for the cabbages...a heavy stone, a bit of wire...who needs to be above water ?

[Mikey]

Hey Mikey, how about using cut in half plastic bottles as scuba tanks for the cabbages...a heavy stone, a bit of wire...who needs to be above water ?

I'm not sure where to put the mouthpiece on a cabbage, and if I had to give the poor dears mouth to mouth, I'd be scared I would crush (bruise) the heart.

[snohare]

Plus of course people would start saying your plot was a bit of a dive....