Hey y'all! I just came in from putting up the goats. I wanted to say some things about The lone star state. So let's talk about the heat, extreme weather, often little water and how it effects our gardening. Let's talk about the HEAT! Down here, in Texas, it can get very hot!
Trying to work is brutal, just think about this. Sweat dripping down your face, arms and back and digging a swale. Thankfully we dug our swales this winter and spring. We are looking forward to adding more swales this winter as they have proven to be a lifesaver for our fruit trees and berry bushes.
If you do not know what a swale is, it's a dich that holds water for a long time. Then you can plant fruit trees and whatever else you enjoy in the "banks" alongside the ditch.
Tips on digging a swale:
Tip #1 The More People Digging the better!
Tip #2 A tiller will go a long way in preparing the ground so it's easier to move the dirt where you want it to go
Tip #3 You will need a good shovel and hard rake to level out the dirt
Tip #4 Make sure you are considering the slope of your land so that when it rains water will run down into your new swale!
Tip #5 For a good swale, it should be 2 to 3 foot deep but I've heard people make them 1 foot deep
So down here, we work with the heat. We get up early in the morning time and go get as much work in as possible. Then we go back inside near the afternoon time. In the afternoon, we try to stay inside and avoid being out in the hottest hours of the day. After dinnertime, we go back outside and get as much work done as possible. That is how we work with the heat.
So let's talk extreme weather! So, the weather is crazy down here! The saying goes, "If you don't like the weather than just wait five minutes!" Truer words have never been spoken my friend. We came in tonight thinking that it was going to rain, but it did not rain one drop! The sky was black and it was thundering and lightning outside too. So the weather is so unpredictable down here that you can NOT even rely on the weather reports. The weather could say, 100% rain on Wednesday, but it will not rain one drip. There are some times that we might not get rain for 2 to 3 weeks.
That is why we made the big swale up in the front orchard and in the back orchard. Water means garden or no garden. Now let's talk about water. Water means garden or no garden. Water is crucial down here, which is why we got a well. We can water the garden, fruit trees and barrier bushes. I was watching Justin Rhodes YouTube Channel, and I think he said in other parts of the world they dig holes in there gardens to provide water. In other countries, they do not waste water. So when it is time to water the garden, they just have to fill up the holes. What I did in our garden, we dug some holes. Texas Mom panted some water melons in a circles. So there were at least 10 circles, so I dug 10 holes. Then I filled them with water and it worked!!!!馃槀馃槀馃槀馃槀馃槀. The garden is doing very well and it the end of July in Texas! You might say, "WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN THE GARDEN?" Well, we have water melon, catalope, tomatoes, peppers, corn, sunflowers, eggplant, beans, string beans and lots more good things in the garden.
We are now taking this time to gear up for our big fall garden this year! Please stay tuned as this will be our VERY first attempt at a fall garden. So that is all for now my friends.
Go check us out on Facebook, Instagram, twitter, patreon and YouTube. Keep trusting God my friends and see you next time. Bye! ~Goober (12 yr old Permaculture Dude in the making)
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