If it doesn't say, then it's OK. Why not get a MUCH larger bucket, to leave the hose running into, and dip your smaller bucket into. I have done this in the past. So long as you can "hand hold" the much larger bucket. Unless they specify in what way you can fill the bucket, then you can do it legitimately any way you like.

Interesting point MM. I do remember during one set of restrictions down here, it was actually stated that the bucket must be filled from the tap and that taps could not be left running while no-one was there. I think a lot depends on your local water-board and your own interpretation of the law. I personally think as long as you honestly feel you are not being careless or wasteful with the water, then go for it!!

Well the children, which amounts to 4 with foster kids included have so far really enjoyed the bucket brigade. All of us scurrying around tripping over dogs and buckets looks so funny my husband has video recorded us all. I must say the sight of us all hurrying back to the tap to beat each other in our quest to deliver the most buckets was pretty funny. I guess I always try to make a posative, although still doing my rain dance every evening....whole other story.

I say fill up buckets /watering cans with the hose.
How are you getting on hosing your garden at night? I don't really like hosing in the mornings - it's all dry as soon as the sun hits it. But I am doing it nevertheless.
I try to get some time hosing before getting the kids breakfasts etc.
These water restrictions are weighted against anyone who likes to care for their garden. But the entire family can still have indulgent spa baths whenever they wish (I don't have a spa bath or a pool or wash my car ...).
They know families busiest times are before seven am and after seven pm when they can't see anything anyhow (or, like me, am scared of toads).
I would like to see the restrictions actually tightened - and they should've implemented this years ago ... but I would like to water my garden at a more hospitable hour. There are many horrific stories of water wastage about which nothing is being done.

I have been getting up at 5am and watering on the three permitted mornings with the hose, one morning I do the front, the other I do the sides and back the third morning I do my neighbours as she went to the UK this week for 8 weeks and bucketing the veggies on the Monday in the late afternoon, but today ( Sunday I ended up having to go to hospital to get my shoulder x-rayed which is now is a sling ) so no more buckets for me.

I also tried watering in the evening but
1. The Block is too dark. Its also too big.
2. Its across the road from the Logan river and there could be snakes.
3. I would not like to trip over a Toad, or anything for that matter.
4. The MOZZIES ate me alive
5. Some of the night noises scare me

I could throw the "Iam too old" but Iam not quite there yet.

And I think that we should be allowed to water at some time in the daylight hours otherwise more of us will end up in Hospital.

I also agree with you on that tighter restrictions should have been enforced months back especially with sprinklers attached to hoses where people leave them on for hours at a time watering one tree and flooding their grass not lawns on these big blocks , what a waste

Also I am getting very tired as I am missing out on some quality sleeping time and seeing my neighbour is away and I have only enough time to water half her garden she is saving a lot of water too, but will have to use that saved money to buy more plants when she gets back.....Cheers...MM.

Tanks out the back,roses are out the front,they wrote a new book after me,The twenty nine walks,and it,s about thirty -nine steps too,There is a tap next to the roses,thats in case I get crook .MM you are a champion for your garden,sorry about your shoulder,could be rotator cuff or trapezium area problem,normal you need a lucky break couple of downpours,we all do,worked part of the Logan River had to be on the watch for Brown snakes,all the best greencroc.

MM

Yesterday with all that drying wind I decided to do a bucket run to all of my roses and I filled the bucket using the trigger hose. I wasn't sure if it was allowed but then I thought what is the difference to using the tap if the trigger hose is turned off in between filling the bucket.

I also do the front yard one morning and the back the other as I tried one morning to do both and I was watering from 5.20am to 6.40am (with husband watering as well for half of that time) which is just too much. Not sure what the mozzies would be like at night but I have been eaten alive in the mornings! My husband suggested watering at night but there is no way as I am so freaked out by snakes and toads that I would end up watering it all in 5 minutes just to get out of there! There was an article in Sunday's paper about rain. A long term weather forecaster has predicted heavy rains by the end of the month or early November and seems confident after the summer storm season there will be no more water restrictions in Brisbane. I really hope he is right.

V

Hi everybody,

I haven't resorted to buckets yet just the watering can on non hose days. Have being using the watering prong gadget that you poke into the ground so that you are getting water into the ground not on top. Seems to be very good providing the soil hasn't become to hard and compacted. I have given up on the lawns as I do not have enough time to deal with them and the gardens. Like others I have been getting up at 5.15am. It really is nice in the garden then. I do this often through the summer months. I hate watering at night as it is too dark to see. Maybe this is a case for daylight saving. I know some elderly people who do not like being out in the garden at night. They do not feel safe. At least the hand watering makes you study your garden more.

GH

Gosh I forgot to say I bucket water all my roses every non hose day just finished them using the left arm and Iam right handed I think I am getting too old for this, hubby offered to do them but I prefer him up the ladder pruning all the Grevillea's and Bottlebrushes I am finished with ladders for a while. Greencroc the story of my life too, the shoulder is giving me hell but I cannot lift it high enough to put the washing on the line or take it off so more time for pruning even if it is killing me, thank goodness I can use my fingers so at least I can type and get the dinner, sorry your tank is too far away, its always the way.

Yes Vee I seen that article in the Sunday Mail too, trouble is will we get too much then everything gets damaged and up goes the Insurances and the veggies and fruit, we cant win can we the world is out of wack thats for sure, just gentle rain for a few days is all we need so it can soak in instead of running off like it always does. Hubby has offered to get up early and help me with the watering only trouble is when he puts on the back tap the water pressure goes down so with two of us doing it, it is taking nearly as long as when just one of us is doing it
Happy watering to you both....Cheers..MM.

Hi, Everyone, I was hosing last night in the dark and went out into the garden this morning to pull out a few weeds and guess what. The little new azalea was bone dry but the patch of paspalum next to it was doing very nicely thank you --- all green and fresh and when I pulled it out the soil looked so nice and moist ----- Oh wellllll
Marnie

I have the opposite to you all.
I have a tub for a waterlily and it goes down an inch a day with evaporation so I thought, now what is the dam doing, so went down for a look and it is going down at such a rate I decided to water everything even did a bit of grass round the house,which is most unusual for me as grass is such a water waster when you dont have much.
I just hope that Hayden Walker is right and the dams will be filled this year for you all.
Marion

His father Lennox Walker was very good,I trust him a lot more than others,has a very good system to do with the sun,spots and flares,but there is a lot more scientific weather work to it,greencroc.

I feel for you all. I am lucky as we don't have town water connected so don't have to worry about restrictions, just running out of water:)

Luckily the dam still has plenty of water though the tank for drinking is getting down. We have a header tank up the hill behind the house where dam water is pumped into. All we have to do is turn on the tap next to the house to water the gardens. The header tank is not very big but usually lasts a week or 2 to water vegies, use in toilet, etc. When its empty we just have to go down and turn the pump on for a couple of hours to refill the tank. Good when the pump is working, not so good when it's not (only rarely though).

Not having town water on hand we realise the value of water and are careful not to waste it. I rarely water the lawn as grass generally grows back with the first rain though I do try and keep a couple of areas around the patio watered so dirt isn't dragged in.

Tanks are a very good investment for gardeners, even just a couple of 44gal drums to catch rain water can make a big difference to the plants.

Keep your chins up, every day is a day closer to rain. As much as I hate to say it though, we really need flood type rain to fill dams and underground water.

Hope your shoulder is improving MM, don't overdo it.

No my shoulder is not improving GH, I had one of the doc's from Logan hospital ring me yesterday to tell me he found two cracks one near the collarbone, one at the top of my right arm so its just hoses for me from now on.

Hubby helped me this morning as I slept in till 5:20 so we did finished it quicker but he dosn't water deeply so I will probably have to do the back again on Sunday, anyway I had 15 minutes to go next door and water a few of the neighbours new gardenia's and ferns gosh her Camellias look sick, now I will be able to water the rest of hers on Friday. But it is terribly windly here on Wednesday afternoon they say we will get a storm, hope we dont, just the rain will do fine, but this wind is drying the soil out. Hope all you others out there are copeing OK. Cheers..MM.

I hope all you bucket brigaders had some rain (without the hail) or if you haven't yet, will get some in the next day or two.

We had at least an inch (someone tipped the rain gauge over again and I didn't realise it until it had been raining half an hour) of steady, soaking rain last night. You could nearly hear the plants relief. Had another couple of showers this morning and apparently more to come.

Got jealous on Wednesday evening as you could see it pouring rain about 150m away but we only had a very light sprinkle :( That seems to happen here a lot, we often see it raining down the road but we miss out. On Wednesday it was so heavy it looked like someone had put a grey wall up.

My fingers are crossed for all of you and your plants.

We only got 7.5mm ( 3 inches ) here GH it didn't do anything for the garden beds as they are very thickly covered with mulch, but the brown grass looks as though it is a slightly different colour today not quite green yet maybe that will come tomorrow.

The power was out for about 1 1/2 hours last night, very restfull reading by candlelight. The sky is a very dark grey here at present so looks good for a bit more rain tonight that would be wonderful...Cheers..MM.

Got 16mm on Brisbane's southside last night. Still dry under the mulch. At least it was dull today so not too much evaporation.
Bought myself a "watering torch" - with a 5 volt battery, which has made night waterings easier. Saw a toad near the tap on Wednesday night when I was going to turn it off. Scared the **** out of me so just turned the hose off at the nozzle. No more night waterings in the back yard for me now - front yard is a little less scary.
I did, however, fill up my 1,000 litre wading pool three times today, and just emptied it out immediately after filling ... just for the hell of it, and because the water restrictions allow me to do so.
(That last bit is a lie)