Ok...I have been watering my lawn by a hose over the dry periods....

But I swear the only time it puts out any real signs of growing is after
rain......

Is there any real differenve between tap water over rain?

Rick McGreal wrote in
:

Damn.....
That should be Rain rather than *HOSE* waterings....

Sheesh..... B-)

But I swear the only time it puts out any real signs of growing is after
rain......

you're not the only one - I'm positive it's the same with my garden!

I don't have any answers though, I always assumed that rain water had
some nutrient that 'treated' tap water was missing..or perhaps the chemicals
in tap water were not good for plant growth.

I probably should get around to collecting rain water in a barrel..

Rick McGreal wrote:
Rick McGreal wrote in
:

Damn.....
That should be Rain rather than *HOSE* waterings....

Sheesh..... B-)

Is it not simply because when we water using hose, we tend to do it far
too quickly, such that the total amount of water is far less than a good
old rain shower?

Philippe

Watering by hose/sprinkler deposits a lot more water in a lot shorter time
than a rain normally does. As an example I have gullies around my whole lawn
and I have only ever seen these full of water after the sprinkler has been
on.
Therefore a lot of the water actually being applied to the lawn is running
off.

Several hours of light rain has the effect of softening the upper lays of
soil allowing more water to soak in.

What time of say do you water as evaporation could also have an effect.

Dee



"Rick McGreal" wrote in message
...
Rick McGreal wrote in
:

Damn.....
That should be Rain rather than *HOSE* waterings....

Sheesh..... B-)

In article , Chris Burns
writes


I probably should get around to collecting rain water in a barrel..

Tooooo true :-)) We have 5 water butts at the back of the garage which
also collects the water off a shed roof. 20' x 10' garage and 10' x 8'
shed. Takes a lot of rain to fill them and not much time to empty them
:-((

Also 1 at the side of the house which 'never' runs dry. a) Not used for
watering as much as the others and 2) BIG roof = soon fills.

Mike

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Is it not simply because when we water using hose, we tend to do it far
too quickly, such that the total amount of water is far less than a good
old rain shower?

Philippe

A rain gauge is a useful addition to the range of garden equipment. It can
be very difficult to guess how much rain has fallen in a particular shower.
Even a thunderstorm with torrents of water coming down may only deposit a
millimetre or two. Also when it rains overnight, the ground may look wet
through but the gauge can tell the true story. Other mornings the ground may
just "look" damp but half an inch or more of rain could have fallen steadily
overnight.

--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)

In article ,
Drakanthus writes
Is it not simply because when we water using hose, we tend to do it far
too quickly, such that the total amount of water is far less than a good
old rain shower?

Philippe

A rain gauge is a useful addition to the range of garden equipment. It can
be very difficult to guess how much rain has fallen in a particular shower.
Even a thunderstorm with torrents of water coming down may only deposit a
millimetre or two. Also when it rains overnight, the ground may look wet
through but the gauge can tell the true story. Other mornings the ground may
just "look" damp but half an inch or more of rain could have fallen steadily
overnight.

Also good for establishing just how much water you have given by hose -
it may be less than you think.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

A rain gauge is a useful addition to the range of garden equipment. It
can
be very difficult to guess how much rain has fallen in a particular
shower.
Even a thunderstorm with torrents of water coming down may only deposit a
millimetre or two. Also when it rains overnight, the ground may look wet
through but the gauge can tell the true story. Other mornings the ground
may
just "look" damp but half an inch or more of rain could have fallen
steadily
overnight.

Also good for establishing just how much water you have given by hose -
it may be less than you think.
--
Kay Easton

Very true. I remember when I first took to gardening years ago and hosed a
patch until I thought it was well soaked - until I dug up a little earth and
found that the water hadn't penetrated below the first inch of soil.
Someone once told me that it is best not to superficially water plants too
often since it encourages the roots to form near to the surface - thus
making them susceptible to wilting in dry weather. Better to water
infrequently but to absolutely soak the ground when doing so to ensure the
water goes deep - this encourages plant roots to form deeper and then makes
them more tolerant to prolonged periods of dry weather.

--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)

Also good for establishing just how much water you have given by hose -
it may be less than you think.
--
Kay Easton

Very true. I remember when I first took to gardening years ago and hosed a
patch until I thought it was well soaked - until I dug up a little earth
and
found that the water hadn't penetrated below the first inch of soil.
Someone once told me that it is best not to superficially water plants too
often since it encourages the roots to form near to the surface - thus
making them susceptible to wilting in dry weather. Better to water
infrequently but to absolutely soak the ground when doing so to ensure the
water goes deep - this encourages plant roots to form deeper and then
makes
them more tolerant to prolonged periods of dry weather.

I've taken to picking up deiscarded pop bottles in the street (we don't
drink it). After a thorough washing I cut off the bottom, unscrew the top
and bury it, top down, into the ground a few inches from the vegetables'
stems. There are lots of these discarded bottles! With a watering can i fill
the bottles daily and the water soaks into the ground near the roots, not
being wasted on the surrounding soil.

I can't claim this as my invention, I got it from Bob Flowerdew and I'm sure
others have been using it for a very long time but another airing of the
system won't do any harm.

Incidentally, we bought a rainsaver water butt and it collects a huge amount
of rain water, no need for using a hose. Apart from environmental
considerations we're now on a meter and shall save far more than the cost of
the butt in a year).

Mary


--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)

"Mary Fisher" wrote
I've taken to picking up deiscarded pop bottles in the street (we don't
drink it). After a thorough washing I cut off the bottom, unscrew the top
and bury it, top down, into the ground a few inches from the vegetables'
stems.

This also seems to work a treat in hanging baskets - tried it for the first
time this year, and the baskets managed to survive us going away for half
term week despite the heat (which seems a long time ago now!). Normally we
come back to a basket full of shrivelled sticks...

Martin