Irrigation is the key

The one thing that I have not been that good at since taking over the plot is watering, but lucky for me I can rely on the good old Manchester weather to do it for me. WELL… Turns out a polytunnel takes a bit more dedication than that…. Northern Tunnels not only make a brilliant polytunnel, they also make one that is very watertight LOL no Mr rain helping me out of this one..

As we all know uneven watering puts plants under stress that can lead to plants bolting and slitting. If you're like us and love spending your time on the allotment but sometimes you just can't get there. You could look into adding a timer to your system, for now for us i wont be having one. But never say never...

My plan with our irrigation system is not to have an automatic system, as I still want to make time for the plot in the evening after work. For us it's sometimes the only time in the week when me and the wife get 5 mins away from our children. Maybe 10 mins ...

The first thing I did, like what most people would do when buying something, GOOGLE it. Then when I saw the prices and it was then time to AMAZON it. I found a cheap system of drippers with 40m of hose and all the fittings. The link below is the system below.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07H2T62K3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

I went for this system not only because it was cheap, I think it costs around £10 for the 40m system, it also looked very simple to install. All the parts just push together and the heads are adjustable, which means I can alter the amount of water that falls in certain areas if need be. Last of all there is enough of the tubing to run up and back down our tunnel. For me it just felt like the best option to get me started and help me learn about how to run an irrigation system and if it all went pear shaped I wouldn't be to much out of pocket.

My plan is to run two lines across the roof, these would be to create a fine mist in the tunnel and also keep it humid. Then I would run a second system of sprinklers and ground drippers placed in the beds, these are attached to a second tap so I can run them independent of each other.

The misters are good and create a lot of drama in the tunnel, the kids love running through them when they're on. The down sides to these are we lose a lot of water through evaporation, I have also noticed some of the leaves have burn marks on them from being wet in the sun and also a bit of mould on a couple. I think with these i need to make sure I use them in the evening or first thing in the morning, so that I don't get any scorching on the leaves.

The drippers and sprinklers seem to be the way forwards apart from taking a little longer to do the job. As they are directly on the soil there is no chance of scorching the leaves and I haven't noticed as much evaporation happening. The kids are not a fan of them as they don't get to play, but I think this system will be getting used the most.

So what to take from this, if you're lucky enough to get a polytunnel and you don't want to spend ages standing in a hot tunnel while you water then get yourself a simple irrigation system. If you don't have loads of free time when you get to your plot but you have a list of things to do and standing around for 30 mins watering just isn't a good use of time, then get yourself a simple irrigation system. Last of all, if you just don't like water and you just want it to be as simple as flicking on the tap, then get yourself a simple irrigation system.

But if you have loads of time and don't mind the heat then maybe stick to the trusted hose pipe.

Once again if you're reading this, thank you for taking the time out of your day. I am not an expert, I am just sharing my experiences with you and maybe it helps in some way. For more on our allotment head over to our Instagram page @allotment102. We try to post a few times a week and we share everything good and bad.