My daughter was in Owensboro over the weekend and said it rained most of Saturday night and Sunday. She was disappointed when she got back to the "desert" here in Shelby County. We got clouds but no rain....

Janet

We got close to an inch over two days and it was definately needed. Everything has just jumped! I envy you your several inches. Wonder why natural rainfall does things watering just can't?

Wonder why natural rainfall does things watering just can't?

I imagine it is because it is slow and steady and soaks in instead of running off...besides it being evenly distributed over the root system of the whole plant and beyond. The next time it gets quite dry here, I hope to use my sprinkler on the huge new bed. That way everything would benefit as opposed to just the ones I chose to water individually.

We've gotten rain the past few days...not sure as I don't have a gauge up....sigh...must get one my next trip into town. I noticed there are lots and lots of weed seeds that germinated in the garden rows. When it dries up a bit, I hope to tackle them with a scuffle hoe, lay newspaper, and put straw over that. Last year my tomato crop was a disaster, so I'm really hoping for a really good one this season...maybe even nearly weed free. Possibility you think?

Sue

Sue,
Before our rain, I was dragging hoses and running sprinklers everywhere. This is the only way I can water the large gardens. But I did notice that a few of the plants, especially some of the new ones, required a little more water. So I went back and gave them an extra drink. This was no easy task with the 100 (yep!) plants I've put out this year. DH tilled up a new garden for all the plants I traded for. This is a spot that we had been piling leaves for two years. It worked up great. I choose not to use landscape cloth, but just to mulch it. DH LOVES MULCH! He is right - I need to put it deeper - the grass is starting to come through in some spots. I need to take pictures - Add that to the list!

Penny

Hello to all. I have been looking around this site for some one in my area and this is as close as i have came. I am a new member and have lots of questions to be asked. It has been very hot and dry here in cetral Ky. as well my wife uses the hose on all of our beds at least twice a week, and they could use more.

Rock,

Where are you located?

Sue...still waiting for some decent rain

Finally - more rain. We got just over an inch last night
OH HOW SWEET IT IS!!! This was the first measurable rainfall in at least a month, cooler too! At least for a few days. Now maybe I can venture out and see if I have any plants surviving.

Penny in western KY

Our last two month's water bills were $150 and $137. Can't keep that up. Have been able to keep the perennials and annuals alive & well, but the shrubs I planted have really suffered. Praying for rain here.

Rain likes to miss Winchester. I work in Lexington and will see more rain hit there.. drive home... bone dry! I have caught a few lucky very brief spurts of rain while I was home (the best time). I removed the spout from one of my roof gutters on the house and am ready with a stack of 4-gallon kitty litter buckets next to the chute. When it rains, I quickly swap in buckets til they are full and pop in the next one. I then cover them with the original lids and store under my patio deck in the back yard. I use this water mostly for my blueberry plants. It's still not enough rain for all my plants, but at least it helps. I also catch the condensation drip from my AC units in a bucket and switch in a new bucket daily.

I would like to rig up a permanent rain barrel someday, but my gutters don't lend enough room where they are located. It would be nice if more people used their 'gutter water' in this way too.. I encourage anyone to try to collect rainwater and keep it covered (prevent mosquito breeding). Imagine if everyone used the free water off their roofs.. I wonder if municipal water would be less expensive.

I quit watering the daylilies the first of July and they've been on their own since. I've watered some of the vegetables but many of them haven't seen the hose and there will be no pumpkins, spagetti squash, butternuts or cushaws. I've planted turnips and kale twice now and the beets never sprouted. We never stopped feeding hay to the cows and weaned the fall calves and shipped them a couple months earlier than we'd planned so we wouldn't have to feed extra. We'll be shipping older cows and open stock probably in a month or so if it doesn't start raining. So far we haven't located additional hay for the winter and we're about 300 round bales short for the year. It's been a rather expensive year.

Janet

Yeah!! I was so excited when it finally started pooring when we were at a concert on Saturday. It hasn't rained here in northern Kentucky all summer. I honestly can't remember the last time it rained here. All of my plants shot up at least 2 inches over night. I've been watering my container plants 3 times a day because it's been so hot and dry. Now if it would just rain for more than 5 of 10 minutes.