[bigginge]

In this spell of dry weather do I need to water established sprouts and broccoli every day?

[DD.]

No.

The root system will have established itself by now and should be able to find enough below the surface.

If you over water, it discourages the plant from putting a good root system down as it can find enough near the surface.  Result - unstable sprouts.

[Sadgit]

I haven't watered my sprouts or sweetcorn for weeks now.

[DD.]

I only ever water newly planted brassicas, then it's fend for yourselves!

[mumofstig]

I would normally agree...but it has been so dry here this year. You can just see my cabbage gasp in relief when they DO get watered, by the next morning they are standing upright again...so I just gotta carry on doing it till we get some rain

[plum crumble]

ooh - I don't know what to doo nooowww. You've both convinced me to water and NOT water my sprouts.  It has been mighty dry. After my caterpillar scissor killing spree, I am determined to get a crop! Mind you, some rain is forecast here in the Royal County this weekend.

[mumofstig]

Plum crumble...they keep forecasting rain But untill i actually see it, and it lasts for more than 5 minutes - I won't believe it

[Babstreefern]

I never water established plants only babies .  Basically the rule of thumb is that its usually only the top 6" that dries out, any lower, and you get it damp, which is enough water for plants .

[mumofstig]

as i pointed out on an earlier thread....this year it is not damp lower! That's one of the downsides of raised beds
We have had a very dry year and the grass went brown
Aunt Sally lost her leeks because she forgot to water them...it really has been that bad for Kent

[bigginge]

Thanks for the help, and I think I'll take the centre ground and water the new spring cabbage plants regularly but the sprouts and broccoli every few days. Our water supply is about 100 yards away, and the butt's been empty for weeks, so it's quite a bit of work to water everything, everyday.

[johnfh]

Doesn't look like any useful rain before next Tuesday in the South.  Try this link for forecasts up to 14 days. How accurate? don't know, time and monitoring will tell.


http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/jetstream.asp

(I know this is the jet stream link but you can navigate around the site from here)

 Lots of useful info but you have to follow the links down the left side and select your location until you find what you want but a bit different to the usual BBC or Met Office site.

[Clover]

I'm in the South East.

Previously I've gone with the advice not to water brassicas once they're established, but it is a drought.  I do it every two weeks, maybe less from now on as the water will evaporate more slowly because the temperature is dropping.

There is one plot where the owner doesn't seem to visit at all.  He just plants brassica plug plants in cages in spring and then comes back to crop them several months later.  Last year he had perfectly good  crops despite total neglect.  This year his purple sprouting is only several inches tall and a lot of the other brassicas (can't even tell what they are, they're so small still) are dying.

So, I'd say it's an exception this year.

[plum crumble]

yup - you've convinced me - I'll go over and water them today.