Watering Exhaustion - a change is needed!

Casdon

You’re right Callistemon21, there’s a beautiful Chinese dogwood near me, and I noticed today how sad it was looking. There might well be an early autumn this year.

How right you were!
Early Autumn - called a false Autumn - was being discussed on the radio earlier. There was hope that the trees will recover if there's a decent amount of rain over the Autumn and Winter months,

i've just found out that in thames water area, may be similar elsewhere, there is an exemption to the hosepipe ban for blue badge holders.

Hosepipe use is trivial compared with the water lost by water companies through leaks in the mains which they are mostly failing to stop through underinvestment. If you are not under a hosepipe ban I see no reason to kill yourself carrying heavy watering cans.

Yes I have no idea why anyone who do that. I dont have a hosepipe ban, so I use the hose.

If you feel comfortable using a hose obviously go ahead. It’s a sustainability issue, that’s why I’ve been watering with a can. It will take the whole winter for reservoirs to return to normal levels, and we don’t know if we will have a wet winter this year or not, if not there are fears that we will start next year with a pre existing deficit. Longer term it’s necessary to think about making our gardens more drought resistant.

Even my drought resistant garden is succumbing to this relentless drought in s somerset. I just noticed that deep rooted comfrey is laying much flatter and has not put on much new growth in weeks, I use it for my hotbins

I had to go around with a watering can, echinacea are still fine but the younger ones were looking droopy and I have watered 2 rowans and 3 blackcurrants as they only went in last winter. Roses in the ground are holding their own. Sedums look droopy but will recover without watering and best of all, hellebores have not had a drop as they are sturdy and glossy

I am glad I have planted small lavenders into pots as they are obviously ok in drought. At the front, roses, hebe and rosemary are all surviving. The 4 apple trees at the back have been in for 3 1/2 years and I fortunately did the summer prune and took quite a bit of green off them. They would need a lot of water for 2 years from planting, probably 2 cans per tree but I believe that they are ok

I have not used a hose since last year and don`t mind carrying the cans, both for water conservation and also very good for the all -important muscle building

Hopefully there will be some rain this weekend. I’ve pruned a lot of my shrubs and trees too in the last few weeks, hopefully it will reduce their stress. It’s going to be such an early false autumn.

Grantanow

Hosepipe use is trivial compared with the water lost by water companies through leaks in the mains which they are mostly failing to stop through underinvestment. If you are not under a hosepipe ban I see no reason to kill yourself carrying heavy watering cans.

I agree although I don't think lawns need watering. It's surprising how they revive when it rains.

Is it worse to use a spray attached to a hose to water pots and vegetables than it is to fill watering cans from the same outside tap?

I agree and I don't think lawns need watering, sorry Grantanow you didn't suggest that.

We aren't having an issue here (live in a rain forest), but other areas of our province are semi-arid and get very little rain during the summer. Our friends that live there have a drip-hose system for watering pots and veg. they have it hooked up to their main line, but it can also be hooked up to rain barrels.

A drip system allows for less evaporation since the water is slowly releases right at the base of the plant.

I bought a water butt pump which lets you use a hosepipe fed from the butt which avoids using watering cans but you get through water more quickly.

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