Living in the UK, some people may wonder why we face so many problems with water shortages considering all the rain that falls. When you grow produce on an allotment you always need a constant water supply to water your seeds and spray on your beds during periods of little rain.

Some crops needs more water than others like tomatoes and some types of gourds. It can be difficult however to have a constant source of water at your allotment. Most allotment associations provide free to use taps that are usually switched on in early spring and switched off in October to prevent problems due to extreme cold and icy conditions. This can be annoying if you need water through the winter season to either plant seeds or to water the plants in your greenhouse.

If you have a shed it is a good idea to rig up some sort of water collection device that will collect the rain water from the roof of your shed in some sort of container so that it can be used later. It is always better to use collected water if you are growing organically as it will not have any additives that have been added at the water purification plant.

Water butts are available from most garden centres for this purpose and most come with attachments so the job of fitting it to your shed is made easy. You can however use any type of water collecting or routing materials you can get your hands on. Old gutters from the local council or pipes from disused fire sprinkler systems can all be of use. Whatever option you choose you should try to have access to clean water all year round, as your produce will thank you for it in the long run.