I posted some water management tips over at the
Yard Farm blog the other day, including the recommendation to automate ones watering schedule. I have even been offered to have said system installed by Yard Farm's lovely entrepreneur and gardener extraordinaire, Zach Herigodt. I didn't want the yard all dug up while listing the house, however - and now the fact that we're moving in 2 months (most likely) prevents me from delving into a big project that i'll just be leaving behind.
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| Onions blooming and falling over, butter lettuce bolting before harvest and peppers very confused. |
The garden suffers.
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| Letting the Freckles Romain go to seed for saving. |
This is one massive drought, and a timer hooked to water to all my gardens at once, with drip lines that are closer together would really help the garden out. As it is, i barely have time to water one garden once a day, much less all three plus the way-too-well draining planters in the front. Serious bolting, seriously bitter lettuce, seriously stunted peppers.
I have worked a few installs with Yard Farm and have gotten some experience with PVC cutting and connecting, so i think i'll be able to do the work for myself in the future. I'll need to rent a trencher, buy some weird pvc glue/poison, and invest in a pvc cutting tool. The drip lines aren't cheap, neither are their connectors or the timer - but i think i know enough about how to install the system that i'll be able to do it myself, saving on the labor to pay a crew to do it for me. (If only i could get Zach's crew to come out to Oregon with me, oh well). For now, i'll go back to praying for rain and watering whenever i can. The rain barrel is officially empty and i continue to wish that i'd bought a nicer watering wand years ago. Off i go to turn off the drip system and spray about with my thumb at the end of the hose before i head to the gym. It's not the best system, but it's all i have the time for today.
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| The up side: I got a few peas to eat, and will be saving these heirloom pea seeds for planting at our next homestead. |
Rain Rain come and play!!!!
