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Watering plants sheltered from the rain
jamiesmith25
Posts: 1
Hi,
I'm going to be building a planter in front of my house and some of the bed will sit under the bay window. I've been told that the plants underneath will not get much exposure to the rain.
Are there some suggestions I could try to ensure they get some water when it rains? Close to downpipe so wasnt sure of there was something I could run off there?
Trying to keep the cost down, so any suggestions/ advice welcome.
0
Posts
Jamie, you wont be able to control how much water the plants get. Much better to water with a watering can when the compost is dry. This could mean twice a day if the planter is south facing and the weather is hot.
You could put a water butt on the downpipe so that water is nearby. If you then had a hosepipe that ran off the butt into the bed, you'd just turn the tap in dry spells. And since you're building the planter, you could put the entry level of the pipe lower down to aid gravity feed.
I've tried a weeping pipe from a water butt in the past and it didn't work unfortunately - not enough pressure to push the water through the pipe.
You can get thin water butts - I've got one of these but it's faded in the sun and doesn't look like this now.
http://www.charliesdirect.co.uk/ward-slimline-water-butt-kit-100-litre?gclid=CMn5koSLvtMCFcKfGwodKAQBRQ
Some ideas - maybe bonkers ones but have fun!
If the plants going in the planter are to be there long term, you need to use a soil based compost too. Compost on it's own will dry out too quickly. You'll just have to water regularly in dry spells, but soak thoroughly each time and then leave it fo a few days rather than sprinkling it every day. A mulch of gravel or similar will help prevent evaporation.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...