My Tiny PlotTime to water potatoes
My early potatoes (Robinta) are flowering. It’s time to start watering them to ensure a healthy crop of decent sized potatoes, as apposed to mini marbles. We haven’t had any rain here (South West) for over a week and yesterday was so hot I had to wait until 6pm to do any work whatsoever. Watering potatoes is hard work in this weather too, since they are such a large crop. Especially for those of us on allotments that don’t allow hosepipes. Just one row of potatoes took five watering cans full. Where’s the under-gardener when you need him eh? Just as well that the other varieties are not flowering yet (Pink Fir Apple and Maris Bard) otherwise there would be no time for other jobs.
I thought I read that you can use a hosepipe for edible crops on allotments – you’ll need to check though. we’re in the north west so we’re okay for now.
We are going to water our potatoes tonight for the first time, we’ve had no rain up here for about 2 weeks now so they need it! Before that we had 2 solid weeks of rain so the plot is looking a real state, had grass up to my waist! Hoping for mild weather and a bit of rain next week so that I can actually plant out some seedlings, it’s just too hot to chance them at the moment.
Hi Alison, it’s not the drought it’s our allotment owners, the Parish Council. They say ‘no’ to hosepipes. We can only use watering cans.
What lucky people – I don’t have any water on my ‘site’ which is a field divided up.
My plot is 330feet long and 33feet wide, so almost everything has to fend for itself here in hot East Anglia.
I did water the tomatoes when I put them in last week and watered the pumpkins and courgettes too last night as they were flat on the ‘floor’ but after a little drink they are green and perky again.
My water comes from whatever I can save off my old pig shed hut!
It is great reading all the blogs and seeing the different sites and how everyone is doing.
Yes, our plot management doesn’t allow hosepipes either, so we don’t use them… at least, not officially ;-)
We’ve been digging spuds for a fortnight now, and they’re still – for me – the most exciting of all crops. That first forkful you dig is a moment of pure exhilaration and triumph. Couldn’t resist shouting out loud this year. Childish glee.
Your guttering pea technique is totally brilliant. I got 100% germination. Getting them out of the gutters is a tad tricky, but they have settled in well and are growing strongly. Thanks for an inspiring idea!