Hotting Up

And Watering Down!

Jen, Jacob and Ellie sowing seeds in the shade

A sudden blast of sunshine yesterday took temperatures up to 22 degrees and saw us searching for shade and reaching for the hosepipes to water our seedlings. Apparently, it was the hottest early April day in the UK since 1946. We certainly weren’t complaining, though, as we sought shade behind our largest polytunnel to sow yet more seeds (see picture above).

We are very thankful for the wet winter and can head into our main growing season confident that the aquifers feeding the water bores on site have been well topped up. Last year’s drought conditions put all the systems to the test—between the four market gardens on the Sheffield Organic Growers site, we were drawing out water more quickly than it could be replenished in the bores, so we had to apply a stricter rota than normal for use of the water pump. We are very much hoping for a far more normal (non-drought) year this time round.

A relatively dry spring does favour us, though—it is much harder to work the soil if it is sodden, and weeds grow far faster in wet weather. It is certainly easier to add water where needed than it is to take it away. This is where, both outdoors and indoors, our SumiSoaker spray pipes come in handy. Many market gardeners use either drip tape—pipes with small holes laid on the soil to deliver water to the beds—or sprinkler systems. Our preferred method, however, is the SumiSoaker. We can lay the pipe down the path in the middle of four beds and, once connected to a tap with the appropriate pressure, the spray reaches 2.5m in each direction—enough to give all four beds (up to 34m long) a good soaking.

You can see the SumiSoaker in action in the pictures below as it waters our spinach plants. It shouldn’t be long (with the help of a bit of lovely sunshine and plenty of water) before this is ready to harvest for the veg bags.

SumiSoaker watering 4 beds of spinach - close up on the right