Step 12: You’ll undoubtedly need to jiggle the pipes around a bit, to get them to seat properly. Remove, trim and reassemble if necessary. At the lower end of the gutter use a gutter stop end outlet. A down pipe can be connected to this by simply pushing it on. Grow Bag with two tomato plants– approximately 3 litres / 5.5 pints per day in warm weather. Assume in the region of 200 litres during the growing period. ANSWER: If the water in the water butt is initially clean and it is covered by a top which stops light and debris getting in then it will, in normal circumstances, last over a year.

I have the same problem with my allotment, I have no shed. But I do have a source of water, a stream. I decided to invest in a petrol generator and a water pump. That allows me to pump water from the stream to the many water butts on my allotment. Probably unlikely in your case but if you can collect water in one or more water butts near your house and then pump it via a hose to your garden, that would work. But there is a significant initial investment cost. The only other comment i will make is about mulching. To reduce the need for pumping water from the stream, much of my allotment is heavily mulched. This reduces the need for watering hugely, far more than you would ever imagine. If costs are important then it is often the case that buying online is not only more convenient, it is often cheaper. A trip to a DIY store may well work out more expensive compared to the delivery charges of a reputable online supplier, see here for example. A 200 litre capacity plastic water butt can be lifted by the average adult without a problem. If you get beyond that size, or the material is not plastic, then you may need two people. Also consider access size – some of the larger capacity water butts are too big for a front door or the average garden gate. At the end of the down pipe near the ground, fit a down pipe shoe to channel any excess water away from the base of the shed to prevent any problems with damp.The ground below the water butt needs to be level and reasonably solid. You don’t want the weight to allow it to settle in the ground unevenly which could result in it tipping over. If you can avoid areas where leaves fall, all the better. The down pipe needs to be fixed in place to avoid any movement. Down pipe pipe clips are very easy to fit, wrap snugly around the pipe, and can be screwed into place. PLANTS PREFER RAINWATER– all plants benefit from natural rainwater compared to water from your taps. Tap water is a new source of water as far as plants are concerned, they have evolved over thousands of years on rain water. Some plants in particular, such as blueberries, will not grow successfully if watered repeatedly with water from your taps.

Plants in grow bags, containers and hanging baskets have much higher requirements for hand watering. This is because the plant foliage will disperse the water away from the compost in the container reducing the effect of natural rain water to surprisingly little.

Multiple Butt Capability without additional components.

The best test of all is a heavy rainstorm. If water flows into your water butts you know the job is good! The result is 400 litres of free water to use around your garden. FloPlast recommend the use of lubricant on all gutter seals for ease of fitting and improved performance. Below are a couple of estimates of water requirements to give you some idea of the water butt size you may require. They are estimates only; temperature, other weather conditions and the size of plants may alter water requirements significantly. The estimates are made assuming hand-watering is required only during warm, dry weather typically occurring in an average UK summer: We got our water butt from Aldi. He’s a handsome green chap – slim-line and stylish (at least as stylish as a water butt can be), with the capacity for 100 litres of finest rainwater. Ours came complete with base, tap assembly and a down-pipe diverter for those wishing to install directly to an existing drainpipe.

In some cases, there are no nearby established drain systems, in which case you’ll be looking to either direct your rainwater into a water butt or alternatively drain onto ground that is sloping away from the shed and any nearby buildings. Before starting the installation process, it is important to take a look at the shed to see if it slopes down in any place – water flows downhill, so use the angle to decide in which direction you create the fall – just place a spirit level on the side of the shed to identify if it slopes in a specific direction. A connecting hose runs from the diverter to the water butt, and it is possible to daisy chain water butts together using more hose for extra water storage. The position also needs to be near enough the water source, normally a guttering downpipe against a wall, to connect up the water diverter from the downpipe to the water butt. Follow the instructions which come with the water diverter to connect it up. APPEARANCE

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Step 5: Cut in half your 6ft pipe, then insert one half into the down-pipe junction, ensuring the down-pipe sits flush against the side of your shed.

To use a water butt many situations will involve filling up a watering can from its tap. Because the taps are low down you will need to raise water butt high enough to get a watering can under the tap. The obvious option is to buy the “optional” stand for the model you choose.Installing guttering on a shed roof will provide a method of rainwater collection which can then be diverted into a water butt or water storage tank for storage and future use in gardening applications. For the diverter to work properly, it is important to fit it at the correct height. This is lower than the top of the water butt, but higher than the inlet into the butt itself, to ensure that there is downward fall from the diverter to the butt.