water use on allotments - ashington · dealing with drought ... of algae. watering wisely the best...

How to reduce the need to water

•Diginormulchwithplentyoforganicmatter;thiswillhelptoretainmoistureinthesoil.

•Applymulcheswhenthesoil iswarmandmoist,thiswillreducewaterlossduetoevaporationandalsosuppressweeds.

•Weedscompeteformoistureandnutrientsinthesoilsoweedregularlyorcoversoilwithaweedsuppressing geo-textile. The weeds, roots andall can be composted if processed correctly bydrowninginwaterorputinablackplasticbaginthe sun until theydecompose.Weed seedswillonlybedestroyedinthehotcompostprocess.

•Growcropsthatsuityourlocalconditions.

Agreenhouseorpoly-tunnelcanincreasetheneedfor water significantly so water harvesting fromthesestructuresisimportant.

Dealing with drought

Adrought is a shortageofwater resulting fromaperiod of low rainfall affecting people, agriculture,industry or the environment. Some droughts areshort and intense while others are long and taketimetodevelop.Everydroughtisdifferentandthereis no formal definition of a drought. Plot-holderswho garden with water in mind, who reduce theneedtowaterandharvestrainwaterwillhaveplotsthatwithstandthestressofdroughtmuchbetter.

Yourwatercompanymayintroducemeasuresthatwill affect allotment holders, to help itmanage itssuppliesfollowingperiodsofprolongeddryweatherordrought.Somecustomersareexemptfromtherestrictionsorcanapplytotheirwatercompanytorequest an exemption, for example, holders of aBlueBadge.Thecompanyshouldusethemediaorother marketing campaigns to keep you informedaboutthefollowingrestrictions.

•�Hosepipe� bans. Your water company mayintroduceahosepipebanifitislikelytobeshortofwaterbecauseofadrought.Yourwatercompanycanpreventyoufromusing,orrestrictyouruseof,hosepipesandsprinklerstowateryourgardenorallotment.Youcanbefinedforusingahosepipeorsprinklerwhenabanisinplace.

•Drought�orders.Adroughtorderallowsyourwatercompanytorestrictthenon-essentialuseofwater.Thisincludesrestrictionson:

-usinghosepipesorsprinklers towatergardens,allotments,parksandrecreationgrounds

-fillingornamentalponds,otherthanfishponds -cleaningbuildingexteriors(apartfromwindows)

DroughtordersandemergencydroughtordersaregrantedbytheSecretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs inEngland,andbytheWelsh Assembly GovernmentinWales.

This publication containspublic sector informationlicensedundertheOpenGovernmentLicencev3.0.

O’Dell House, Hunters Road, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 5JE T: 01536 266576 • E: natsoc@nsalg.org.uk • www.nsalg.org.uk

www.nsalg.org.uk

Become�a�member�of��The�National�Allotment�Society

MembershipofTheNationalAllotmentSocietycomeswitharaftofbenefits,fromdiscountsonhorticulturalproductsthroughtoinitiallegaladviceandhorticulturalexpertise.Tobecomeamembervisitwww.nsalg.org.uk��orcall01536�266576.

© NSALG 2012

Water use on allotments

Usingwater inawell-informedandconsideratemannercansavemoney,ensurethatyougrowhealthyplantsthatcropwellandhelptopreserveourpreciousnaturalresources

Typically, you should expect to be able to useapproximately 80% of your annual rainfall, somewill be lost in storage and some rain will notgenerateenoughrunoff.AnnualrainfalldataforyourareacanbeobtainedfromtheMetOfficewebsitewww.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate

Containersthatstorewaterneedtobesecuredandsafe for animals and children and half a teaspoonof cookingoilwill spread afilmacross the topofthe water that will prevent mosquitos breeding.1000Litre IBCs(IntermediateBulkContainer)canoftenbeobtainedsecondhandandusedtostorerainwater but will need a good clean and ideallyshouldbepaintedadarkcolourtoreducegrowthofalgae.

Watering wisely

Thebesttimetowateryourcropsisintheeveningorveryearlymorning,usingawateringcanandaimingattherootsnotthefoliage.Waterthoroughlyonaweeklybasisandsoakthesoil,ratherthanalittleatatime.Waterappropriatelytothecrop,seeexamplesintable;plantsalsoneeddifferentamountsofwateratvaryingstagesofgrowthandtoomuchwatercanaffectyieldandtaste.

Water is a vital ingredient for all plot-holders growing fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers but it is a precious resource and can be a significant cost for allotment authorities. On sites with a mains water supply it should be used in a sensible and considerate manner by all and tenants should be willing to take responsibility to report leaks and other problems with the water infrastructure to their association or landlord.

Water supply regulations

Allotmentsites,likeanyotherownersoroccupiersof premises with a public water supply, do havea duty to comply with the Water Supply (WaterFittings) Regulations 1999. The objectives of theregulations are to prevent waste, misuse, undueconsumptionandmoreimportantly,contaminationof the public drinking water. To comply with theregulations water fittings used on the premisesmust be of an appropriate quality and standardand suitable for the circumstances in which theyare used. WRAS produce a Water Fittings andMaterials Directory which can be viewed on thewebsitewww.wras.co.uk/directory.

Care must be taken to reduce the risk ofcontamination from the allotment to the publicwater supplyviabackflow, ingressor leaching (e.g.Hosepipesleftimmersedintroughs,puddles,drainsor on the ground near manure).The regulationsrequire every water system to have adequatedevicestopreventback-flowandeachwaterfitting,waterpointofuseandapplianceneedstohaveitsownbackflowriskassessmentandtheappropriatebackflowpreventiondeviceinstalled.

Manysitesrunhappilywithnomainswatersupply,someareluckyenoughtohaveaccesstospringwaterorhaveinstalledaborehole;whichmeansthatunlessthey have a dual water supply the Water Supply(WaterFittings)Regulations1999donotapply tothem. InformationaboutthePrivateWaterSupplyRegulations 2010 or the Welsh PWS Regulations2010canbefoundat http://dwi.defra.gov.uk/

Water harvesting

The Society would like to encourage the use ofwaterharvesting,regardlessofwhetherthesitehasaccess to mains water. There are many benefitsfrom this practice to both the site, in terms ofreducingsitecosts,andtothewiderenvironment.Rainwatercollectionreducestheneedforchemicalstoproducedrinkingwaterandtheenergyneededto clean and pump it around the system. It alsoreducesthedemandonriversandgroundwaterandcanreducerunoffandriskofflooding.

It is possible to calculate the amountof rainwateryoucancollecteachyearinawaterbuttconnectedtoyourshedorpoly-tunnelbyusingthefollowingequation.

Annual rainwater yield (Y) in m3 = P (annualprecipitation) x A (collection area- shed roof orpoly-tunnelfootprint)x0.8,forexamplea2mx3m(6msquare)poly-tunnelinBristolwillcollect

0.8m(P) x 6(A) x 0.8 = 3.84m3(Y) or 3840 litres

The average water requirement per plot in theSouthWest is approximately1800 litresper year,theaveragearoundthecountrywillvarydependingupon soil conditions and local climate; even halfplotswillneedaroundthisamountastheytendtobeintensivelycultivatedandmayhaveagreenhouseorpoly-tunnel.

www.nsalg.org.uk

The Society would like to encourage the use of water harvesting,

regardless of whether the site has access to mains water.

Cucurbits Squashcansurviveandproducefruitsfromminimalwateringbutcourgetteplantsneedtobekeptconstantlymoist.

Fruitingcrops Aubergines,cucumbers,sweetcornandtomatoesneedconstantwaterthroughouttheirgrowingperiod.

Leafyvegetables Cropssuchascabbages,chardandspinachalongwithsaladcropsneedwateratandsaladcrops everystageofgrowth.

Legumes Avoidwateringpeasandbroadbeanswhenyoungbuttheywillneedwateratfloweringtimeandabout2weekslater.RunnerbeansneedconstantmoisturebutFrenchbeanscancopewithdryerconditions.

Onionsetc Watertoestablishandthenonlyindryspells.

Potatoes Waterregularlyfrom6-10weeksafterplantingwhentheystarttoproducetubers.

Rootcrops Carrotsandparsnipswillsplitifwateredirregularly,waterbeforedryconditionsdevelop.

Stemvegetables Celery,celeriacandFlorenceFennelneedcopiousamountsofwatertodevelopandwillbedamagedbydroughtconditions.

Manyauthoritiesdonotallowhosepipewateringofcropsbutwillallowhosestobeusedtofillupwaterbuttsonplots;ahosepipecanuseover1000litresofwater in justonehour,which ismore than theaveragehouseholdusesinanentireday.TheSocietydoesnotadvocatetheuseofsprinklers.