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Old 24-03-2006, 01:30 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
VX
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

I've heard various dire predictions about dry conditions becoming more
prevalent, water shortages, hosepipe bans and even severe water use
resrictions. I live in the South-East where we seem to have much more of a
problem with this.

One person I spoke to said they would only plant drought-resistant plants
now. I've been looking at what is available that is said to have greater
drought resistance than average. One email from Crocus gave this url for a
list of such plants:

http://www.crocus.co.uk/findplant/se...yID=0&ValueID=
&ValueID=&ValueID=&ValueID=&ValueID=33&ValueID=&Va lueID=&x=23&y=13&affiliate=c
u112

which is a very long url! It leads to over four hundred search results. Some
of these seem to be wrong where for example the plant is described as liking
moist soil and needing watering in dry periods (not just whilst getting
established), but I would hope that most are correct.

We have a hosepipe ban here commencing in April and some nearby SE counties
are considering more severe restrictions on water use. I'm getting a water
butt installed and will be pumping any used bathwater intro it and pouring
water from washing-up into it too. I wish my water butt was already
installed- we seem to have many days of rain commencing today.... You can get
quite good weather forecast information from the Metcheck web site- even a
week or so ahead, which is much further ahead than the usual weather forecats
sites:

http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/HOME/

Has anyone got any good ideas for dealing with drier conditions, water
restrictions etc?

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)


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Old 24-03-2006, 01:51 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
GH
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

One thing you could do is buy 100% biodegradable soap (liquid) and save
the water from dishwashing, laundry, shower/bath - that makes a lot of
water and you save some money on clothes because your colours don't
fade so quickly.
Another thing could be buying plants rezistant to dry periods. I like
the plants sold by kokopelli you can find them he
www.kokopelli-seed-foundation.com or try a seed exchange forum - that
way you won't have to pay for the seeds.

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Old 24-03-2006, 02:04 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
GH
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

Sorry I think I posted the wrong link
http://www.organicseedsonline.com/ - we use the French site and I
didn't check the results for English

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Old 24-03-2006, 02:29 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
La Puce
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?


VX wrote:
which is a very long url! It leads to over four hundred search results. Some
of these seem to be wrong where for example the plant is described as liking
moist soil and needing watering in dry periods (not just whilst getting
established), but I would hope that most are correct.


Well yes, taking an example of these plants, mimosa, grows like a weed
in the south of france where it has lots of sunshine but has an
abondance of water via night rains. All plant needs water except
succulents. So all these plants on Crocus are perhaps tollerent of dry
conditions, this doesn't mean that they won't need water at some point.

Also thank you for the link - whilst I would love a mimosa, being the
scent of my childhood, I can't have one - NW england is not the best
place for it, but I once saw the Kolomikta vine and just didn't know
how to describe it, nor knew the name. Your link just gave me this and
I've just bought a 3l pot. Thanks you so much )

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Old 24-03-2006, 02:38 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Janet Tweedy
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

In article m, VX
writes
I'm getting a water
butt installed


If you intend to get a water barrel do it soon as harcostar appear to be
flat out supplying them!
Janet

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk


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Old 24-03-2006, 03:11 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
michael adams
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?


"VX" wrote in message
s.com...

Has anyone got any good ideas for dealing with drier conditions, water
restrictions etc?


Mulch wherever possible. Water evaporating into the atmosphere
from the soil surface, isn't doing much good to anything from
what I can see.
From the garden, to the pots in the greenhouse. Baking foil on
the latter can reflects sunlight back up to the plant.
Or old CD's if placed around the plant stem at an early
stage of developement maybe. Always removeable late if
necesary with a tin snips.
The only problem is that if the mulch is really effective and
acts as a total vapour barrier then this might prevent the soil
from getting properly aerated. Also of course, any rain would
simply settle on the surface and evaporate away, so you'd be really
worse off than before.
There are however plenty of permeabale mulching materials around
that let rain and air in eventually, but hinder too much evaporation.
You'll need to cut holes to plant things and apply water but mulching
is probably the way to go. While there's talk of plastic sheet mulches
encouraging slugs it also encourages plent of ground beetles IME
who appear quite able to see in the dark. Mulching can also be
very effective against the depredations of cats - especially one's own.

michael adams

....




--
VX (remove alcohol for email)




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Old 24-03-2006, 04:07 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
VX
 
Posts: n/a
Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:51:23 +0000, GH wrote
(in message .com):

One thing you could do is buy 100% biodegradable soap (liquid) and save
the water from dishwashing, laundry, shower/bath - that makes a lot of
water and you save some money on clothes because your colours don't
fade so quickly.


I use the Ecover laundry and dishwashing products, but wonder what would be
biodegradable for shower/bath type soap- any suggestions for that?

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)


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Old 24-03-2006, 05:47 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
cineman
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?


"VX" wrote in message
s.com...
SNIP

/

Has anyone got any good ideas for dealing with drier conditions, water
restrictions etc?


How about moving to Wales, it always seems to rain there, mind you the West
Midlands takes a fair share of its water from Wales

regards
Cineman

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)




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Old 24-03-2006, 07:47 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Nigel Cliffe
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message m
from VX contains these words:

I've heard various dire predictions about dry conditions becoming
more prevalent, water shortages, hosepipe bans and even severe water
use resrictions. I live in the South-East where we seem to have much
more of a problem with this.


Has anyone got any good ideas for dealing with drier conditions,
water restrictions etc?


Try two books by Beth Chatto, The Dry Garden and The Gravel Garden.
You should be able to order them from any library but I'd recommend
buying them as they are such useful references.(She gardens in the
S.E)

Both contain reliable plantlists as well as useful ways to adapt your
gardening to drier conditions



If you are in range of her garden, not far from Colchester Essex, its open
most of the time (though not usually on Sundays), with an attached garden
centre.

The garden centre plant selection is arranged in sections of "dry", "wet",
"shade", etc., rather than the more traditional pure alphabetical
arrangement.

The dry "we've done no watering since year one, honest" garden is
interesting, giving a decent impression of what can be done. It looks pretty
decent even towards the tail end of a dry summer.

The garden centre and the dry garden (which forms part of the approach to
the house) are free of charge, the main garden charges a modest fee.


- Nigel (fairly local to the Chatto garden, no commercial connection other
than the odd small purchases).


--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/


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Old 24-03-2006, 08:16 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
VX
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 17:24:24 +0000, Janet Baraclough wrote
(in message ):

I use the Ecover laundry and dishwashing products, but wonder what would
be
biodegradable for shower/bath type soap- any suggestions for that?


Ecover shower/bath products. However, don't confuse "biodegradeable"
with "harmless to living plants it touches".
Not many plants could take a constant diet of diluted soap; no matter
how biodegradeable it is.

Janet


My first thought was (and still is)- how can I bath without using soap?

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)




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Old 24-03-2006, 08:19 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
VX
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:16:21 +0000, VX wrote
(in message m):

My first thought was (and still is)- how can I bath without using soap?


Er, what I mean is, I wonder if there is way? This may not be a profitable
avenue to explore but it would be great if there was some sort of
alternative. I hate the idea of wasting all that water just because I've
contaminated it by washing with soap in it....

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)


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Old 24-03-2006, 08:46 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Rupert
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?


"VX" wrote in message
s.com...
On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:16:21 +0000, VX wrote
(in message m):

My first thought was (and still is)- how can I bath without using soap?


Er, what I mean is, I wonder if there is way? This may not be a profitable
avenue to explore but it would be great if there was some sort of
alternative. I hate the idea of wasting all that water just because I've
contaminated it by washing with soap in it....

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)


The chances are that what you refer to as soap is probably a synthetic
detergent , however, it does biodegrade.
If you can find a way of storing the water for a few weeks prior to use,
having first added a few handfuls of soil, then you will probably have
something that will not harm most plants.
You also have a totally legitimate reason for peeing in the bath.


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Old 24-03-2006, 09:58 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
K
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

VX writes
On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:16:21 +0000, VX wrote
(in message m):

My first thought was (and still is)- how can I bath without using soap?


Er, what I mean is, I wonder if there is way? This may not be a profitable
avenue to explore but it would be great if there was some sort of
alternative. I hate the idea of wasting all that water just because I've
contaminated it by washing with soap in it....

Well, there are those little bars they sell for washing hands which they
claim get rid of all the dirt without using soap - look in any of the
innovations type catalogues.

But the amount of soap you'd use for a basic wash wouldn't hurt - it's
adding all the bubble bath or bath oil that's the problem.
--
Kay
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Old 24-03-2006, 10:18 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Stan The Man
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

The first thing is to know what a hosepipe restriction actually means.
Although the water companies don't like to make this clear, you can
still legitimately use a hosepipe during a "ban". What you can't do is
water plants directly with it or wash the car. But for the disabled or
infirm who can't carry heavy watering cans, it might be useful to know
that they can place empty containers around the garden, strategically
close to plants which need water, and fill those containers with a hose
- then using a watering can to carry the precious stuff the short
distance to their plants.

Unusually for the water companies, there's a good/factual Q&A on the
Three Valleys Water website at
http://www.3valleys.co.uk/home/ah_beatthedrought.shtml which explains
what you can still use a hose for -- including, ludicrously, to supply
a pressure washer.

The law is an ass and I suppose I'm in the minority in that I am
furious that gardeners and the £5bn gardening industry are used as
scapegoats when their consumption of water is so small. The water
compnaies don't have any powers to impose restrictions on the people
who use 99% of our abstracted water. They can only prohibit the 1% that
goes to an outside tap. That's because an outside tap doesn't come
under their statutory domestic supply regulations. So, take as many
power showers as you like, leave the bathroom tap running all night,
flush the loo 5 times a night and generally waste as much water as you
like indoors because it will take an (unlikely) emergency drought order
and standpipes to curb you.

Meanwhile the gardener carries the full burden of restrictions despite
the fact that 96% of all household water use goes unchecked and so does
all the industrial, commercial and agricultural use. And so does much
of the water industry leakage which alone would supply over one-third
of all the nation's domestic needs.

But what really makes my blood boil is that all the evidence indicates
that hosepipe restrictions don't actually save water. Research by the
Environment Agency, the Water Research Centre, Southern Water and
others hasn't been able to prove that hosepipe bans save water. Some of
the research shows that water consumption actually goes up during a
hosepipe ban. Other research shows that industrial users reduced their
consumption far more than domestic users despite the fact that the
industrial users weren't subject to any restrictions.

Anyway, the real reason for the water shortage in the south east isn't
the low rainfall because it has been just as low in other areas but the
water companies inability and unwillingness to invest in water storage
resources - combined with the Government's suicidal house-building
programme in the region.

And do check whether your water supplier really has imposed a
restriction. Research last year by the Environment Agency proved that
14% of customers in a region where water was plentiful and unrestricted
wrongly assumed that they were subject to a hosepipe ban.

For the record, here (at the time of writing) are all the hosepipe bans
which will be in force by April 3:

Cholderton & District Water
Folkestone & Dover Water
Mid Kent Water
South East Water
Sutton & East Surrey Water
Thames Water
Three Valleys Water
Southern Water has imposed part-area restrictions in its Sussex North,
Sussex Coast, Sussex Hasting, Kent Thanet, Kent Medway and Isle of
Wight water supply areas (739,000) but not in its Hampshire supply
area.

That's a total of 6.3m homes, all in the south east. Other areas are
not threatened by drought and won't need to impose hosepipe bans.

Next week I will come under Thames Water's hosepipe ban. I have sown
new areas of lawn and if it doesn't rain, I will connect up my hosepipe
to my tripod garden shower, perfectly legally, and tell the family to
shower outdoors - moving the tripod around as required.

It's all spin and con and we just take it like sheep.
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Old 24-03-2006, 11:07 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
VX
 
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Default Drier conditions & water restrictions - what to do?

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 21:18:40 +0000, Stan The Man wrote
(in message ):

Thaks for that, very interesting!

The first thing is to know what a hosepipe restriction actually means.
Although the water companies don't like to make this clear, you can
still legitimately use a hosepipe during a "ban". What you can't do is
water plants directly with it or wash the car. But for the disabled or
infirm who can't carry heavy watering cans, it might be useful to know
that they can place empty containers around the garden, strategically
close to plants which need water, and fill those containers with a hose
- then using a watering can to carry the precious stuff the short
distance to their plants.


Well that's good to know- I do in fact have a degree of disability. It's
about time it came in useful!

I have a couple of questions:

What confuses me is whether the hosepipe ban could ever apply to a hosepipe
that is connected only to a water butt that contains water that I put there
myself, ie that I recycled, or rainwater that I diverted from the roof rather
than allowing it to go straight into the drain. Surely they can't stop me
using a hose (or an underground irrigation system connected by a hose) with
that? They way they say it on the TV makes it sound like you can't use a hose
at all no matter where you obtained the water from, and that can't be quite
right, surely.

The law is an ass ...


Just thought I'd leave that in.

The water
compnaies don't have any powers to impose restrictions on the people
who use 99% of our abstracted water. They can only prohibit the 1% that
goes to an outside tap.


Just to make sure I got this- does this mean that the fact that when using
mains water I always run a hose through the kitchen window and use the
kitchen tap- does this mean the hosepipe ban would not apply to me?

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)


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