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Gardening in a drought
Fri 6-Apr-12
5:27 pm
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JoannaS
Latvia

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I know a few of you have mentioned the hose pipe ban and the difficulties you are going to face with watering the garden (no chance of that so far here, although we did have a whole month of no rain last year) and so I thought I would share this link about using ollas

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http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/03/24/using-ollas/

I have some pottery jars made locally that are unglazed to do a similar job but in tubs and they have been very effective. cheers

Fri 6-Apr-12
6:07 pm
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Hattie
Bucks/Oxon Border

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I tried a makeshift version of this some years back by using some clay flowerpots ( I plugged the holes at the bottom) buried in my raised beds. I covered the tops with old tiles. The tomato plants did very well. It looks as if I shall have to try this again this year.  Those ollas look very attractive but I have never seen them here in the UK....I did see them in Mexico when I was visiting friends years ago.

I think mulching is so important in dry summers, use whatever you can, laying it on as thickly as you can. Above all don't let your chickens get anywhere near it.....they are mad about mulch & kick it around with gay abandon........devildevildevil 

 

"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."

from Les Miserables

Sun 8-Apr-12
6:25 pm
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JoannaS
Latvia

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Absolutely agree about mulching, we mulch every year and it makes a very big difference, drives our neighbour to our allotment mad because she is a tidy freak but also ends up watering every day and often in the middle of the day roll_eyes Good job we have a big pond nearby so she can pump water up from that.

Mon 9-Apr-12
7:00 am
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kayerunrig
lincolnshire

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Its done nothing but rain since they announced the hosepipe ban, meanwhile im happily shredding and mulching still, plus ive been given some pallet bits to have a bonfire with  so loads of lovely wood ash for the potatoes.  With a family that can only take baths i think we will be doing a lot of running up and down stairs with buckets if it gets hot , we would kill for a shower but the water pressure is so low here youve no chance and the council  just ignores us yet again when they fit them in the other houses in our road 

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