i would just use your hose pipe just not with a sprinkler that can be seen with a helicopter . in the long run the water you put in the garden isnt going through the system . its going strate back to the water table other than what your plants take .

I wouldn't use the hose pipe - that's what the ban is about. You only need one person to see you doing it and you will be fined a lot of money. I don't think plants need too much watering at the moment but when they do they need a good soaking with the watering can - not just a quick once over. This doesn't get down to the roots.

Has anyone noticed that since the hose pipe ban it has done nothing but rain - nature has a way of balancing itself
but we could do with it being a tad warmer

One of my customers made the same comment to me yesterday, daffygreen - I'm afraid all he got was a sarcastic pshaw... yes its been raining, but not enough, its still to dry and will remain so unless we have 6 solid months of rain.
And Noseypotter, really, we're on a hosepipe ban - it means no use of hosepipes, unless you want a thousand pound fine. But I'm not worried about a fine, I'm worried about the possibility of stand pipes in the street later in the year, just like in 1976 - I lived up 3 flights of stairs then, and I do now (different place). I was young in 1976, but I cannot begin to imagine how I will cart water up all those stairs, so no, please don't use your hosepipe, its totally irresponsible, and irresponsible of you, Nosey, to even suggest it.
You can use cans - but as Cammomile says, little and often is NOT the way to do it. Give each one a generous amount when you do water, and don't water more often than every 5 days as a minimum. That might mean a good canfull for each plant, or more, but its better for the plants than a dribble every day.

and from a plants point of view if there is less water they put roots further down. this encourages them to search out water with robust roots. a little on the surface encourages just surface roots that easily die off. I would only water an obviously wilting plant. If you can plant an empty 3" pot next to the plant and water into that. I do this in the hanging baskets. the water will get down to the roots better and you can 'measure' how much they get.

well let me tell you a story . i had a leek in my large pond and told the water board . they looked at the change in my usage since the leek and said since it haddent been threw there system ie the sewage and just ran back into or should i say onto the watertable that runs beneath us all and i got a cheque for £18 . what does that tell you ?

Noseypotter:The water table is sufficiently depleted to apply a hosepipe ban - that means we'll be using roughly 10% less water. Now, that's not a great saving, but it is some kind of saving. In East Anglia, it won't be enough,they need to reduce consumption by 20%. If we all carried on using our hoses, how long do you think it will take for that to fill up the water table again, Nosey, given that, if it rains solidly for six whole months, night and day, then the water table, rivers, bore holes etc., will be back up to 'normal' levels for this time of year. If it takes six months of solid rainfall to bring the water table back up to 'normal', are you really suggesting that continuing to use hoses will mean the water table gets higher immediately? Because clearly, it doesn't. Eventually it gets back there - but not for months,and then only if its not been used in other ways (plants, us, etc).

you didnt answer my question . if it doesnt go threw the sewage then its effectivly not being dirtied or needing cleaning . its not like i take the p%$s . i keep watering down to what my plants need as you should . i have know lawn . also i cant remember when therewasnt a hosepipe ban and have never run out and i pay for what it use . whats the differance between watering with a can enough or a hose pipe enough . i think thats a big nothing . im all for saving water in buts but thats only to save money . im not going to argue about it we will have to agree to dissagree many thanx xx .ps water never ever gets used up it just changes form and changes wear it is regulerly ie ivaperate of the sea and rain on the land and run back . its been doing this for millions of years . the biggest problem bye far is people poluting the water at the sauce like these large oil tankers,factories etc . there will be as much water in a million years on earth as there is now and the same amount now as a million years ago .

what ever you use plants need what they need . i tend to put ruts in my groundand lay the hose in the rite placeso as not to be to wastefull . plants when needing water which isnt yet as yet lol need a good soaking which ever way you get it to them . i have to wash down my dog run daily but its not wasted as it waters my huge cherry tree which in turn feeds lots of birds which is a plus in my book and being dissabled im not wabling down the path with watering cans . as it goes if you want to be realy silly dissabled people arnt as such effected bye the hose ban thow in still carefull . i wonder if all the people worrying aBOUT THE HOSE BAN ACTUALY CUT RIGHT DOWN ON WATER USE ION THE HOUSE AND TAKE FAR FEWER BATHS,SHOWERS and teeth brushing and also dish washers and washing up plus flushing the loo every third or fourth time its flushed perhaps as this water does have to go threw the sewage which you do pay for . i wonder lol .

We only have a smallish garden. We have no hose pipe ban so far in our part of dry dry Essex. I do not use a hosepipe on the garden anyway. Only to clean the car occasionally. I use 2 litre coke bottles sunk next to plants I have concern for, and any shrub being established. I do agree with Nosey that if EVERYONE paid more attention to the water saving he suggests, we might avoid some of the inconveniences of hose pipe bans. We routinely do all he suggests to save water ALL the time. Short showers at fewer intervals. Less flushing. Wear clothes a bit longer, and don't freak out about being smelly....its ridiculous the way some people go on about it. I understand that a trickle hose can be used. Use water butts if possible. Mulch. There is a lot you can build into your routine and accept as normal lifestyle

Nosey: The reason they put a hosepipe ban on is because lots of gardeners (and I've known a few myself) have sprinklers which they 'forget' they've left running, often leaving them on all night. It's not necessary to do that much watering, but it happens, especially when people want their lawns to remain green and lush. Also, people will use less water in the garden from cans than they will from a hosepipe, generally.
I don't normally worry too much when there's a hosepipe ban, but this year for the first time, they've even banned golf courses and sports grounds from watering, unless they hold National events, so it must be pretty bad. They've never done that before in this area - in 2006, (the last one) it was galling to watch the sprinkler on the field opposite running all day when we couldn't use ours -but they weren't included in the ban that year.
And I agree with you Dorjac, and Nosey, about using water carefully all the time. I can't recommend mulching enough - I've just spent the last fortnight mulching, and I've got the acute aches and pains to prove it, I feel like I've gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson...

well i agree with people being banned who think its ok to water there lawns all day every day for hours when lawns are very tough bye nature and always bounce back . i wasnt trying to give the impression im wastefull as i hate waste in any way shape or form . i dont throw most scraps away because my dogs can eat it .as i say hosepipe babn or not i water things that need it and thats all . as the water board are or will be forcing people to use water metres this just mite change things somewhat . mulching is brilliant . my front garden is so full of plants the sun never actualy hits the soil so it keeps the weeds down and stays reasnably damp anyway . i use my kiwi as the plant that tells me i need water in my garden . i take advantage of water changes on my pond to water and the same with the pond .its not a matter of using buckets,watering cans or infact hoses its how responsably you use these items realy .

even washing down the dog run naturaly slopes down to my cherry tree . its all about responsabillity realy .

I was pretty shocked at your suggestion to use a hosepipe at the top of this thread - you've always struck me as something of an eco warrior...
I'm actually really concerned about the water situation - we've had 2 exceptionally dry winters - if we have a third, things won't get better, they'll get worse. One thing's for sure, the climate appears to be changing, so who knows what'll happen next...

i am bamboo i guess i came across wrong sorry about that ive always hated waste lol x .