How to water plants during a hosepipe ban

Permitted hosepipe use during a ban

Even during a ban, the use of a hosepipe for some activities is still allowed. Do check your water company’s website for exact details of what each one permits, which is likely to include the watering of crops, recently planted trees and shrubs, and newly laid lawns.

Irrigation systems that involve drip or trickle irrigation only, which are fitted with a pressure reducing valve and a timer, and are not handheld, are also permitted.

Customers who are listed on the Priority Services Register are exempt from hosepipe bans and are therefore allowed to use a hosepipe. These include elderly or disabled customers, those recovering from injury or those in an otherwise vulnerable position. If you’re not on the register and feel you should be, apply as soon as possible, even if a ban is not yet in force in your area.

Can I water my plants in a drought?

A hosepipe ban means you are banned from using a hose connected to a tap fed by mains water. However, using a watering can or bucket filled from a mains water tap is permitted, as is using a hose connected to a water butt, well or borehole.

How to water your plants in a drought

Using collected rain water

Rain water is great for your plants as it’s softer and contains fewer salts and chemicals than tap water. According to WaterUK, the average roof collects 85,000 litres of rain a year, enough to fill a water butt 450 times. Water butts come in many different designs and sizes. Buy the largest one you can afford that will sensibly fit close to the downpipe from your guttering. You can fix waterbutts to downpipes from any roof, including your house, garage, shed or greenhouse. You can add guttering and downpipes where necessary.

A rain diverter that shuts off the inflow can help to prevent problems when the butt is full. Collect even more water by linking two or more water butts together.

• Buy a slimline water butt from Marshalls
• Buy a wall-mounted water butt from Marshalls
• Buy a water butt with stand and diverter kit from You Garden
• Buy a variety of water butts from Crocus

Using waste water

Domestic waste water from washing up, vegetable preparation, the bath or shower, or hand-washing clothes, is known as ‘grey’ water. This is fine to use for watering plants, as long as it doesn’t contain strong detergents, bleach or dishwasher salts. For hygiene reasons, avoid using bath or shower water on crops such as salads, which are eaten raw. Use grey water immediately rather than storing for later use, as it can quickly spoil. Never use ‘black’ water, which is water is from toilets.

Target plants that need it most

Prioritise watering for those plants that would really suffer otherwise. This includes all plants growing in containers such as seedlings, anything newly planted, thirsty crops such as pod and fruit-producing vegetables, and flowers like sweet peas and dahlias. Established plants should be able to tolerate periods of drought, especially if the soil is mulched annually with compost or another type of organic matter which acts like a sponge in the soil, holding on to water for plants to use. Don’t worry when the lawn turns brown – it will soon green up again when rain falls.

Time your watering

The best times to water are in the early morning and the evening, when less water is lost by evaporation and there’s no danger of flowers or foliage becoming scorched by water splash.

Set up an irrigation system

Many different watering or irrigation systems are available for gardens, using drip or ‘trickle’ irrigation. If these are fitted with a pressure reducing valve and a timer, and not handheld, they are permitted for use during a hosepipe ban.

• Buy a digital watering timer from Marshalls
• Buy a drip irrigation kit from Suttons
• Buy a water butt with stand and diverter kit from You Garden
• Buy an automatic watering kit from Crocus