Posted on 04/29/2023 7:01:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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I’ll check that out. Last year I planted some bush beans & the leaves looked like ‘lace’ they had so many holes in them. I just planted Sugar Snap Peas this year. I’m always looking for something organic/non-toxic to help control pests.
This year, after several years of no squash because I was just sick of squash bugs, I planted a spaghetti squash (love the stuff). I saved coffee grounds and sprinkled them around the plants - supposedly squash bugs don’t like coffee grounds. I also got diatomaceous earth & sprinkled that liberally. Squash bugs like to hide, will get under boards, so I am putting some small board sections down with diatomaceous earth sprinkled under the boards. Of course, the usual .... leaf inspection, picking off bugs/eggs, etc. will also be happening. Yellow squash will be planted later in the summer for early fall harvest, after the spring hordes of mating squash bugs are gone.
Our city water is so mineralized and chlorinated that it stunts plants' growth. A good rain washes all of this out of the soil. The columbine garden loved all the rain:
So did this volunteer patch of nasturtiums:
Geraniums loved the rain:
This patch of foxgloves went crazy:
Helpers weren't fond of the rain, but were able to get outside for a few hours - in their favorite spots:
HOWEVER, as ridiculous as this is, some states restrict your harvesting of rainwater. Luckily, there is no Federal law against it...yet. Texas, Virginia and Rhode Island will give you a tax credit on equipment you buy to do so.
Rainwater Collection Legal States 2023
Rainwater harvesting is the accumulation and storage of rainwater, rather than allowing it to run off, to reuse it for on-site purposes. Simply installing a system in one’s home makes it easy to utilize Earth’s hydrological cycle. Allowing people to collect rainwater on their own properties reduces the demand from water facilities and improves conservation efforts. Rainwater harvesting is common in homesteading.
The Federal Government does not have any laws or restrictions regarding rainwater harvesting. Most states allow citizens to collect rainwater and even encourage them to do so. Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia encourage residents to collect rainwater by offering a tax credit or exemption for equipment purchased for rainwater harvesting.
Some states currently have restrictions on the amount of rainwater that can be collected and how it is collected; however, it is not entirely illegal to collect rainwater in any of the 50 states. Some of these restrictions believe that the harvesting would disrupt rain’s natural flow back into streams and bodies of water on the Earth. According to a study by the Scientific World Journal, the amount of rainwater collected by individual homes would have little to no effect on the hydrological cycle, especially because homeowners would use this water for their yards or gardens so that it would return to the Earth.
In Western states, restrictions exist because old water laws stated that all precipitation belonged to existing water-rights owners. These laws were known as prior appropriation, or “first-come, first-serve” laws for settlers in the Old West. Rainwater harvesting poses a health problem, as some water may be unsafe and unsuitable for potable purposes (i.e., drinking). This is something legislators must take into consideration.
Rainwater Harvesting Laws by State:
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/rainwater-collection-legal-states
Love the nasturtium backdrop for the roses. And your helpers are as cute as ever! :)
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Thanks, Pete!
It must be nice to be able to live outside most of the year. (I assume you can?)
City Water: there are filters that can remove the chlorine from city water. I use one of these.
(The store is located in Rohnert Park CA north of SF. They sell stuff to make Compost Tea. )
Thank you for this information Diana! There were storms all around us yesteday, but no rain. Maybe next week. I need to start looking at irrigation for the garden.
So, we cut off the top and set it under the corner of the metal roof on the pole shed and the rest, as they say, was History. I would scoop out water as needed with a watering can.
One of my boys added the frog - and years later they added duck decoys and any manner of things that would float. On hot days, it wasn't unusual to find one or more of them soaking in it, LOL! Amusement for us all, obviously.
Yikes! And here I worry about a snake popping up, unexpectedly!
The naturisms come up by themselves! I suspect from a neighbor’s yard - there are at least three varieties, just discovered a very dark burgundy one hidden behind one of the roses. Have no idea why the yellow one likes to climb, it did that all on its own - it is starting to overtake my grapevines and needs to be tamed.
Thanks for the advice.
I never drink the city water! I do not give it to my animals. I have a Waterwise water distiller that is about 15 years old and still going strong - after I distill the water, there is a thick layer of brown sludge in the bottom of the tank - that is what is in our drinking water! It also removes fluoride. I also have an under sink water filter - on top of a water softener that is absolutely necessary in this area, otherwise you’ll ruin your clothing and appliances. Just got a new filter - that says it removes “pharmaceuticals.”
And yes, we do live outdoors most of the year, which is possible here. My husband moved from upstate Pennsylvania when he was 20 and never looked back. Right before he died, he requested that he remain here in So Cal and not be sent back to Pennsylvania, far too cold. He requested to be put in the garden, which I honored (ashes).
I have quite a few cordless power tools. I started out with Ryobi 18 volt but over time the Ni-Cad batteries died and once, when in need, went and got a Porter Cable 20 volt drill/sawzall/light lithium cordless kit. BUT I still have three cordless drills, two circular saws, jig saw, reciprocating saw, light & vacuum of the Ryobi(and 4 junk ni-cad batteries). They're compatible with the newer 18 volt lithium battery version so I just need a charger and lithium battery or two to have all those functional again. Been internet researching/shopping for those this morning and found Ryobi also has a portable tool storage system. Read one review that said just go with the Milwaukee PACKOUT System so I found myself on their website. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars could be spent.
All good wish list stuff but all I need is a $110 Ryobi 1/2" impact driver with battery and charger. Been wanting a cordless impact driver for a while plus it will give me all those other Ryobi tools back. A single battery will be fine as I do have the Porter Cable tools with two batteries.
I need other stuff like fence for a goat proof garden.
I'll probably get another $65 bottom/cart section of the Crafsman because I have too many modules to stack on the one and those bottom cart/boxes are big enough to hold several cordless tools and right now, all my Ryobi stuff is in two bags, one Ryobi and one Porter Cable that came with cordless tool kits and I can't even close the bags.
I must say though, one of these Ryobi 18 volt lithium 3 inch augers would be pretty sweet for planting.
There are two yellow roses in that spot - both in honor of my mother - her favorite rose was a yellow cabbage rose that my dad planted 50 years ago. I’ve been looking everywhere but no one carries the old-fashioned cabbage roses.
The one in the photos is “Henry Ford” - and it just exploded in bloom. Will take a photo for next week. My mother is watching over it.
I have to check into this. We have to have a water softener for our indoor water supply, so I don’t use that water for my indoor plants, but if they need softer water, have I been making a mistake? I fill up gallon jugs with water from the spigot outside to use during the winter, with limited success on overwintered plants.
I am ‘green’ with jealousy regarding those rolling tool boxes!! Of course, I have access to dad’s tools in the garage, but I have accumulated quite a few of my own and currently tote them to where I need them in a tool ‘bag’. The bag is very heavy at this point & there is no real organization possible.
I have been looking at rolling tool boxes and eventually I’ll end up with one .... it would be nice to roll everything out to the garden/work site and also have pretty much everything I might need available.
Currently, dad’s golf cart, his rolling workshop on wheels, is helping me out. I have a bunch of his tools on it, can add my bag and I can haul things. He has a large plastic tub that he would pull behind the card ... I have used it for roots when cleaning out the old azalea bed, 5-gallon buckets of wood chips and top soil (it will hold 4 buckets) for the garden, and I can haul my bags of pine needles.
This week, I also figured out how to hook up my Gorilla Cart so the golf cart can pull it. I have all of my garden planting stuff in the cart and at the end of the day, I just roll it into the garage for safekeeping.
Happy Gardening To All. May Your Veggies, Fruits and Flowers Grow Well.
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