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We had a one hour drizzle this morning, perhaps a millimetre of rain, the first rain on the allotment for 8 weeks! Even then that was only a couple of light showers, you have to go back to the first week of May, 12 weeks ago, since we had what you might call rain.

Show off (Sorry, I know that's a problem for your allotment!)

We're trying hard to revamp our garden this year, having not got started with the usual spring planting we thought it would be a good time to do it. Unfortunately OH works office hours and it has persisted down damn near every evening and weekend since May. Thus far we've managed to skim the turf from a small area of back garden, lay membrane and clinker, move two raised beds, paint a small area at the back of the house and build a new (flat pack) coal bunker. That accounts for an area about 5m2 - only the rest of the 1/4 acre to go!

So please take our rain - I've only got one bed of brassicas and the polytunnel, which I'll happily do with a watering can if we can get a bit of dry time to get the garden sorted.

And there was me quietly celebrating the fact that it hasn't rained since Friday
AND ..and, there's none forecast for a whole week

Sorry Graham, I well remember desert gardening in Kent during some summers.

And since the water company has had the hosepipe ban in force in the NW of England two weeks ago, we've had rain quite a few days. There was even some flooding near Liverpool last week.

Ok yes, we've had some rain but when I was digging at the plot over the weekend after the first inch it was all dry and dusty in the ground.

I'm having problems keeping Geraniums going Graham
I can't wait for some full on thunderstorms followed by days and days of rain.
My mum who is in West Wickham has lost so many plants, she is on a water meter so can't use a hose at all and even though she has about 20 BIG water butts they soon ran out.

The only good thing is being able to line dry everything, although there have been several days where I thought the washing was going to combust on the line

Last year it was wet,wet, wet. This year dry,dry,dry.

So long as you can keep up with the watering, this year is preferable. Less mowing grass, less slug problems - more get togethers and parties on the allotment.

you are welcome to some of ours - it has p'eed it down here pretty much every day since the start of the school hols (2/07/10) and it's currently hosing it down - as it has ALL day today

I do wish Thames Water would hurry up and announce a hosepipe ban so that it'll rain again.

We've just had about half a millimetre, not enough to do anything useful. I've also planted loads of plants this year with my new patio and it's taking me ages to water everything.

I've also got a meter but I've just had to grit my teeth and decided that the hose is cheaper than having to buy all new plants and turf. I'd really like to returf the lawn that got mangled during the building work but there's no point at the moment, still, at least it's uniformly brown.

Why do people keep saying they can't use a hose pipe when they have a water meter? It doesn't stop you turning the tap on you know. We all have water meters and if you want to garden, you have to pay to water it. Fill a swimming pool? Pay for it! Quite simple really!!! I worked out that it is a lot cheaper paying €200 - €300 extra water bill this year than a lot of hobbies would cost over a year. So, seep hoses, sprinklers and hose pipes have been out in force in the last 2 days and my garden is watered enough to last about 4 days now.

.....but it's quite amusing this thread because this is what it is like gardening chez moi every year , only this year is worse! The last time the ground was actually wet was in February and it's been drought like ever since in terms of mm of rainfall.

Trees are starting to go yellow now and any rainfall inferior to about 25mm is considered negligeable in terms of rewetting the dry soil (that hasn't been watered). It would just run off. Even the 10mm that fell one day this month did not even make one new green blade of grass - it just isn't anywhere near enough to get to the roots of grass.

grahamhobbs wrote:We had a one hour drizzle this morning, perhaps a millimetre of rain, the first rain on the allotment for 8 weeks! Even then that was only a couple of light showers, you have to go back to the first week of May, 12 weeks ago, since we had what you might call rain.

Hang in there Graham, there maybe some decent showers coming across the S.E. tonight & tomorrow...... allegedly!!

Chucking it down here for weeks now! Though as far as I know the hosepipe ban's still on

Roads were flooded last week driving to work and my poor car packed in for a few days though perked up again now. House full of wet washing, muddy floors and LOTS of slugs inside and out (yuk).

But no need to water anything

The most annoying thing is that I got soaked walking to the car in Cheltenham this afternoon.
Got back home and there'd obviously not been any rain in Swindon, all the plants were wilting.

Zoe

grahamhobbs wrote:We had a one hour drizzle this morning, perhaps a millimetre of rain, the first rain on the allotment for 8 weeks! Even then that was only a couple of light showers, you have to go back to the first week of May, 12 weeks ago, since we had what you might call rain.

Yikes, and I thought we were dry! We have had literally not a drop since July 1st, and only 2 mm since June 14th. We have enough stored rainwater to see us through to the end of September.

It's very interesting driving around the countryside here as everywhere at the bottom of mini valleys (it's not really hilly here, more like undulating) where usually there's a stream or spring has green fields whilst everything else is very dry and brown. The stream that feeds my lake in winter has been dried out since 3rd week of May yet the field next to it has some green lush grass at the bottom of the hill beside the dried stream bed, the rest of the field going uphill is brown.

My orchard which is beside a barely running stream and is at the bottom of a very mini valley still has green grass and contains clay in the soil whilst us lot up on the 'hill' have gritty sandy soil which is bone dry.

So I certainly am rethinking a few things - like get some rhubarb in over in the orchard as mine's been dead as a dodo for several months - thing is it is across the road so when I do have to water things (like our newly planted plum trees) we have to cart watering cans over there which is quite a hike. Had a walk around the orchard the other day and it felt so nice to feel green springy grass underfoot instead of brown crunchy stuff I felt like having a picnic there!

Cripes! Makes me think we have been very lucky lately. The weather has been changable with some lovely sunny days and some rainy ones too. Certainly keeps the weeds growing well.