PLan Plan & then plan again

Evening all,
First i'd like to say thanks for all the people who took the trouble to read what ive had to say ref the new to gardening people.

Again this next bit is aimed at trying to help those "new to the allotment or indeed the garden.

To be able to plan or look ahead is always a good thing in gardening terms and as a hobby its a must to have a starting point and to be able to see the verious stages run as smoothly as you can and to plan ahead is very worth while all the way to the end harvest.

We are now in the middle of the wet season and you as a new to gardening i dare say have not given a thought to the dry spells of the summer to come,
I found that all my years on my council owned allotment that the hose pipe ban (water shortage) seemed to come as some big surprise to some members, and a lot of shouting was heard but not much doing in advance could be seen.

As ive said in the first thread ref plants needs, "water" was one and the amount of free rain water we get is to be given some thought,

Water collection via the shed roofing gutters/greenhouse gutter system is well worth thinking and doing something about,
The shed just like the compost heap & the perennial beds are sited for a long time and so its a good plan to have a water collection system in these long term areas,
I myself after a few years of dry summers (1972 was the final and last time i was going to be caught out) I not only dug out an under ground water storage tank but i made sure every corner of my shed had 45 gal containers in-place and a follow through tube so that when one container filled this tube took the overflow water to the next container.
These days you can buy 1000ltr x-fruit containers that are really good and safe for water storage.

A 45 gal container is worth getting hold of just to make your own liquid feeds in, Why buy feed when you can make your own?? at a fraction of the cost of bought feed????

I myself believe in the comrey plants leaves placed in a sack along with a brick or stone to weight it down tied and sunk in 45 gals of water, use a lid or cover as for the first 3/4 weeks it stinks to high heaven, but its liquid gold to us gardeners, used as a 10 parts water to 1 part of the comfrey and water the plants once a week,

nettles can be used in the same way as above and these are again natures way of feeding, But you'll need the containers to store this water so why not save the rain water and plan ahead??
Plus i feel rain water is a much & safer bet than a lot of tap waters,
If you have any fly problems just add a few drops of olive oil to your water container and all will be fine (flies dont like olive oil) but if you keep a cover on the container you wont have this problem & birds wont try to drink the water and end up drowning in the container.

This sort of using the plan ahead idea's now is really worth thinking about during the winter because come spring you'll meet yourself coming back (you'll have so much to do)

Now is also the time to get in the shed and make wooden framed arch shape covers to protect your crops from the birds ect (I use chicken wire as the protection and wood as the frame)
They last for years, and dont move in the wind, and rain or watering can can still water the plants without moving the arch.
You could knock up 6 of these in a weekend.
Plan plan & plan again "it really pays in the long run.:thumb: