Weather variations

Generally by the middle of May our area has warm and sunny weather settled in. This year we've had a cold-ish early and mid spring. The garden has responded a little slower than in previous years. The strawberries are only just beginning to be sweet off the plant, cherries are slowly turning red, nanking cherry is just starting to ripen the fruit. Trees are leafed out and peaches are fattening on the trees, as are apricots. The grape vines have tiny clusters on them, and flowers are flowering. Gophers are having their way with anything they like, and the trapping has been modest thus far.

We'd had a few days into the 80s F, which were rather pleasant in the shade (and the mosquitoes found it lovely in the evening). Then we got a good wind blowing in from the south west (the direction which brings the rain). We had a little thunder, some lightning and the three waves of hail. Small hail was the first pass, then medium (pea sized), then a bit larger size. All this came along with a big rain event and I checked out my water harvesting areas – downspout to apple tree, road to basin/berm) and found it took a bit longer for the water to soak in than with big-ish rain events.

Hail in May

After the storm passed I noted some damaged leaves on various plants, but most things seemed okay.

Spring Rain

Rainy day today. We had a good downpour for a while. Rain delays turning on the irrigation. I wish I had installed my rainwater tanks last fall. Big projects take time and money though, so I'll get to the tanks when I can. I've calculated the amount of water I can harvest off my roof by using Brad Lancaster's books Rainwater Harvesting vols. 1 & 2.

They are both filled with excellent ideas for using water more efficiently and valuable information on how to harvest water. I checked the average annual rainfall in this area (26 inches or 2.16 ft) and measured my roof area. I'd be harvesting water from less than half the roof surface, since I'd put larger tanks in the back of the house and probably no tanks in the front of the house. The formula is catchment area (sq ft) x rainfall (ft) x 7.48 gall/ft x coefficient (80%). Two downspouts in the back of the house would put out approximately 16,500 gallons per year, much more than I could reasonably be expected to store in tanks. That's why Brad Lancaster says "the cheapest place to store water is in the soil," and he advocates the generous use of mulch, and turning one's garden soil into a sponge of organic material - roots, organic matter, organism, and more.

I'm looking at getting two 1550 gallon storage tanks, which would make a tiny dent in my watering needs during the summer, but those drops add up. One of the main issues in this climate is we get our rain over half the year and then no rain during the hot half of the year. Until I get those tanks, I'll be working on building the sponginess of my soil.

Most of the water in the front of the house goes into the soil. The driveway and sidewalks drain into garden beds or to the ever-shrinking lawn. Some water from the road runs into the berm & basin I put next to the pavement, watering the plants in that garden system.

November Harvest

Vegetables from the garden, picked Nov. 12, 2008.
Clockwise from top left - Collards, Chard, Mizuna, Butternut squash, summer squash, baby red chard, trombetta summer squash, tomatoes, daikon radish.

Oh, a pumpkin pie sits to the right - made with butternut squash - and it was delicious!

First Rain! & Fermented Food

Today our first rain of the fall started. I checked the downspout where I have created a slope and basin in order to direct the downspout water to a nearby apple tree. The system was working as I intended. The water is directed away from the house, across the path and into a basin around an heirloom apple tree. The basin has various other plants that are part of the apple guild - yarrow, comfrey, daffodils, clover, etc. Also near the basin is a blueberry bush, heavily mulched with pine needles.
Now I'll have to get that swale in the front yard started.

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Today I decided to taste the fermented summer squash I made at the end of August. I had grated up some Trombetta squashes and packed them into mason jars, sprinkling with salt as I packed. Then I topped the jars with water and away they went! Now, just over a month later the squash tastes tangy and salty and sour! So delicious, and I've been craving pickles and salty stuff for a few months. Now I'll get the satisfaction of eating my own creation.