Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Watering with Cans

I have quite a few metal watering cans. Over many years, I have acquired different models, mostly second hand. They are decorative, but in fact most of these cans get used regularly, all the watering in the garden being done by hand. Over the years, I have come to appreciate how each one pours differently and is adapted to specific jobs, and how some are better designed than others.




 


The watering is done by hand, simply because it is quite handy. In the above picture, the rill that crosses the middle of the garden, is almost empty, but half of the year it is full of water, so you just need to dip your can in it when you need to water something. Besides, at each of the southern and northern ends of the garden is a large tank. One collects water from the house roof and the other collects water from the shed roof. When the rill or the tanks get low in dry periods, I can refill the tanks with water from the house well.




The watering can above was my first. It was a gift and is probably the only one that was made by a craftsman. Rather than galvanized metal like all the others, I think it is made out of a sheet of zinc. Its advantage is that the spout is very long and so you can reach quite a distance with it. It came without a rose (a rose is the sprinkler head at the end of the spout). However a Haws rose fits it, and I have one I use with this can to water fragile things like seedlings. Most of the time a use it without a rose to water directly on the roots of plants rather than on foliage.





This second one could be described as of workhorse of a can. It has a rather large rubber rose that produces a generous spray. It is not good for fragile seedlings but excellent for watering young plants. The rubber rose was cracked but had been repaired with duct tape when I bought it second-hand. The repair works well as I would not be able to find a replacement rose and, well-taped, it has survived many years. Another example of duct tape being a universal panacea!




This third one is I think a bit older (from the 1940s or 50s?). I use it when I need a lot of water quickly, examples being when planting a shrub or when wetting coir or peat moss in a wheelbarrow. It came to me without a rose. Although I have one that would fit, it is not efficient because it releases its water too slowly.




This fourth one is more attractive than useful because it has a screwed on rose that tends to get plugged easily. As long as the rose is fine it works well. However, when it gets plugged it is a hassle to unscrew it and try to clear the holes.



In my case, it is handy to water with cans, because water is readily available and not a lot of it is needed as most things are well mulched in the garden. Using mostly rain water has its advantages. The water is not as cold or as hard as water coming from the tap.

Writing this, I became aware of the numerous watering cans offered on ebay. I would never have thought there were so many different models! It seems that metal cans tend not to be standardized. You can see that some models were mass-produced but that many others must have been made on a rather small scale.

22 comments:

  1. We only have plastic cans not as full of character. I've never seen anything like the one with the stubby spout.

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    1. It is funny looking isn't it? Actually it is not a very good design as you have to hold the bottom to be able to pour. However it must have been popular here as I have seen several like this.

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  2. What a can collection !
    Je vais aller voir sur ebay, ça devrait m'intéresser, merci de l'arrosoir, non du tuyau :)

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  3. I have more waterers than watering cans, and galvanized to cans to fill all hands around are on my mind for the spring. There are galvanized available at our friendly nursery and at the Amish hardware store. Thanks for the lesson!

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  4. Love the rill! Just like Hestercombe.

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  5. Now that's a cool selection of watering cans. I always water by hand.

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  6. I love your collection of watering cans, especially the zinc one.
    And you have a rill! How lovely, I've always wanted a rill.

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    1. The zinc one is also my favorite. It works beautifully. But because the spout is so long, it tends to tip forward when there is no water in the can.

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  7. I love the older galvanised cans, so much more attractive and robust than the modern plastic rubbish. That certainly is quite a collection you have there Alain!

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  8. Such a varied collection, mine are all plastic unfortunately. We do all our watering by hand as we are on a water metre and have to pay for every drop that comes from the house. We have a huge water butt off the house roof and 2 smaller ones off the garage roof, it is usually enough.

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  9. Really nice cans, Alain! I always wanted to have watering can with long spout. I think it's very comfy for watering roses. The small one is curious, more for collection.
    Have a nice week!

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  10. What a quirky collection of watering cans, Alain. I also have a weak spot for them but more for decorative reasons. We have a well and I water with the hose in very dry weather as the day's not long enough to do it all by can. Where does the water in the rill come from? It's well done by the way.

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    1. From November to June the water table is very high and the rill just fills up. It also fills up after a rain storm. The first reason the rill was made was not aesthetic, but because the area flooded regularly. The rill crosses the garden at a strange angle and I would have preferred to align it differently but we had to make it where there was flooding!

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  11. I had never thought of watering cans as collectibles, but you proved me wrong. In fact, I think you could probably curate a small exhibition on the watering can. If they can do exhibitions on tea pots, why not watering cans?

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  12. The snub-nosed can is the type my parents-in-law have; it doesn't have a rose either.

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  13. That's quite a collection. You have watering down to a science.

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  14. Interesting! I would like to have a collection of metal watering cans, but I think I would have to find them at garage sales and flea markets.

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  15. Until the weather stays warm enough to reconnect our hoses, I rely on watering cans. But my clunky plastic ones can't hold a drop of water to your collection! Actually, I enjoy watering by hand and your lovely metal ones are much more what I think of when I go out to refresh some of my drier plants. They suggest a less frantic, less engineered (drip irrigation, sprayers, etc.) time. And time is what I like to spend when it comes to gardening.

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  16. I spend a great deal of time hauling watering cans around in the summer. I have 2 plastic ones that get the job done done, although one is a bit small and the other is cracked. I finally treated myself to a very nice Haws model when I received an Amazon.com gift card at Christmas. Of course, once I saw one Haws, I saw others I liked, too that I added to my wish list. I really love the waterway running through your garden. That's fabulous! When my five rain barrels are empty, I end up with big water bills to keep everything alive.

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    1. The Haws are beautiful, I have one of them, but very expensive. But I must say they are well-made. We are on a well and there is plenty of water. What there is not plenty of is electricity because we are off the grid and the water pump is what uses most water. When it gets dry, I have to remember to refill the tank at noon on sunny days!

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  17. I've got a collection of watering cans too, and I'm always on the lookout for more as long as they aren't too pricey. Garage sales and flea markets are good places to find them.

    Glad you stopped by my site. I've added you to my Can"eh"dian blog hop.

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  18. WOw, what a collection! Much nicer than the plastic ones!

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