Water Supply

It is in the interests of all of us to use our water supply wisely so fit a water butt or butts to your shed! On average 56,000 Litres of water falls every year on a half plot so why not collect some of it?

Water is a precious resource which you realise as soon as you have to carry it any distance!

To quote from the DEFRA publication "A Plotholders Guide":

"An accessible water supply is essential. The allotment authority should ensure every plot holder has access to a mains water supply and that it is easy for elderly and disabled gardeners to use it. "

A good heavy watering is about 22 litres per sq metre/4 gallons per square yard, so that's a lot of water. The NAS have this advice on water.

We are very fortunate in that both Town Council run sites have mains water supplied to water troughs for much of the year. The water is turned off when there is a danger of frost.

To augment the mains water supply many plots have water butts filled from shed roofs. To find out how to install gutters on a shed, click here. It saves carrying water cans all the way from the watertrough. One full water butt (190L) can supply around 21 9L watering cans.

Central Beds Council have a scheme for buying cheap water butts & compost bins