It’s rare in Scotland that we ever have to contemplate the possibility of a hosepipe ban.

Let’s be honest, we have so much of the wet stuff in reserve, we don’t even have to do it now the temperatures are scorchio and everyone is fighting for the last ice cream.

I’ve talked about how to water in a previous blog. But water is a limited and extremely valuable natural resource – we take it far too much for granted. As well as Peak Oil and Peak Soil (and lots more in addition to those twin peaks) there’s every reason to expect we’re heading for Peak Water in future too.

So as well as knowing how to use it, as a gardener it is worth finding out how to get water and especially how to keep it, just in case climate change turns out to be global warming after all.

I like big butts – water butts, that is – they’re a great way of capturing and storing water run-off from the roof of your house, garage, greenhouse – anything really that has some sort of guttering or drain pipe. If you have space for one or more in your plot or garden, get a good sized one – with a lid to avoid lots of little mosquito larvae making it their home sweet home. The ones on stands with taps are particularly good – you can fill your watering can a bit more easily than having to dunk it into the top of the water butt, fishing out adventurous slugs, dead birds and algal blooms as you go. Getting your water from a drain pipe by use of a rain water diverter kit keeps it simple and clean and uncomplicated (unless I’m fitting it, in which case it is none of the above).

That said, I have used a family of water butts culled from old fruit puree barrels (without a lid, stand, tap or diverter kit in sight) for years and they have served me well. We used old beer barrels for water storage when I was a girl, but then my Grandfather did work in a brewery, so they were one of a number of perks of the job. The wooden barrels hold around 110 gallons and though they are expensive, they look - and smell - great and are an eco-friendly way of storing water.

Size matters – get as big as you can afford (or scavenge). It’s amazing how quickly they can empty once summer arrives for real.

Location matters too – put them where they will collect water efficiently and as close as possible to where you need them most – mine are huddled around the corners of my greenhouse, where they can capture (a lot of) rainwater from the greenhouse roof and provide an easily accessible source of water for the plants inside. I also have some close to my pots and containers – these invariably need watering when it is only vaguely warm so really hot dry weather leaves them positively limp.

Be careful if collecting your water from a roof with lead or copper flashings – our generally acid rain does a good job of dissolving metals, which you can unwittingly end up applying to your GYO produce and from there into your diet. We only take water from our greenhouse roof for this reason.

Climate change models suggest an increasing proportion of rain will fall in winter and that we will have hotter drier summers (except when we don’t, of course!). If you’re not only growing your own, but building your own home too, think about installing rainwater storage when you build. It could pay real dividends later on.

It is also possible to use domestic waste water (known as ‘grey water’) in the garden. This is not as yucky as it sounds – we’re talking about water from the washing up, the washing machine, baths and showers, not water from the loo! Household soaps and detergents are relatively harmless to plants – green alternatives should be even less noxious. Never use water containing bleaches, disinfectants, dishwasher salt or any cleaning product with a big ‘X’ on the back of it - they can harm plants and damage the soil (just think what they do to you!). Never use grey water for any GYO produce that you won’t be cooking, just in case. And always use it fresh – trust me, it doesn’t improve with age!

When we get rain (or those heavy dews from the summer morning mists), it pays to hold onto it for as long as possible too – using mulches to capture moisture, making sure the soil is covered (even if it is with weeds), using those natty ollas pots to irrigate or designing areas of light shade into your garden to reduce evaporation – all great ways to keep your soil and plants happy and well-watered.

Have fun in your gardens this week!