We've had a very brutal dry season, not only was it much warmer than normal, is was also very dry, in fact we received at least 15 inches less rain from November to now than normal.
The last two weeks were especially challenging, it was so hot and dry that all the plants, even the most drought tolerant ones started drooping and shedding their leaves. I caught my mamey crotons just in time, one more day and they would have been beyond the point of saving. The extreme drought and heat coupled with our city increasing water rates by 45% made watering especially challenging.
I've already seen my water bill almost double. Being the "budget gardener" I will have to start thinking of a rain harvesting system - the problem is, to store a considerable amount of water ( and I need to store thousands of gallons if I am to get through between the sporadic spells of rain in the dry season) you need a large underground tank and these cost in the thousands of dollars. I am thinking of building my own underground water cistern, or even a few water jars.
Since Tuesday we've been having rain on and off. Since Yesterday its been raining almost non-stop with torrential downpours every now and then. Last night we had sucha severe thunderstorm that the power went out and we were all woken up by the thunder. We had winds in excess of 60 MPH.
Wow! Scary weather. I'm glad to hear you're okay and that the garden survived. Here in the Pacific Northwest we complain a lot about the incessant rain but in all honesty, rain is a good thing. I know what you mean about water rates and looking for alternatives. It's going to cost money regardless of the choice.
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