Rain but no rain

10 years ago

The past three days we had anywhere from 80-100% chance of rain. Technically, we got rain each day, so I guess you could say they weren't wrong, but the amount of rain was so miniscule, it barely mattered. And now the forecast shows a mostly dry next couple of weeks. For the second time in the past 12 months, I am actually having to resort to using the sprinklers to water my beds. Yes, I know that micro-irrigation is a LOT better, but I can not justify putting in such a system on rented property for the few times I would actually use it.

The rain barrel is almost empty and I have taken to dipping into the goldfish pond. I figure it is better to dip into that and then refill it than it is to directly use well water, at least this way the chlorine isn't enough to mess with the fish and the extra nitrates from the fish water probably don't hurt either.

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Comments (4)

garyfla_gw
10 years ago
Hi

I have the downspouts from part of my roof connected to the lily pond so that when it rains the water flushes the pool and then overflows into the marsh garden. Works great except when it doesn't rain lol Another problem was during a 30 inch rain the fish were in the neighbors yard so added a damper to the system. which means the gutters overflow lol

Have no idea how effective the system is a fertilizer but I usually have a sparkling clear pool with no work on my part and the bog type plants appreciate the occasional drying out . Certainly is handy when I need to water a few pots . Have found no solution to the dry season except revert to the tap?? When I was keeping soft water fish i discovered that I needed around 3/400 gallons of rain water to make it through the dry season but now I'm afraid of spreading zika so dismantled the smaller ones and filter the 100 gallon ones . Has the added benefit of a constant live food source for the baby fish except I quit breeding fish lol Amazes me no matter how tightly I keep them covered they still manage to get in!! May resort to mosquito dunks ?? Solve one problem create another the joy of gardening?? lol gary
Michael AKA Leekle2ManE
Original Author
10 years ago
Tom, I believe mosquitos lay eggs above the water. I know I have my rain barrel pretty securely screened off and while I still end up with larvae in the barrel, there are also a lot of adults trapped inside. So my rainbarrel has turned into a mosquito trap. I also added some small feeder fish from my local pet store to a smaller pond, so they keep that clean. When I dump out my bird baths, I often dump them into that pond or the goldfish pond where the larvae will get eaten. My biggest issue is apparently finding overturned pots that have collected water in the curl under the lips. Thosr blood suckers will use the smallest amounts of water to breed in.
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User
10 years ago
We've actually had a lot of rain here for the dry season. Whenever this happens, people complain about it when it stops. This IS the dry season. Rainy season doesn't start until June, and even then, it takes its sweet time cranking into gear some years.
wisconsitom
10 years ago
If I'm not mistaken, the Aedes aegyptii (Spelling) mosquito lays its eggs in the tiny bits of water held in things like crunpled up chip bags, old carelessly disposed of water bottles and the like. I cringe to think how many perfectly good water features and bird baths are going to be eliminated due to this...and folks' misunderstanding of where and how it breeds. We're the problem, not nature.