[mrswashi]

Hi
This is probably a really daft post but here goes....
I own a very small plot (about one quarter) and it is in the middle rather than at an edge, near a fence.
I don't yet own a shed (can't afford - am keeping an eye out on eBay)
The problem is that our site does not have any water.
Apart from placing a huge bucket/container on the ground, has anyone got any bright ideas as to how else I
Could collect water.?
Thanks
Mrswashi

[yaxley]

Corrugated iron sheet on a wooden frame at a slight angle at the lower end a piece of guttering to run into water barrel ...

[ConfusedGardener]

Or get a tarpaulin, and dig a shallow pit to cover the area of the tarpaulin. Then in the center dig a hole big enough for a bin/water-butt. Cut a hole in the middle of the tarpaulin, and peg down the corners.

[grendel]

angled lid over your compost bin going to a gutter at one side / back leading to your water container, we added 3 x 125litre water butts to our conservatory roof (8 ft x 12 foot) and they filled in about 3 days last year so even a 1mx1m sheet would get there if the rain is persistant - better than nothing.
Grendel

[sowitgrowit]

Well, I'm certainly no expert, but I was in the same situation and put this together yesterday:



It's a simple wooden square made from pallet slats, with two screws holding it into the pallet fence (which is about 8" higher than my compost bin), the square is angled downwards, so the lowest corner is above my "water butt" (an old bin).

I screwed some extra pallet slats to the edges to create a raised lip all around the edges, except the lowest point, and tacked the polythene on using felting nails.

The polythene is folded and tacked into position to divert the water into the upturned lid of the bin (weighted down), which has a 1" hole in it.  This should stop evaporation and also birds going in for a drink and not getting out (not sure if that was a real risk, but hey-ho).

It's not massive and is a little higgledy-piggledy, but better than walking to the river to fill my watering cans!  I'm not sure how much it will catch, at about 1m square, but we are forecast a few days of showers so I will soon find out.

I'll take up this challenge:

even a 1mx1m sheet would get there if the rain is persistant - better than nothing.
Grendel

...and will report back!

[JayG]

Assuming you can collect every drop, a 1m² surface will collect about 5 1/2 gallons of water for each 1" of rain, which is possibly better than nothing (although if you actually had that much rain you probably wouldn't need to do any watering!) 

[sowitgrowit]

Well, one would hope that it will build up when it is rainy, to be used when it's dry!!

That's the idea, right?!

[JayG]

Indeed it is.

[sowitgrowit]

Well, it's been a pretty damp week, albeit with only one day of "proper" (heavy) rainfall.  My 1mx1m collecting area has filled the bin about a quarter to a third of the way up, so it isn't doing too badly afterall.  Not great, but enough to water in the sweetcorn and dwarf beans I hope to put out in the coming days/weeks.

It may be a slow process filling it, so I might add another as an overflow to make the most of the rain when it does come.  I wouldn't want to use it up and then wait 2 or 3 months for a refill!

[Beetroot queen]

Well done, better than nothing. I am sure we won't go long between drops of the wet stuff so I think you'll be surprised. 

[Tenhens]

I have a small shed , about 3 ft square so have a similar problem with watering. There is mains water available but I prefer it heaven sent. How far do you live from your plot?  I use a water bag that sits in a wheelbarrow that holds about 5 to 6 watering cans worth, I'm 10mins from my plot.

[mrswashi]

Hi
Thanks for all your suggestions.
I do have a compost bin so will give a go to the suggestion of angling a lid of some sort to guttering to a bin/tub.
I also live 10 min walk, have been using those big bottles ou can buy from the supermarket and filling. As I only have a quarter plot I guess I won't need too much!
Mrswashi