Ashford Allotments
  • WELCOME
    • About this website
  • NEWS and What's On
  • SEASONAL STUFF for this part of Kent
  • HOW DO I GET AN ALLOTMENT?
  • YOUR NEW ALLOTMENT
  • TRADING STORE and the bulk buying scheme
  • TOUR OF THE ALLOTMENT SITES
  • ADVICE AND INFORMATION
  • FRUIT & VEG A - Z gardener's notebook
  • SWAP SHOP: free stuff, stuff wanted etc
  • GROWERS CLINIC - your problems.
  • USEFUL LINKS & ADDRESSES
  • ALLOTMENT ORGANISATIONS
  • Ashford Borough Council
  • CONTACT
  • SUMMER SHOW 2015
    • Tips for showing
  • SUMMER SHOW REPORT 2014
    • SUMMER SHOW 2014
    • PRIZES FOR THE 2014 SHOW
    • "Best Plots" competition 2014
  • Other local allotments

Flooding is inevitable this winter

9/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Normally, our rainfall in Kent is inadequate to our needs and hosepipe bans are a frequent trial for the keen gardener. However, we have had a very prolonged wet spell -= several years now - and dry summer grass and parched soil are becoming a distant memory. Although September was dry, it came after a wetter-than-usual summer and has been followed by a long spell of frequent heavy rain. On Saturday night alone nearly one inch of rain fell.
Picture
Our subsoil is now fully charged with water. Normally by the autumn it would be dried out and shrunken, ready to absorb the rains of autumn. This year, like last, all the rain which falls is lying on the surface. A quick glance at low-lying fields shows standing water everywhere. We will just have to do our best to cope with the problem.

Left - lay boards alongside rows to walk on.
Covering areas of soil will, unfortunately, just throw the extra rain onto adjacent areas. But it is worth doing this if you intend to sow winter peas and beans. While in Northern areas it is OK to sow these in October, it's best to wait till later in autumn here in the South, and mid-December is an ideal date most years. Take the time to raise the area you will be sowing into by throwing soil towards the centre. Raking it will be tricky with it this wet, but level it as best you can then cover with polythene (clear is fine as you aren't trying to suppress weeds). Weight the polythene down well all round, or it will blow away. With any luck, a combination of keeping any further rain off, and the drying effect of the sun through the polythene, will mean you can roll the cover back in a month's time and sow into reasonable soil rather than a muddy mess!
0 Comments

    Kent's climate is drier, hotter and has a longer growing season than the average for the UK. Advice in gardening books may not fit Kent. This blog has local tips on what will grow and when to do garden jobs.

    SEND YOUR SEASONAL SUGGESTIONS IN BY USING OUR ONLINE POSTBOX 

    Our postbox

    Archives

    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Categories

    All
    Asparagus
    Beetroot
    Blackcurrants
    Cabbage Family
    Cabbage Family
    Carrots
    Courgettes
    Cucumbers
    Currants
    Diseases
    Flooding
    Flowers
    Fruit Bushes
    Garlic
    Gooseberries
    Greenhouse
    Leeks
    Marrows
    Onions
    Parsnips
    Peas And Beans
    Peppers
    Plants For Free
    Potatoes
    Propagating
    Raspberries
    Rhubarb
    Salads
    Seedlings
    Seeds
    Shallots
    Soft Fruit
    Soil Preparation
    Squash
    Storing Produce
    Swede
    Sweet Peas
    Tomatoes
    Watering
    Weather
    Weed Control
    Winter Squash

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.