Oh,hawki,I just stopped in here to post about the same thing.I just seen on the news that it will be next Thurs before any rain in sight. I just said this AM that I don't know how long things can hang on. Do I dare risk the well? And can one really water enough? Doris

The draught is the main topic of conversation in West Branch lately. Everybody's worrying. I don't even get excited when they show big rain fronts on the way - they disipate before they get here or peter out and give us a sputter. Everything is crying out for water and I'm afraid I'll run the well dry if I water. I've been carrying dishwater outside - hope the soap doesn't kill everything! We've even talked about plugging the tub when we shower and bailing water to take out to put in big trash cans for watering. Desparate times ...

Some of my plants look so bad I'm going to cut back the shrivelled babies, mulch and hope for the best next year.

I don't think we're going to catch up on rain this year so we should all start praying for tons of snow this winter. I'll be sure to use up all of my vacation before winter so I can't take any snow days - that should help.

Cricket

uicricket - I have used dish water before when I was in the same situation you all are. Never had a problem with the soap, as long as its biodegradable, which most are.It even seemed to help with the insects!
I know its an act of desperation, but one I have been through. I wish you all east of me Good Luck!!!!
I will do a rain dance for ya (if it would help)

MonaRae

I know a gal who runs her washing water through sump-pump and pumps into dry well to water flowers. I just checked my rural water have used 9000 gallons of water, And we have had more rain then lot of my customers. Their lawns have huge cracks and all brown. So far still green here. been using soaker hoses and buying more mulch. Main prayer at church RAIN Please Lord.

I guess in waterloo, according to my dad, the grass is growing so much, he has to mow once a week, and even that is barely enough. Apparently they've had a lot more rain.

As for me, I mowed my weeds again yesterday. We had long grass on may 22 (the day after my wedding...we were embarrassed to have people over for gift opening cause of the terribly long grass, I never had time to mow at that point) but that's about the last time our grass had grown. I've had to mow weeds a few times, but the grass has been brown and crunchy for months now.

I still keep up on watering my roses and our little tree, although he shows lots of signs of stress because of the dry weather. The ground has pulled away from the concrete everywhere around our house :( Thank god we have city water and don't have to worry about a well.

This weather pattern has been pretty unbelievable. Not only the dryness, but the constant heat. And no signs of relief in sight.

i know its bad all over.im in black hawk county and its dry here allso.hang on folks ,hang on.mother earth will take care of us

I'm also in Waterloo. I must say we have been lucky so far. It's dry, but not like what you have. The grass is still green. The corn and beans are in great shape. I wish there was some way to make it rain for you.

I'm 30 miles east of Columbia MO but I read the Iowa forum too. Missouri's governor is asking for drought assistance for all but 5 of Missouri's 114 counties. Our grass is brown and crunches when you walk on it. Livestock owners are already feedng hay as the pastures are "burned up." There was a picture in our local paper of a fully developed ear of corn that was not as long as a man's hand and the beans aren't going to make a crop at all. At my house, we had a dry spring and haven't had even 2" of rain since Memorial Day. I'm so grateful for a productive well to keep some veggies and the fruit trees going, not to mention plenty of water for my animals.

So, why am I posting? To tell you that our local CBS affiliate's weather broadcast last night had a clip of a rain storm they said was in the Cedar Rapids area. I'm proud for you but when you get enough, direct some down here please.

Happy gardening, neighbors.

Well,I'm about 30 miles south of Cedar Rapids & if I hadn't heard the rain last night,I would have thought it was just a heavy dew.
It didn't register in the guages.
Doris

I am saddened to read that so many fellow Iowans are so dry. We farm, so rain is important for livelyhood and garden as well. We have been very blessed here in NW Iowa and have had timely rains all season, have experienced those terrible dry years and feel for everyone.

Michelle

Thursday's storm was just Iowa City's year in a nutshell: a solid storm from the Minnesota border to almost the Missouri border... a single 5 mile wide gap opens up right in the middle of the storm, and that's us... not a drop.We have had about an inch and a half of rain in two months.

Well a year has passed sense the original posting about the draught. How are you all holding on this year?

In Iowa City, we started the summer just a little below normal in rain, but now the last month we've turned quite dry again... there is just something about I-80, where storms go north of it and south of it, and leave us high and dry. We certainly are not as dry as last year... I hope never to see that again, but we've only had 0.2" of rain in the last two hot weeks.
Don

Washington was in one of those dry patches last summer, but not this year. We are doing fine and loving it! Of course, so are the mosquitos.

We had quite a dry spell this year and the crops were starting to show it. We did get over 4" in the last week. DH said there are still cracks in the fields though.

***We had quite a dry spell this year and the crops were starting to show it. We did get over 4" in the last week. DH said there are still cracks in the fields though. ***

You must live near me, Michelle. I'm in Cherokee County and I can't tell you how happy that four inches in my rain gauge made me...I literally danced back to the house.

We'd started to see a lot of dead and dying trees between Cherokee and Sioux City, the corn was shriveling and--despite my single-handedly lowering the water tower level--the tap water was no longer doing the trick for my shrubs, vegetables and flowers.

Suddenly, everything is green all over and now my husband is ticked at having to mow the lawn. LOL!