Weatherproofing your plans for your garden

[ksalvagno]

This is a good thread. I'm new at gardening and just trying to learn quickly. Making newbie mistakes is hard enough without funky weather happening.

 

[HEChicken]

I think you'll find you'll always been new and learning LOL. I used to think gardening was a skill you could practice and learn, like learning to knit or sew. But there are so many variables that are constantly changing that gardening is a constant learning process. What works one year doesn't necessarily work the next. I am challenged by the fact that I have limited places I can grow a garden so it is difficult to rotate crops. I want to grow the same things each year because I know what my family will eat. So I have to build the soil up with compost each year to ensure I don't deplete the nutrients by growing the same things in the same places year after year. Weather is different every year. Pests vary. One year I had an unidentified beetle ravish my Basil. The next year I didn't see a single beetle like that but had a tiny little caterpillar instead. So - you just keep plugging away and learn a little all the time about what works and what doesn't in YOUR conditions.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

I've been one of those folks discouraged by the vagaries of weather in the Pacific Northwest, so these ideas are falling upon fruitful ground, so to speak.

SD - check out Ed Hume seeds... they have a lot of shorter season varieties - a great selection and i believe he's local to the PacNW

also see my buddy Mr H's blog about gardening in Northern Idaho:
http://subsistencepatternfoodgarden.blogspot.com/

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

I've been one of those folks discouraged by the vagaries of weather in the Pacific Northwest, so these ideas are falling upon fruitful ground, so to speak.

SD - check out Ed Hume seeds... they have a lot of shorter season varieties - a great selection and i believe he's local to the PacNW

also see my buddy Mr H's blog about gardening in Northern Idaho:
http://subsistencepatternfoodgarden.blogspot.com/

I was just going to add the same link!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

ha! BBrooks! dontcha just love him!!!

but hee hee hee .. i keep temping his vegetarian ways with all my talk of pork chops... good naturedly, of course and he doesnt mind some teasing. what a great couple! i could only hope to be that organized and productive.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

ha! BBrooks! dontcha just love him!!!

but hee hee hee .. i keep temping his vegetarian ways with all my talk of pork chops... good naturedly, of course and he doesnt mind some teasing. what a great couple! i could only hope to be that organized and productive.

Well, they do eat eggs and milk! That can be enough!

 

[Rebbetzin]

How high did your water prices go? I would hate to not be able to have my garden, but I am also conscious of the cost of water to maintain it. Last year I invested in a soaker hose and a timer. I had it set to turn on for 1 hour every three days and my garden did great. My MIL is currently moving and offered me another brand new soaker hose for free this year. I also have some extra straw bales, so I plan to mulch really well with the straw this year.

Several years ago, when my parents lived in an area that was in severe drought, my dad invested in a large plastic tub that he put in the bottom of the shower stall. They collected all the water from showers, and lugged it out in buckets to put on the garden. I haven't found a tub that will work in my odd-shaped shower stall, but I do collect as much water as I can. For example, if I'm running water to do dishes, and waiting for it to get hot, rather than let it go down the drain, I catch it in an old milk container, and use it to fill the dog's water bowl, the chicken's water bowl, or pour it directly on my garden.

Our water bill is about 65.00 in the winter and can be over 100.00 in the summer. (depending on how much I water, and if we get any rain)

Our problem is the "sewer" charges are three times what it costs for the actual water use. So we pay more for water to go down the drains than to have it come out the pipes from the city.

And there is no metering as to how much goes down the drain as opposed to what is used as "grey water."

My washer is drained into the side yard as grey water, bath water is saved and dumped by hand into to garden. I use dish pans and put that water on the garden. I don't think there is much else I can do to conserve tap water.

As for collecting rain water... we usually get less than 12 inches a year of rain. My husband says it would take a very large cistern to make any real difference in the water bill. And then with such a small amount of annual rainfall, it is not worth the $$ to put in a collection system.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

How high did your water prices go? I would hate to not be able to have my garden, but I am also conscious of the cost of water to maintain it. Last year I invested in a soaker hose and a timer. I had it set to turn on for 1 hour every three days and my garden did great. My MIL is currently moving and offered me another brand new soaker hose for free this year. I also have some extra straw bales, so I plan to mulch really well with the straw this year.

Several years ago, when my parents lived in an area that was in severe drought, my dad invested in a large plastic tub that he put in the bottom of the shower stall. They collected all the water from showers, and lugged it out in buckets to put on the garden. I haven't found a tub that will work in my odd-shaped shower stall, but I do collect as much water as I can. For example, if I'm running water to do dishes, and waiting for it to get hot, rather than let it go down the drain, I catch it in an old milk container, and use it to fill the dog's water bowl, the chicken's water bowl, or pour it directly on my garden.

Our water bill is about 65.00 in the winter and can be over 100.00 in the summer. (depending on how much I water, and if we get any rain)

Our problem is the "sewer" charges are three times what it costs for the actual water use. So we pay more for water to go down the drains than to have it come out the pipes from the city.

And there is no metering as to how much goes down the drain as opposed to what is used as "grey water."

My washer is drained into the side yard as grey water, bath water is saved and dumped by hand into to garden. I use dish pans and put that water on the garden. I don't think there is much else I can do to conserve tap water.

As for collecting rain water... we usually get less than 12 inches a year of rain. My husband says it would take a very large cistern to make any real difference in the water bill. And then with such a small amount of annual rainfall, it is not worth the $$ to put in a collection system.

No metering on the outgoing? Not cool at all!

 

[Wannabefree]

I'm mulching everything I am putting out until May! Good points on the prep and methods of salvaging just in case things come up!

 

[i_am2bz]

I think you'll find you'll always been new and learning LOL. I used to think gardening was a skill you could practice and learn, like learning to knit or sew. But there are so many variables that are constantly changing that gardening is a constant learning process. What works one year doesn't necessarily work the next.

So - you just keep plugging away and learn a little all the time about what works and what doesn't in YOUR conditions.

So true. I gardened for several years when I lived in VT, & for whatever reason it was almost effortless. Here in NC it has been much more of a struggle; everything - soil, kinds of weather, length of growing season, etc etc - is SO different, it's like learning to garden all over again. Makes me feel I've been more lucky than skillful. :/