Alternatives ways to store water without buying a water butt?

Evening everyone,

I am looking to get a couple of water butts for my allotment but after looking around I am not so inclined to spend something which easily dwarfs my rental costs if I can...

So I was wondering if there is any ways around water storage without buying a water butt?

Many thanks,

Samuel

 

You could look round for old baths and water tanks, not pretty though. Also ask around see if anybody has the sort of thing these people sell http://www.dvcontainers.co.uk/product.asp?pid=10 I've had a couple of these for years and they work very well.

 

How close is the water table on your plot?

Its not so far down, and especially if the subsoil is heavy clay, you could simply dig a well and it will fill up naturally. If its fairly high, free draining ground though, that wont work.

When I was little, my dad shared an allotment with several others. The site was close to a marsh, and you only had to dig about 4ft down before the hole would just start to fill up. Obviously that wont work if the the water table is too deep down, but if you have any natural watercourses nearby at a similar height, it should work.

 

"blue barrels" as mentioned by Nigel are an allotment must have and you'll struggle to find a site without them, although the link nigel supplied appears to be for the narrower ones. Everything from Mango Chutney to antifreeze is supplied in these barrels so that should give you an indication of where to start looking.

Have a look around an industrial estate, if you spot barrels or IBCs, just go and ask if they have any spare. You could also advertise on freecycle.org I have seen water butts come up on there several times.

But the first and most obvious thing to do is ask your fellow plot holders, where they got theirs from.

These are the blue barrels I prefer, they are wider at the top allowing me to dunk and fill a watering can very quickly.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Large-Pla...K_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item4181584c13

The top cuts out relatively easy with a jigsaw (just did one two days ago)

I also use an IBC, a proper water butt and several of the blue barrels, along with some old black bins and wheelie bins for making comfrey feed in.

Steve...