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What kind of garderner doesn't water in drought conditions?

gohunteroGDYUR8agohunteroGDYUR8a Posts: 6
in The potting shed
Watching Monty on GW on 16th September. He's saying that his dahlias haven't performed, showing wilted sunflowers, showing dead trees, raspberries, etc and saying that he didn't water the garden, even during a drought! What a fool!

On the other hand, our internet connected, automatic watering system on Crete, sent me a message saying that it had failed to water our garden and had an issue with power. Within 6  hours, I was on a plane to Crete in order to save thousands of pounds worth of plants and trees, by making sure that they got the right level of water!

The difference? Monty is salivating over how good his grass borders have survived. Whereas, we have pomegranates on our trees and roses in bloom in much higher temperatures and much lower rain levels than you ever get in the UK.

WAKE UP MONTY! PLANTS NEED WATERING!!!!
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  • B3B3 Posts: 26,421
    An unselfish, responsible gardener, perhaps🤔. I didn't water my garden. Some plants died - so what! Many more survived.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,399
    Yes, you, the one having to make a specific flight to Crete in order to water your plants, you are the smart one. Monty, trying to use plants that require less water: clearly dumb!
  • gohunteroGDYUR8agohunteroGDYUR8a Posts: 6
    B3 said:
    An unselfish, responsible gardener, perhaps🤔. I didn't water my garden. Some plants died - so what! Many more survived.
    I think your signature sums it up "Keen but lazy" Too lazy to water your garden. If you care for your plants, you won't lose any! ;)
  • gjautosgjautos Posts: 425
    Perhaps Monty is trying to be kind to the environment. Whereas taking a plane to water some flowers? Yeah, don't think it's Monty that's the fool.
  • gohunteroGDYUR8agohunteroGDYUR8a Posts: 6
    Loxley said:
    Yes, you, the one having to make a specific flight to Crete in order to water your plants, you are the smart one. Monty, trying to use plants that require less water: clearly dumb!
    Yes, but he wasn't trying to use plants that need less water. He was complaining about roses "going over" well beforethey should, etc. Plants that clearly need water, not surviving without it.

    The flight to Crete was going anyway, and I got one of the last seats, so I didn't add anything significant to emissions. Besides, virtually ALL plants need daily watering on Crete due to the dry, very hot climate, especially at this time of year. The Cretans water their gardens and pots daily, without fail. The olive groves, for example,  have masses of huge 100mm pipes watering them every day. Otherwise, you wouldn't get your olive oil for cooking.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 14,330
    Food crops are very different to ornamentals.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,627
    We've had strict water restrictions which mean no watering possible except between 8pm and 8am in July and then only allowed for edibles from late July to now.   

    We've had a bucket next to each indoor tap to collect water run off while it gets hot and that means we've been able to water our pots up near the house and we have seep hoses for some of the veggies and fruit.   The brassicas, beets and onions have really suffered and will get seephoses next year.

    We have lost some shrubs and perennials but have managed to keep recently planted shrubs and trees going with water butts and the buckets.   I wouldn't dream of jumping on a plane to fix a garden watering system failure - all that pollution just adds to the  global warming which is casuing the droughts.   Seems perverse.

    That said, I don't understand why Monty doesn't have some sort of watering system in place.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 85,997
    Obelixx said:

      … That said, I don't understand why Monty doesn't have some sort of watering system in place.
    Could it be because most years he’s gardening in flood conditions, not drought?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 14,330
    Maybe he cares more about the planet than his garden.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • FireFire Posts: 17,318
    edited September 2022
    He is on a two acre plot. It would take huge amounts of water to keep all those ornamentals watered for months. A lot of regulars on the forum have similar challenges and lots of their plants, in large garden, died too. We pick our battles - stick to watering perhaps new trees, pots and certain veg, or certain plants with sentimental importance.

    Losing things is part of gardening. You can't control it all - least of all the weather, without or without gadgets.  A heavy, long period of snow like 2009 can kill plants - it's the risk we take. We keep back ups, start again, or depend on the seed bank in the soil.

    There are certain beds I haven't watered. If certain plants don't spring back, others will rise up to take their place. I live in a dry region and want to use water wisely - and  value our rivers, from where much of this water in drought times, is abstracted.


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