Hosepipe ban

from what I understand, new turf will be allowed to be watered for 28 days after laying

there is also currently a petition created by professional landscapers who state that a hosepipe ban will bankrupt them, as they are experiencing cancellations of new work

so it will be interesting to see the outcome

 

check this system ...

Tropf Blumat Drip Irrigation System

http://www.twowests.co.uk/TwoWestsSite/pages/category/category.asp?ctgry=water_tropf

snip:
The Tropf Blumat Drip Irrigation System is a self watering system which enables your plants to control the amount of water they receive, so preventing your plants from being over or under watered or water being wasted.

Unlike conventional watering systems that release water at intervals which are controlled by a timer, the Tropf Blumat system takes into account the amount of sunshine, the current moisture of the soil and the different water consumption of each plant into account – this makes the Tropf Blumat system unbeatable when it comes to watering different sorts of plants in your greenhouse or garden!

The system manages to do this as the probes used within the Tropf Blumat system act as both a water sensor as well as a water dripper. When the soil that they are in is dry, the probes allow water to drip.

Once the water content of the soil increases, then the probes stop the water from flowing. In this way they take into account both the weather conditions and the needs of your plants – so it’s an ideal system for looking after the watering of your plants when you are away on holiday.

The Tropf Blumat Drip system is easy to change or extend as your watering requirements change – this flexible system can be used to carry water to up to 500 drip points.

The Blumat Drip System is available in economical kits or in component form to allow you to design a watering system to meet the exact requirements of your plants. It’s suitable for use in gardens, greenhouses or conservatories and is ideal for watering plants in pots, containers or hanging baskets



and here is some good info on the different irrigation systems:

http://www.ecpgroup.com/Irrigation/Whichirrigationsystemisbestforme.aspx

 

"Dim* I've looked at this before, no indication that it works for outdoor usage, rather than pots?

 

That sort of drip-irrigation is designed to cope with lots of individual drippers Shiney. You should be able to have between 100 and 200 individual drippers "per line"

 

Many moons ago Just before I laid a new lawn, I put in soaker hose. I figured that if I run it back and forth (as you are supposed to) it might not work too well, so across the top of the lawn I ran a normal hose, and T'eed off at regular intervals with soaker hose.
So it was normal hose from left to right at the top, and every 18 -24 inches running from top to bottom was soaker hose. (Sealed at each bottom end) The main feeder hose went to a garden tap, it worked very well (so I thought), nice green grass, only problem was, one day I aerated the lawn, forgot the hose and pierced it with a fork. (instant flood) Dug out a section to repair it, gave up as I realised the soaker hose was now choked with soil, and grass was doing fine.

Moral of this story, never bury soaker hose.

As I said that was many moons ago, lawn now gone.

 

so ....

on tonights tv news, Cambridge has a hosepipe ban from midnight

yet, on the Cambridge water website tonight (quote):

Is there a hosepipe ban?

Rainfall in Cambridge and East Anglia has been exceptionally low over the last two years and the area is in the middle of a drought.
At this stage Cambridge Water considers that there is a medium risk of imposing water restrictions in the future, but there are no Temporary Usage Bans at this time.

However, we are not being complacent. Water levels and demand for water are being monitored daily and appropriate action will be taken if it is necessary to protect the environment and essential supplies.
In the meantime, we are asking our customers to reduce their water use.

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Your local news perhaps referring to some parts of Cambridge that are covered by Anglian Water (which does have a hosepipe ban)?

Wouldn't surprise me that local news has got it wrong, their reporting is little better than the Tabloids ...

 

not sure, but it was said on tv that Cambridge has a hosepipe ban from midnight ....

will keep on watching the web site, and if it does not specifically state that Cambridge has a ban, I will use the hose in my client's gardens when I need to

and it will be interesting to see which neighbours 'grass'

 

from another landscaping forum:

snip:

Anglian Water say yes to me using the hose pipe in the garden, they emailed me this:

Dear John
Thank you for your email.
Any commercial businesses operating at commercial premises are not included in the ban.
Businesses that operate at a domestic property or wash private vehicles (e.g. car/driveway washing or window cleaning) can use a hosepipe in the course of their work, where this is done as a service to customers.

The restrictions only relate to domestic/private usage in order to protect the livelihood of employees. If the situation does not improve and we need to look at a non essential use restrictions this could be reconsidered.
Alternatives to using a hosepipe should be used wherever possible
Kind Regards
Anglian water Customer Services

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so, based on that, I am allowed to water my client's gardens with a hosepipe .... I will mail Anglian water later today and ask them to confirm in writing

 

Hey Dim
Dear John letters usually are bad news. Don't expect any further contact.