soaphouse's Blog
soaphouse's posts about: drought
Feb 23, 2008 | 4:46 PM PST
Tags: compost , owl , herron , veggie beds , dogs , raised bed , weeding , weeds , rain , drought
(I hope this post goes through ok...with all the weird stuff going on with the site today...)
The last few days we have had a good steady rain. Great for our drought situation! Of course, I have gotten used to doing something in the yard most every afternoon. So, instead...I had some nice cups of coffee on the front porch and watched the rain :)
One morning, when I woke up...I noticed an owl perched on the fence by the creek. We hear owls a lot around here...and my husbad has named the one we hear, Norbert. Maybe this was Norbert showing himself :) . A little later, I also saw some sort of giant bird walking across the creek (might have been a white herron?) I couldn't catch a picture of him though. Here is a little shot of the owl:
It dried up enough today for my hubby to go get some loads of compost for the newly built veggie beds! Hooray!!!
And, in case there was any question as to the necessity of the chicken wire surrounds:
HAH! needless to say...the doggies had a fun day in the garden too!
While my husband was picking up the loads I also took advantage of the wet ground and did my first (of many, I am sure) spring weeding sessions! It felt good to get that done. We got most of the beds full and just need to finish up one bed. Yeah! Gotta love progress!
Dec 28, 2007 | 8:21 AM PST
Tags: fall veggies , garden , sprout , seeds , drought
So, back in the late summer I planted all sorts of wonderful fall veggie seeds. I was so excited! I even did a lot of research on companion planting and was going to implement that for the first time. Well, the week after I put in all the seeds, my city issued a complete out door watering ban. No water=no veggies :(
There it sat....a pile of dirt full of seeds waiting for something to help them reach their potential. Well, we have started to have quite a wet winter and the seeds are starting to sprout. I know its way too late...and I won't really get anything from them, but its fun to see them doing something!
Here
is a pict of the veggie garden that could...
Hopefully the rain is making a dent in our drought situation and we will be able to water again come spring...
Oct 23, 2007 | 2:53 PM PST
Tags: rain , woodchips , mulch , divide , transplant , drought
Well, its been raining here for 2 days straight!!! I can hardly believe it!!! Its is so wonderful and now I have a glimmer of hope that my fall veggie seeds might grow after all!!! Can't wait to see the garden as the days progress! I know it will give me lots to do and I am so glad! Hopefully I can do some more dividing and transplanting. I am also planning on ordering up some more of the free woodchips from the city for the back yard.
Oct 21, 2007 | 7:51 AM PST
Tags: drought , mulch , figs , fig , pepper , tomato , green , fall
Well, we picked yesterday what I am pretty sure is the last of the harvest. We picked all the green tomatoes on the vine, since the temperatures have cooled off so that they won't ripen. Hopefully they will ripen on the window sill:
We continue to get lots of figs and enjoy eating them right off the tree! We also picked the rest of the peppers.
I had planted a bunch of fall seeds, but since I can't water....they will not grow :( So, I look at my pitiful patch of dirt in despair :(
But, the situation here is so dire, I understand.
I will focus next on mulching since thats really about all that can be done.
Oct 3, 2007 | 11:39 AM PST
Tags: drought , water , creek
I haven't been able to do much in the garden lately...partly because of my new job and also due to the drought. I had so many projects planned for this fall, but so many of them involved watering...as most gardening does! AND, my city has issued a total outdoor water ban :( I know its necessary, but it still makes me very sad! All I can do is sit back and watch my poor plants suffer. Luckily a majority of my landscape is extremely drought tolerant. However, I still have the usual ferns and hydrangeas. And, my vinca looks so crispy and awful! The creek behind our house that I have blogged about before that is always full of water and even floods quite occassionally is bone dry! In the 4, almost 5 yrs that we have lived here I have NEVER seen it without water! Its overcast today and there is a slight chance of rain, but I don't think its going to happen :(
My main gardening projects have just been clean up...a lot of pruning and trimming back of what is dying.
I also hope to put out a lot of pine straw mulch around my beds soon...to get ready for the winter.
Aug 24, 2007 | 2:47 PM PST
Tags: heat , drought , fall , elijah blue fescue , strawberry , harvest , zebra grass , brussel sprouts , autumn joy , sedum
Despite the heat, some things continue to do great and more happens in the garden each day! I spent some time watering and weeding this afternoon as the weather dropped from 108 to 96.
The angels trumpet has started to bloom and I look forward to nights through the fall when it will be loaded with blooms!
The Zebra grass has all its plumes now and they are so pretty in the wind:
All of the autumn joy sedums have their buds:
Makes me yearn for fall even more :)
We continue to have good harvests! Guess the veggies like all this heat!
I have had some casualties due to this heat wave and drought:
I have lost:
- 3 Elijah Blue Fescues (the new ones :(
- The strawberry plants may not make it
- the brussel sprouts got the worms...they just dont like this heat
- Even my vinca is crisping up and what was once a nice, dense groundcover...looks pathetic!
- My blue juniper is suffering
But, fall is just around the corner!
