[Kajazy]

Hello - brand new member here, and thorough grow-your-own novice...!
I just got allocated an allotment yesterday - there's no water or power up there, so wondered if any of you had any ideas on how to go about collecting water - all the water butts out there on the market seem to be connected to house down-pipes!

Sorry if this is a daft question. There will be plenty more to follow!

Thanks

[plum crumble]

is there absolutely no supply to the whole site? I realise how spoilt we are now

[Kajazy]

Nope - not a sausage! It's a Poor's Land charity site, and I only pay £5 a year (to the charity), so I can't really complain - but it's a tricky one!

[savbo]

I think this was discussed a year or so ago? You could try to build a pond/tank at the low point of the site, draining the land or paths into it, also if you have any spare land you could put down plastic sheet or tarp to collect more.

from there it's either use it from the pond, or bucket it into a water butt, or pump it out with a cordless drill (poundland do pump fittings) or a solar one...

we are so lucky - standpipe at either end of plot and 5 water butts...

[TheSpartacat]

The only solution I can think of that hasn't been suggested is to collect water from the shed roof via guttering and hose leading to a water butt?
And do the same with a greenhouse if you're planning on getting one?

[fatbelly]

The only solution I can think of that hasn't been suggested is to collect water from the shed roof via guttering and hose leading to a water butt?
And do the same with a greenhouse if you're planning on getting one?

This is the best option.


Also have a look on caravanning web sites or ebay for roller trolleys that you fill with water and with the aid of a handle wheel down to the Lottie, the ones that I have seen hold a lot of water but are reasonably easy to get to the plot with.

[Trillium]

If you plan to put up a shed, that will help with redirecting some water.

If no shed, then place 4 strong poles apart, fasten a strong tarp to each corner so that the tarp sags in the middle where rain will collect, and somehow arrange for that water to run off into a collection unit.

A few folk actually bring water to their sites in containers carted in on a hand dolly. A fuss but if you've not alternative.....

[Kleftiwallah]

Do you have a shed?   No!  get one,  or think of a method of constructing a sloping plane.

Go around the local Industrial sites, there is normally a company that 'gets stuff' in blue barrels.    Lateral thinking, you'll get used to it!    Cheers,   Tony.

[RichardA]

not sure if you are local enough to me in North Lincolnshire but if you do finish up carting water I have 5 plastic squarish jerrican type containers previously used for water for the caravan that can be free to you if you can collect them.
Some allotments near me have access to a ditch that has water in it most of year but it dries up when most needed. If you goggle "blue barrels" you find some suppliers or look out and beg them. Need to catch rain from shed roofs, land drains or tarpaulins etc first though.
I do know of one guy who ran a water pipe off a supply to an animal trough in the next field for about two years. Then the farmer noticed -- big row and both in court -- one for theft the other for assault so not recommended.
R

[Kajazy]

Lots of brilliant ideas, thank you - will get cracking with the tarp idea first, as I have a spare tarp already, and when I'm able to find a cheap shed (am scouring ebay as we speak) then I'll set up the guttering idea - thank you. Luckily, there's plenty of rain at the moment, which are nicely watering the weeds...

[Kristen]

I read on another forum about using a container just stood their to collect water. Struck me, initially, as only going to collect a small amount ... but ...

An IBC (1 metre cube "plastic bottle" on a metal pallet; one-time-used ones available for about £40)

Cut top off and place upside-down on container - to form a funnel. (This catches the rain, but also prevents evaporation in the Summer).

Average rainfall here is, say, 2" per month (I'm in East Anglia and we are about the driest in the country, so you may be better off)

October - March = 6 months, 12" rain (and you use none during that period), and the Summer 6 months we get 11" (more added, whilst you use some)

So the total rainfall that you catch in that 1 sq.m. is 23"

On 1st April you start with the Winter water which is 12" - i.e. 67 gallons. You get a further 11" during the Summer which is 61 gallons.

If your rainfall is higher then my 23" / 600 mm you could collect comparatively more.

Each square metre of roof, or tarpaulin, that you can collect from will add as-much-again.

[JayG]

As a rule of thumb, assuming you can collect all the rainwater which falls on a surface, for each inch of rain falling on an area 2' X 1' you will collect one gallon of water.

For an average 8' X 6' greenhouse or shed that means that with a roof area of approx 64 square feet you will collect 32 gallons of water for each inch of rain, which is about 16 watering cans full.

You haven't put your location in your personal profile Kajazy so we don't know where you live but assuming a very low annual average rainfall of 25" your annual total would be 800 gallons.

Obviously it is unlikely to fall when you actually want it to, but it's quite easy to link water butts together! 

[noshed]

Link your butts together with a siphon (hose from cheap shop - remember, water finds its own level) We sometime get old wheeley bins off the council, they are good for butts.
The other thing to do is add as much organic matter to the soil as possible, to hold the water. Fill your bean trench with compost, line it with newspaper as well if poss.
Concentrate what water you are able to get onto seeds and seedlings and leave them to manage with the rain when they're big enough.
I have four butts and an old water tank and I can empty the lot over a weekend when it's really dry, so you might have to put up with a few losses.

[Mark-S]

Hello - brand new member here, and thorough grow-your-own novice...!
I just got allocated an allotment yesterday - there's no water or power up there, so wondered if any of you had any ideas on how to go about collecting water - all the water butts out there on the market seem to be connected to house down-pipes!

Sorry if this is a daft question. There will be plenty more to follow!

Thanks

Hi
we are the same so what we all do (9 oplots taken) is erecta  shed and then put some guttering around it and collect rain water into a watre butt.

[Kajazy]

Many thanks again - the giant 1m cubed tanks - I've seen a couple of those on the other allotments - we're in the Midlands and on the top of a hill, so hopefully plenty of rain - such good ideas! And I'm very impressed with all the maths...