Kitchen Garden Forum

Last years drought was terrible! Many trees started dropping leaves months before the fall season even started and some even dropped their bark. For a moment I thought they were all dying. It shocked me when I saw the locals coming to the neighbourhood with a tractor carrying a huge water tank. Now climate change is still questionable for many people, I get it, but this really concerns me. For as far as I remember we never had so much drought and so little rain before, ever. My own crops will live, I water them twice a day during summertime as long as there's water streaming through the faucet. But how about all the other vegetation out there? How about the animals?

Last year was a wake up call indeed & I hope we don't see another one too soon, but it is possible. Climate change is real or they wouldn't be thinking of ways to save the polar caps, ways that will come with a huge cost - we are changing but too slow & not every country in the world is signed up & some have leaders with huge egos & low intelligence so are moving too slow to deal with their emissions. The plastic pollution in the ocean & waterways is real, forests are being burned & animals displaced that have a role in maintaining an equilibrium of species and the habitat & the world is over populated. Maybe just maybe if we do get another few hot summers & droughts then things may move a bit faster, in the meantime we also are learning to deal with it a bit better & will be more prepared. Fingers crossed anyway.

They say we will only realise it when it's too late but I don't buy that! Wanted to dedicate this topic to finding simple solutions we have as I wonder what everybody else is doing. I would love to help even more and learn from what others are doing too. Besides, it doesn't hurt to spread a little awareness in the process. What more simple things can I do about it?

As we are an island we are surrounded by water so why can't we use it.

It will take some planning & expense to set up but hey the water companies arnt poor.

I did less watering last year compared to my plot neighbour, could it be because I do no dig and he likes to dig his over?

While our politicians are still pontificating about Brexit they could have been implementing some very simple legislation which required all new build homes to have water tanks built in the roof to collect rainwater for things like toilet flushing, and for all suitable new buildings to have solar panels installed to generate electricity.
Some roofs obviously would not face in the right direction to harvest enough sunshine to make it financially viable but I despair that the government has been wasting millions of pounds on a campaign to have Smart energy meters which do not work installed in homes while implementing different legislation would have been more effective.

We have four water butts installed In our garden to collect water from roofs but the irony is that I,ve now reached a stage in life where it is too arduous for me to carry the full water cans drawn from them and easier to switch on the garden hose and walk it around the garden to water where it is needed. Not sure how one can easily overcome this kind of logistics problem.

Primrose wrote:... have water tanks built in the roof to collect rainwater ... We have four water butts installed In our garden to collect water from roofs ... too arduous for me to carry the full water cans drawn from them than it is to switch on the garden hose ...

My father connected a water tank with a tap to the downspout. It's perfect for catching rainwater and we can just put buckets underneath and turn on the tap. The downside is that the water pressure may not be enough to connect a garden hose to it, but it's a nice and simple way to reuse rainwater

When I first started growing veg I read the square foot gardening book, this told you how much water each plant need measured in cup size.

It seemed a lot less water was needed compared to using how/watering can.

If you have water butts a long way from you bed consider using a bilge pump (£12 ish).

It may not be quite as dry here as last year, but getting on for it: less than 4cm rain so far in May after a dry March and April (and winter). Our collected rainwater has long since been used up and we have to use the tap. I am truly glad we no longer have the allotment because last year's drought when it meant carting watering can after watering can just to keep plants alive.

The other worrying thing for us is the dearth of insects: very few honey bees, bumble bees, butterflies and moths. This may explain the drop in swallow, swift and bat numbers. We have chiffchaff and whitethroat on and around the local nature reserve, but this year will be the very first year in our 38 years in the village that I have not yet heard a willow warbler!

Colin2016 wrote:As we are an island we are surrounded by water so why can't we use it.

Really hope I will use the first water powered electricity anytime soon!

Colin2016 wrote:When I first started growing veg I read the square foot gardening book

Is it literally called the Square Foot Gardening Book? Because it sounds like a very useful book for me!

Monika wrote:The other worrying thing for us is the dearth of insects: very few honey bees

I did notice a lot of bumblebees already and if you like raspberries, they really do lure them to the area! Also heard that those bird feeding fat balls can be very unhealthy for birds, as the netting around them may end up getting consumed too. What do you think about it?

Yes Elmigo "Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew" plenty of old copies available on ebay.