BEN CHACKO reports on fears at TUC Congress that the provisions in the legislation are liable to be watered down even further
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What to water first in your garden
Much of a gardener’s time in August, especially one as hot as this, is spent watering — but how much of that time is useful and how much is wasted? MAT COWARD has the answers
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NOT MANY of us have the leisure to water an entire allotment every day, and — given years of systemic underinvestment by shareholder-owned water companies — we’re all likely to see restrictions on use before the end of the summer. As Nye Bevan said, priorities are the religion of socialism, and the same applies in gardening.
A general hierarchy of need would have perennial plants at the bottom and anything grown in containers, or in a greenhouse, at the top. That’s not to say that a perennial plant won’t benefit from watering, but rather that an annual may die without it. And if the edible part of a plant is very juicy, like a radish, tomato or cucumber, it stands to reason that, as a rule of thumb, that plant needs more water.
Pots and other containers which have dried out completely need rehydrating from above and below. Stand them in a few inches of water (a kids’ paddling pool is perfect) for a couple of hours and water the surface of the compost using a watering can with the rose on it.
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