I know all of you south of me right now are thinking I'm crazy for my title. Y'all have been inundated with rain. Your gardens have been drowned over the last couple of weeks. Up here in New England we have had some lovely fall weather. Sunny, crisp, and definitely lacking in precipitation. For us humans it has been fun, but that garden hasn't been so happy about the situation.
Thankfully our patterns seem to have changed. We got a little rain on Saturday, but less than a half an inch. Last night we had a good storm (though I hear it was isolated) complete with wind and thunder. When I went out to check the pails, I had an inch of water in the bottom. I don't have any fancy rain gauges, but straight sided pails left upright in the garden do quite well. I just have to make sure they get emptied so the mosquitoes don't breed.
The plants seem so much happier than before. They waited two weeks for their rain, but finally got it. I did hand water some of the plants - the carrots and greens, but house water never makes the plants as happy as real rain.
I feel a little strange celebrating the rain after a year of too much rain. But the good part about last night's rain is that it is gone now. The sun is shining and it looks like another prefect autumn day.
Rain means replenishment. Rain IS glorious. And you can always send it south to Texas -- we need more!
ReplyDeleteYou have some very happy plants there now they have had a soaking.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I did think the title was crazy, but now I understand! Everything does look beautiful covered with rain drops though! My jalapenos still haven't turned red yet!! Have yours? oh, congrats on all the botanical nominations! Good luck on the voting!
ReplyDeleteNo, no, we have had too much. It is glorious sunshine for us today.
ReplyDeleteI agree - we need some too in the South of England, but I think my family in the North have had enough of it this summer.
ReplyDeleteLiving my entire life in place where we don't get appreciable amounts of rain for months on end means that I'm always amazed that gardeners in other places can rely mostly on rain to keep their gardens watered. I almost never plant anything in the vegetable garden without laying out drip lines first. Fortunately my plants don't seem to mind the water from my well. Sometime I even have to turn on the drip system in the rainy season if we've had a dry stretch.
ReplyDeleteI knew the rain was back because my slugs returned - and ate all my little fall lettuce and spinach seedlings. Glad to see yours is going strong, Daphne!
ReplyDeleteI do love the rain and so does my garden. Here in So Calif we don't get much, so when it comes it is soooo weeellll appreciated. Come, rain, come!!
ReplyDeleteRain is something I would like to forget....It killed most of my grass, and the mosquitoes are unbelievable. It's good that you've finally got some, though!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe that we haven't had much rain in the past month or so here in New England. We really need it right now and I think we are going to get our share in the next few days.
ReplyDeleteMeredith, in TX you probably need it even more than I did. We are now pretty much normal for our September rainfall.
ReplyDeletekeewee, thanks.
Lzyjo, I usually pick them before they turn red. I did leave six of them on the plant to ripen for seeds. They are just starting to turn. I hope they get there before our first frost. I'd really like to be able to trade those seeds.
mothernaturesgarden, lol I did say you would think I was crazy with the title. You guys have gotten way too much rain.
ReapWhatYouGrow, Well I hope you get your rain soon. I just wish we could even it out a bit.
Michelle, I don't water much once the garden is established. I will always had water the carrots and lettuce so they don't get bitter, but the tomatoes and peppers can survive easily without rain for over a week. It is rare for it not to rain for a full week, but it happens occasionally. I think well water is so much better for the plants. Ours has way too many chemicals in it to make it "potable". I'm sure the plants hate chlorine.
JGH, lol oh no I'll have to go check for slugs again. Sigh. Actually I'm sure they have been there all along. When it is really dry I can easily see their slime trails.
Mary Delle, I hope you get some rain. I know down there you always need it.
EG, hey look on the positive side. You can have a really good Death Day post.
GrafixMuse, I hate when we get autumn droughts (like a couple of years ago). It really makes it hard for the plants to survive the winter. I'm glad we are finally getting our rain back. I've looked at the forecast and we ought to be getting a good amount over the next week or so.
Beautiful, beautiful photos, daphne! We're enjoying a tiny bit of no rain here, but I still feel refreshed just looking at those lettuces!
ReplyDeleteWe had similar weather but it seems that now we are getting the usual fall rains, rains, rains and frost is on its way.
ReplyDeleteour friend Ben, I really need to go out and pick those lettuce. Silence would be shocked that I'm not eating any with my cucumber salads.
ReplyDeleteOttawa Gardener, I'm really happy our rains have returned. I just can't believe I'm saying that. But I am. Dry falls are really bad for the plants. I hope we get some sun too though. I need a few nice weekends to go biking and hiking in the pretty foliage.