Happymarion I had a raised bed built last year as I have become disabled and can no longer garden in the way I used to. I use it for my veg, any advice on turning it into a pot anger? thank you.
I have dug up the lawn in the back garden and I put in raised beds last year for Vegetables I also grow potatoes and strawberries in pods...they were the only plants I had to water a lot last year but they have old drink bottles in them with the spikes to disperse the water and that helped a lot ...I have a couple of dustbins that I collect water in and often use my dishwater as well....good for killing off greenfly and blackfly at the same time.....Old established plants like rose bushes already have very deep roots and they will be the last ones to be watered as they seem to cope pretty well. I also have a dustbin for compost and one standard compost bin and a big compost tumbler and that will all be used to mulch plants that need it.I live in the East Anglia region and it has been very dry for 2 or 3 years now.
I have water butts that are fed by my down pipes front and back of the house and a 3rd connected by a hose pipe to one of them which takes the overflow. I only use ecover which is safe to put on plants to wash dishes and in the Summer I use a plastic bowl to wash up and when cool I use that or siphon in to my watering can to use later. We are looking at a system to harvest bath water. I make tea in a pot and put any unused cold tea on roses. I mulch round plants, and put water retaining gel in pots/baskets.
My biggest problem is my pond as the water can evaporate quickly and needs topping up. any ideas there gratefully accepted.
I think people should be banned from filling swimming/paddling pools as last time we had a ban in the South east we had a hose pipe ban but people were still allowed to filll paddling pools-what a waste!
Cassie, to turn your raised bed into a potager should be quite simple and enjoyable. A potager is simply a decorative veg. garden so you do smart things ike weaving flowers for pollinating insects to get nectar through your vegetables. Make patterns with your veg. Each of my eight raised beds will have a wigwam with runnner beans and sweet peas growing up it and there will be lavender plants at the two corners by the middle path which will give a very fragrant walk up through the beds. Alternate red lettuce with green lettuce, thread a snake of annual flowers through the veg. Dot verbena bonariensis through to tower over the smaller veg. Get the idea?
I do feel sorry for everyone that lives in drought areas but I hate all the rain we have where I live. I'm sure we do have dry days but they seem to be few and far between all the rainy or drizzly days.
Well said, out of interest, when I lived in a small flat I was not on a meter and had no garden. i had a bath every day.Now I am in a small house with a shower, garden with water butt and a small pond. I don.t ever bath and only use rain water on my garden, i only top up the pond with rain water and yet my bill stays the same as it was without a meter, someone is abusung the system at my expense.
Kathryn.brock. The water rate for unmetered dwellings is based on the old general rate which was probably quite small for a small flat so you were having cheap baths. Ihave the opposite as my bungalow was highly rated so , now I am on a meter ,I am saving a great deal every year.
What is so frustrating is that so much water goes to waste at source, because the water companies do not wish to pay to improve the existing structure i.e. leaking pipes! Yet they continue to make a year-on-year profits.
I try to use 'grey' household water to water my pots on the patio. I did use the hosepipe once or twice last year, under cover of darkness. But I tend to use the watering can more because you get really soak the roots of plants more effectively this way. And again, I always do it at dusk.
I also find that many mediterranean herbs are really good for droughts, rosemary especially in my garden grow especially well in dry conditions. But as i brought them in the greenhouse for winter they have developed some strange disease. Does anyone know if i should move them or not during winter? iwould really appreciate the advice.
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I have water butts that are fed by my down pipes front and back of the house and a 3rd connected by a hose pipe to one of them which takes the overflow. I only use ecover which is safe to put on plants to wash dishes and in the Summer I use a plastic bowl to wash up and when cool I use that or siphon in to my watering can to use later. We are looking at a system to harvest bath water. I make tea in a pot and put any unused cold tea on roses. I mulch round plants, and put water retaining gel in pots/baskets.
My biggest problem is my pond as the water can evaporate quickly and needs topping up. any ideas there gratefully accepted.
I think people should be banned from filling swimming/paddling pools as last time we had a ban in the South east we had a hose pipe ban but people were still allowed to filll paddling pools-what a waste!
Cassie, to turn your raised bed into a potager should be quite simple and enjoyable. A potager is simply a decorative veg. garden so you do smart things ike weaving flowers for pollinating insects to get nectar through your vegetables. Make patterns with your veg. Each of my eight raised beds will have a wigwam with runnner beans and sweet peas growing up it and there will be lavender plants at the two corners by the middle path which will give a very fragrant walk up through the beds. Alternate red lettuce with green lettuce, thread a snake of annual flowers through the veg. Dot verbena bonariensis through to tower over the smaller veg. Get the idea?
Kathryn.brock. The water rate for unmetered dwellings is based on the old general rate which was probably quite small for a small flat so you were having cheap baths. Ihave the opposite as my bungalow was highly rated so , now I am on a meter ,I am saving a great deal every year.
I try to use 'grey' household water to water my pots on the patio. I did use the hosepipe once or twice last year, under cover of darkness. But I tend to use the watering can more because you get really soak the roots of plants more effectively this way. And again, I always do it at dusk.
I also find that many mediterranean herbs are really good for droughts, rosemary especially in my garden grow especially well in dry conditions. But as i brought them in the greenhouse for winter they have developed some strange disease. Does anyone know if i should move them or not during winter? iwould really appreciate the advice.
Thanks.