It’s all looking pretty good sitting on my new patio. Now I only need to get the fence panel behind me to stop rattling!
We’ve got the water butt pump working and the IBCs are really coming into their own. Only last week it was torrential rain, but now the clay is cracking and I’ve got beans that need a healthy supply!
I had a bit of roofing paint left over, so I painted the IBC. Looks very blingy and should keep it algae free!
Today, offically the South East has been declared as in drought.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17102615
If you’re a regular reader to my blog, you’ll know I’m not that worried because I’ve beefed up my water catchment to just under 4,000 ltrs. Currently they’re all full (infact overflowing!) and I’ve been draining them to make room for the next rainfall. The backgarden is so full of water I’m constantly wary of being sucked under when making my way about – and when I return to the house I’m usually a few inches taller due to the mud.
I’m also already on a water meter. My showers are a mere 3-4 minutes a day and at a push I’d be happy to shower every other day.
I don’t think everyone has the room for 3×1000 litre IBCs above ground, but if they did I think they’d find the idea of drought much less terrifying.
Some tips:
1.) Don’t leave the tap running when brushing teeth
2.) Avoid power showers, when showering turn off after wetting down, soap up and then wash off miltary style. I’m proud my wife has been doing this for years… I hate doing it and rather have a shorter shower – but I have GI Joe hair.
3.) Use a bowl when washing up. Throw excess water down the toilet to ‘flush’ it.
4.) Install a flush bag – contact your local water company, they have lots of free clever gadgets for taps and toilets.
5.) If washing up, whilst waiting for the hot water to run through, catch the cold in a bucket, it can be used on your veg.
6.) Only slightly soapy water can be used on flowers.
7.) Like a long shower? Take the washing up in with you.
8.) Ignore the lawn. It’s grass and it’ll grow back. Concentrate on fruit and veg plants. Install a root waterer (cut the bottom of a bottle off and bury it next to the roots – or use a section of drain pipe!) and water the roots direct
9.) Only water plants last thing at night or first thing in the morning before the sun comes up.
10.) Mulch round plants with straw/manure. This just means spreading some around the base of the plant. Less water is lost through evaporation.
Is there likely to be a hosepipe ban in Essex? If the BBC’s website is to be believed, possibly not as we’re only listed as a moderate risk as opposed to Londons high risk. Only time will tell!
More to the point, tens of thousands of new homes are in the planning stages around the area, yet where is the water coming from to supply them?
Sadly I seem now to be excited by rushing home to find out how much water has accumulated in the IBCs. Last night for instance, I got 100ltrs.. We’re now up to 275ltrs in the first IBC – over 1/4!
Finally I’ve connected the IBCs
Taken off the guttering
Replaced angled towards the IBCs and connected them up with whatever came up hand!
First set of membrane went down. It goes the full length of the allotment area. After putting it down, we realised that it’s pretty waterproof. Oops. Well it’ll be good for water conservation.
The IBCs were moved so we could run the membrane underneath. This ought to prevent weeds coming up around underneath them.
The IBCs were moved so we could run the membrane underneath. This ought to prevent weeds coming up around underneath them.
Well the first step of our allotment is to uncover the ground and level it. And mow. And mow. As you can see, it’s looking tidyish now, the last bit still needs a mow and the shed moving. I’m then going to dig out the weed killer and give the whole area a dose.
If we’re lucky we’ll soon be laying down the membrane.
Rest of the garden’s a bit rubbish.
The IBCs needed levelling so for a few hours Friday and today I spent my time smacking bricks with a sledge hammer.
Yesterday I visited my friend Kris in Norfolk. It was a surprise 30th Birthday party and we turned up about 3hrs late. Kris is a bit of an inspiration as he has an amazing backyard allotment and many chickens. I tried to help round up one of the feral ones, but no luck.
He’s offered for me to go up and learn some basics, which’ll be handy when we get our own chocks.
Hopefully this week off I start on Thurs I’ll get the boxes all set up and get some stuff growing!
This is about as close as cats come to helping with the weeding. Unfortunately our garden suffers with bindweed something cronic, so the few beds we’ve dug are quite infested.
On a positive note the gooseberries which looked like they’d died after the move have picked up and the first few leaves have started to appear.
Similarly the grape which promptly died has also started to exhibit signs of life and new growth has started to appear.
We’d got bored of looking at our IBCs in the centre of the garden so they’re now in their final resting place – except they still need a layer of hardcore under them!
Today we really needed to move the IBCs to somewhere behind the house so the many scrap dealers in the area didn’t appropriate them.
Unfortunately the only way to move them was to take them down the side of the house. This is the impassable side of the house, so first we had to empty it. I got one of my scouts to give us a hand and to move the IBCs as well.
Now they’re in the garden, all I need to do is level the ground, raise them up and reroute the guttering.
I'm Tim, a 29yr old ex-Allotmenteer. My wife and I used to have a small 5 rod plot in South Essex where we grew all manner of veg. I'm also involved in brewing the odd keg of beer.
Recently we bought a house with a 65ftx30ft garden, which we're converting into a mini orchard and veg beds. The entire transformation is happening at the moment and being chronicled by a timelapse camera.
The hope is to introduce chickens next year into the orchard to allow them free range.
If you want to contact me, you can do so here
