Disastrous season for the vegetable garden.

[DWSmith]

The lawn has been mown once in 3 months and that was to knock down the weeds, not the grass. The grass is dormant and browned out.

As best I can tell we've received less than 1" of rain in 3 months.

Cucumbers are doing okay because I keep watering them.

Tomatoes are too small and aren't ripening.

The melons seem to ripen on the inside but not the outside. When it did rain a few weeks ago the melons looked far from ripe on the outside but split from the rain and were almost too ripe inside. The chickens liked them.

One variety of potatoes died back so after a couple of weeks I dug them. Several nice potatoes and several very small ones but not nearly what I should have gotten I think. The vines on the other two varieties are still green so we'll see later how they do.

I spoke with a professional vegetable farmer and her results were similar.

Several weeks of high temperatures and 3 months of nearly no rain.

There's always next year.

[happyhumph]

Have suffered from the opposite here - temperatures to low and to much rain - hence the explosion in the slug/snail population......

[Jay22]

^^^^Exactly the same here...if I could I'd share the rain with you DW!

[Chestnut]

The last couple of days has seen a load of woodchip washed away from the communal path adjacent to our plot, leaving a trail of bare earth where the little rivulets flowed. Ours and neighours greenhouses are still an inch deep in water, and all our tomatoes are green.

as you say, there's always next year ;-)

[Jay22]

That's a sympathy like Chestnut!

[Lumpy]

Ditto the rain soaked, sunless and cilly from above.

[vixylix]

Ditto from leeds too - we may have different problems DW Smith, but they're still problems. If it was easy everyone would do it!

Fingers crossed for next year

[ESBkevin]

We've had more rain than typical but in a dry area of the country it makes for an acceptable season for most things. Blight is the big worry with all the wet/dry/wet conditions.
@DWSmith have you got room for swales? In your situation I'd be looking at Hugalkutur and heavy mulching to preserve all moisture wherever possible. In my ground the mulch ment that just kick the surface and it was moist soil even after two weeks+ without rain. Hugalkulter is some effort to set up and take a season or two to get properly established but then pays dividends with not needing to till or water (but you do need to chop and drop plus add more mulch materials).

[DWSmith]

Yesterday I spent 3 hours watering trees and shrubs. I'll be doing more of that today.

I put a 100 gallon livestock tank in the back of my truck. I put some adapters on the drain hole so I could attach a garden hose. I fill up the tank with another hose at the faucet then drive around watering.

Easier than carrying 5 gallon buckets of water for hours.

Pleasant way to spend time but a couple of young trees have almost died. Too many trees for watering but they will be just right when they are doing well again.

[Chestnut]

I like your technique !
Fingers crossed you will get a more plant-friendly share of rainwater soon

[ecudc]

Hi DW Smith. Better twitter your president because he believes that increasing freak weather events (such as drought and two level 4+ hurricanes hitting the US coast in one year) that's caused by global warming is fake news. Definitely no increase in freak weather events, and no global warming, definitely none......

[DWSmith]

ecudc,

I've promised myself not to get into any political debates with anyone. I'm not responding directly to the contents of your post.

But you will notice that I Liked your post.

Thanks!

[DWSmith]

Chestnut,

My Mobile Watering Unit (patent pending ).

[happyhumph]

I like it! Think you're gardening on a different scale to most if us

[DWSmith]

I like it! Think you're gardening on a different scale to most if us

Does that mean I can keep posting pictures? (I hope. )