How to: mend an old metal watering can.

Now, I have many quirks, as those of you who have met me, will already know.

In my own defence, I would say that most of them are very sensible: always bending the loose ends of wire plant ties inwards, for example, to avoid stabbage, is - I think - something which everyone should do.

And leaving the watering can full, is again, something which I think all professional gardeners should do.

After all, a bucket can be used for many things, so you might well need it empty and dry: but a watering can is only ever going to be used for moving water from one place to another, and if it's not the red "poison" one, then it's going to move water from the water butt to some plant or other.

Therefore, always leave water in the watering can. You never know when you will suddenly remember, five minutes before leaving time, that you didn't water something, and it's really frustrating to have to stand there, waiting for a slow gravity-fed water butt tap to fill the can.

This means that "my" watering cans are always left ready-filled, or, if the Client is senior, then I only half-fill it, because sometimes they can't manage a heavy, full can.

Why am I telling you this? Because one day, I went to water something in, and the watering can was empty.

 Empty!

Shock! Horror! The Client never, ever, waters the plants (no disrespect meant, the Client in question is currently too ill to get out in the garden much), so who on earth used the water?

 I filled it, gazing suspiciously around for unexpectedly-watered plants.

I picked it up, walked off to the far border, thinking smugly "Hey, I'm getting stronger, this watering can doesn't weigh much at all!" only to find, on arrival, that it was empty.

Here is the beast in question, it's one of those old-fashioned metal ones, the sort which inevitably have a "bowed" bottom, meaning that it never stands up to attention nicely, but bobbles around, if you put it down on the patio or the path.

(I've made a dished place for it to stand, under the water butt... I'm so sad...)

To the usual tune: 

"There's a hole in my watering-can, dear Lisa, dear Lisa..."

 

 A closer look revealed the problem: the bottom was coming unstuck from the top. 

This was probably a natural result of its age, and wasn't helped by the bowed-out bottom.

I'm not quite sure what causes this sort of bulging bottom, on a metal can - as they must spend the vast majority of their lives standing on the ground?

I mean, I can understand the theory of "water is heavy", it's not as though they spend hours hanging up by their handles, full of water, is it? Most of the time,watering cans sit around empty (except in "my" gardens, see above), or with water in them, but sitting down firmly on the ground.

So how does this sort of bulge start?

Anyway, moving on... as this is the only watering can in the garden, and as it is otherwise a nice one, I thought I'd see if it could be mended. Cursory internet research focussed on welding or soldering: hmm, neither of those are among my skill-sets. 

I asked my gardening colleagues for advice, and my friend Robert, who runs the Oxford Garden Project, suggested using silicon sealant, to just fill the gap: he said that it probably wasn't worth the effort to try to hammer it back together (ie to make the gap smaller) as that might loosen the rest of the bottom panel.

So that's what I did.

I took the watering can  home, left it in my covered porch for a couple of days, until it was bone dry inside and out, then I got the silicone sealant gun, and went to work.

Getting it down the inside of the body was quite interesting, and make me yearn for another pair of hands to hold the darned thing steady, but eventually I succeeded, and had squirted a thick bead of the sealant into the gap from the inside.

I then propped it up on the bench, and squirted another bead of the sealant into the gap from the outside. I could see the sealant squidging through from inside to outside, so I had high hopes of making a good seal.

Three days later, I tested it.

Perfect! Water stayed inside, no water sneaking out. Wet within, dry without. Perfect.

Here it is - left - and you can see the white sealant.

I don't expect it to last forever, but it's going to be easy enough to peel it out and replace it, if or when it starts to leak again.

And so far, it's been nearly a year, and it's still holding water!

 

 

 

 

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