Should We Talk About The Weather?

And the saga of Ryan Smartt's (@rsmartt) garden continues!

Should We Talk About the Weather?

While summer is the best time of year to grow vegetables, it can also present some challenges. The biggest challenge for me = weather (specifically rain, or lack thereof).

Most of what I grow needs plenty of water (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers) and unfortunately, Richmond seems to always have very inconsistent levels of rain between June and September.

As a result of the mild droughts we’ve had in recent years, I have become quite clever in some of my watering techniques. For example, occasionally after dinner, I recycle the leftover water I use when I boil vegetables. It not only helps conserve water, but there are lots of good nutrients in it. Also, my daughter LOVES playing with daddy in our baby-pool on the weekends, and I use what’s left of the water in the pool when we’re done to water our plants.

In addition, we vacation from time-to-time during the summer, which also presents a problem for the garden. Essentially, I have to roll the dice and hope it rains while we’re gone (which could be anywhere from 2 to 10 days). And with the inconsistency of rain this time of year, we never know what will happen.

So, anyone interested in watering our yard while we’re gone in a few weeks?

Also, check out week 4 of Garden Wars!