Hopefully the reservoirs will be full to overflowing too by the end of next Spring.
I certainly hope so! But I have 4 water butts anyway. Watching plants suffer was quite a downer this summer. Either way, my plants will get nice rainwater instead of mains water.
You can't forecast a whole Winter, it's impossible (well unless you're the Daily Mail). Heck they can't even forecast what's it's going to be like tomorrow where I live. The reservoirs up here are still looking empty, but filling up fast, if it carries on like this i'd predict they'll be full by the New Year, but we'll see. It's currently siling it down.
You need to divert any water (after a water butt preferably) to the drains or to a soak away. Diverting near the house without anyway to go will cause issues.
I decant extra water to butts hidden at the back of the garden where it will be needed in the summer, but also where I don't have anyway to collect it. We also fill up milk and any other bottles with excess water now and store it in the greenhouse. They might only water our blueberries once but we can reuse the bottles later.
I know we haven't been getting really cold winters lately but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the problem of frozen water butts if left full. The first one of mine that cracked I put down to a faulty butt or just bad luck. But then it happened again with another one. It was after a partial thaw of the block of ice where the melt water froze again but in a smaller space.
Since that happened I've drained them down every November. Not too much of a problem for us though as we live in a high rainfall area and they are usually full by the time we need significant amounts. Plus I always drain my fishtank water into a butt in the garage.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Mine can freeze in the greenhouse, but luckily up to now, no damage. There's a good few inches of space above the outlet so maybe that's enough for expansion?
Recently the butt I inherited when buying our place sprung a leak near the bottom so I bought a new one from wickes. It has since filled up but I’m going to have to empty it to return to wickes as it leaks around the tap ! the other one I bagged from freecycle is going well though .. perhaps I should shop there again
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When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Heck they can't even forecast what's it's going to be like tomorrow where I live.
The reservoirs up here are still looking empty, but filling up fast, if it carries on like this i'd predict they'll be full by the New Year, but we'll see.
It's currently siling it down.
I decant extra water to butts hidden at the back of the garden where it will be needed in the summer, but also where I don't have anyway to collect it. We also fill up milk and any other bottles with excess water now and store it in the greenhouse. They might only water our blueberries once but we can reuse the bottles later.
Since that happened I've drained them down every November. Not too much of a problem for us though as we live in a high rainfall area and they are usually full by the time we need significant amounts. Plus I always drain my fishtank water into a butt in the garage.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
the other one I bagged from freecycle is going well though .. perhaps I should shop there again