[New shoot]

Went to my plot today to water (again  )  Sweetcorn is starting to flower but is only about half the size it should be, the ground is so iron like I dare not plant any more and if I carry many more buckets of water,  I am in danger of my knuckles starting to drag on the ground 

I'm trying to focus on the positive but how's everyone else in a dry area coping ? 

I have got some OK stuff

Soft fruit seems OK - picked about 4 kilos of blackcurrants today



Desert gooseberries looking about ready



Beetroot, leeks and lettuce still hanging in there





and my borlotti beans are starting to make pods



Please ignore the weeds- my excuse is the ground is so rock hard I can't get them out   

[Sweet Pea 2]

it is hard as anything.  I am just trying to water every other day and keeping fingers crossed. My potatoes are awful, and not holding out too much hope for the garlic. Raspberries brillant though.  Runner beans just setting. 

[Livinhope]

Our plot looks bone dry but when you put in the hand fork and lift it is still quite damp underneath so we don't worry too much at the moment.  And it's raining now.

[Snap Dragon]

I've got a bed with some docks in that is like concrete!!!

I'm planning on putting the leeks in it but unless we have a huge downpour soon there's not a chance me getting a fork in the ground to dig them out!!!

Looks like I could be chucking buckets of water on the docks soon!!!  :blink:

[sunshineband]

I had to soak the potato plants last week as they were wilting so badly (maincrop   )

 a rota of watering different beds thoroughly once a week is working for everthing else so far....  

but my arms are very long indeed from the weight of the watercans  

No chnace of planting out the leeks, either Snappy 

[mumofstig]

I tried to dib the leeks in last week and it was sooo dry that the holes couldn't hold their shape and just kept filling up. I had to plant them at the bottom of trenches and will gradually fill these in, as the leeks grow.

Sweetcorn is doing Ok with just an occasional watering, as is the cabbage, swede and calabrese, peas and dwarf beans.
I'm watering pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatoes and the climbing beans more often, but the lettuce just up and died

[Snap Dragon]

Peas!!! Don't talk to me about peas!!!

I lovingly grew mine in the greenhouse in guttering and planted out the healthy little shoots and how did they repay me?

By not bothering to grow at all!!!

They are still hardly any bigger than when they went out a month ago! 

[sunshineband]

This is not the time to say we've eaten all our peas then, I suppose

[mumofstig]

and mine are just flowering, and the sugarsnaps are in the freezer already

[Snap Dragon]

No Sunny... it is not!!!

(Hope you enjoyed them though!) 

[diggerjoe]

2 hours to water on saturday evening and that did  not include the spuds but still everything looks a bit droopy. Back up there again tonight - its our power walking  by the river tonight sis does not know yet but we shall be making a detour to get a bit of weightlifting in

[kari]

Allotment is doing great, I am the one struggling, walking 50 ltrs up in the wheelbarrow morning & night is blinking hard work, but am getting some very impressive muscles 

Is anyone else dreading their water bill? We're on a meter &with the fish tanks, garden, paddling pool & now the allotment, its not going to be nice is it?

I've never known the summer to have such a long dry start

[horticgirl]

we don't have a water supply on our allotments so I have to take it up from home. Does anyone else have this problem?. Last year I used 4 pint plastic milk cartons, but it's a pathetic amount of water. Someone gave me a big plastic barrel this year but I can't life it when it full!
I haven't been up since last friday - I am dreading seeing everything wilting and bolting 
I also have leeks to get in and some cabbages, but I'm keeping them at home for the time being!

[Christo]

Me too horticgirl. I've got 35L jerry can that I bought at a Carboot sale for a quid. I fill it and take it with me every time I got to the allotment (which is most days at the moment). I'm going to have big muscles and an even bigger water bill by the end of this summer!
I wish we had a water supply a the site. Would be so much easier.

[aelf]

how come my veggies are all wilting but the weeds look strong n healthy?! Maybe I should just allow weeds to grow and harvest them instead of all this high-maintenance veg 

A good douse of rain would really help right now (but not this weekend please, we have plans  )