Wow I am surprised to hear that most of you hardly ever water the beds apart from a soak when planting up. Well i am definately going to try that starting from now! That would save me an enormous amount of time as last year I was watering almost every night! Lol
I've got an automatic irrigation system for the pots and hanging baskets. Established plants are left pretty much to their own devices. New stuff will be watered regularly particularly if it gets very hot.
I'm not on a water meter so it doesn't cost to keep them happy.
I only ever water newly planted plants. Then again I live in Manchester so the I get my garden watered for free on a regular basis. Soil is also clay most areas have added compost ove a number of years.
New planting and pots only. I have a permanent hosepipe ban as our water supply is spring fed We have one collection tank for all domestic water and if it were emptied it could take days to refill. Normally have more than enough rain for the garden. If there is a very dry spell in summer we are on restricted showers and use of washing machine and loo flushing to maintain supply, but that has only happened about twice in thirty + years. I can fetch water from the duckpond for the container plants and any emergency cases.
I wait until my plants are showing signs of distressing before watering them unless they are new and establishing themselves. They certainly shouldn't expect a regular soaking from me. The only thing that is watered regularly is my strawberries in baskets that have an upturned plastic bottle filled with water & wedged in the soil.
I have a soaker hose on a large raised bed which can be very dry because of surrounding large trees. The clematis and honeysuckles in that bed need damp roots so when the soil is dry an inch below the surface the soaker hose goes on for an hour in the evening a couple of times a week.
I also water runner beans and sweetcorn copiously as we're on very free-draining loam and if I didn't we'd have no crops.
Otherwise regular frequent waterings are for new plantings only (particularly trees and shrubs), and plants in pots and containers - oh and the grapevine in very dry spells.
We have water butts on the house downpipes, but have to use mains water for the soaker hose and sprinkler and yes, we are on a meter, but gardening is my hobby. It still costs less than a gym membership
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I've just been giving new plants & shrubs a regular hosing, although as there are so many, that takes a little while . And obviously anything in pots when dry.
However, having said that, I've had to do quite a lot of damping down on a daily basis the last week or so as I put down my nemotodes and then the weather turned hot! No worries about that today, looks like a rainy, rainy day...
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Wow I am surprised to hear that most of you hardly ever water the beds apart from a soak when planting up. Well i am definately going to try that starting from now! That would save me an enormous amount of time as last year I was watering almost every night! Lol
I've got an automatic irrigation system for the pots and hanging baskets. Established plants are left pretty much to their own devices. New stuff will be watered regularly particularly if it gets very hot.
I'm not on a water meter so it doesn't cost to keep them happy.
Craig, you'll lose one or two but you'll also find what suits your garden and your disposition
CraigB, I don't have very good soil, though it's got better over the years. I choose appropriate plants for what I've got
In the sticks near Peterborough
I think that's the secret nutcutlet. Otherwise it's an uphill battle.
I only ever water newly planted plants. Then again I live in Manchester so the I get my garden watered for free on a regular basis. Soil is also clay most areas have added compost ove a number of years.
New planting and pots only. I have a permanent hosepipe ban as our water supply is spring fed We have one collection tank for all domestic water and if it were emptied it could take days to refill. Normally have more than enough rain for the garden. If there is a very dry spell in summer we are on restricted showers and use of washing machine and loo flushing to maintain supply, but that has only happened about twice in thirty + years. I can fetch water from the duckpond for the container plants and any emergency cases.
I wait until my plants are showing signs of distressing before watering them unless they are new and establishing themselves. They certainly shouldn't expect a regular soaking from me. The only thing that is watered regularly is my strawberries in baskets that have an upturned plastic bottle filled with water & wedged in the soil.
I have a soaker hose on a large raised bed which can be very dry because of surrounding large trees. The clematis and honeysuckles in that bed need damp roots so when the soil is dry an inch below the surface the soaker hose goes on for an hour in the evening a couple of times a week.
I also water runner beans and sweetcorn copiously as we're on very free-draining loam and if I didn't we'd have no crops.
Otherwise regular frequent waterings are for new plantings only (particularly trees and shrubs), and plants in pots and containers - oh and the grapevine in very dry spells.
We have water butts on the house downpipes, but have to use mains water for the soaker hose and sprinkler and yes, we are on a meter, but gardening is my hobby. It still costs less than a gym membership
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I've just been giving new plants & shrubs a regular hosing, although as there are so many, that takes a little while
. And obviously anything in pots when dry.
However, having said that, I've had to do quite a lot of damping down on a daily basis the last week or so as I put down my nemotodes and then the weather turned hot! No worries about that today, looks like a rainy, rainy day...