Continuing to learn while drought gardening... part two

I am still sympathetic to those on dial up... this thread originated here. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1196163/
...and I'm still worried about the future of the drought in Texas.

I just stumbled across the US Climate Predictions site http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/ and it does not look promising.

Last week, we acquired three 250 gallon containers which will be set up for rainwater harvesting. Hoping it will rain again someday. From gutters, it is amazing how quickly rainbarrels will fill from a small rain. Now, to get them positioned.

This was taken late yesterday evening. This is the lasagna bed which still has pumpkins, fall tomatoes, canteloupe, cucumbers, Malabar spinach, licorice basil, onions, par~cel, peppers and more growing in it. It requires very little water, is well mulched and receives afternoon/evening shade.

Kristi, your part of Texas is typically very humid, I remember a fishing trip to Toledo Bend and thought I would die. Our humidity has been unnaturally low as well as the extreme temperatures. Are you still experiencing high humidity levels?
Our air is so dry things cannot live.

Yes... incredibly humid early am and pm. I can't help but wonder where it comes from when it is this dry.

I heard Friday that a neighbors' shallow well is gone. So sad... and there is no rural water here yet. Town has been on water restrictions and all the rural folks that are out of water are going to town to get their water as well as do laundry, etc. The system is being depleted even more quickly. Wondering how it will all end...

www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20110828-dallas-may-miss-new-record-for-triple-digit-degree-days.ece

This link tells a little about our weather but the fact that it will be in the 90's next week is little consolation.

I would guess that your humidity comes from the surrounding lakes. I have lost many plants that were in pots, correctly watered, in the shade on my deck. With 108 temps and 23% humidity it is just too much. I dart in and out doing the very bare minimum to keep things alive. The situation with the trees is going to be horrendous come cold weather. They are so stressed that the first freeze will be all she wrote. I have been letting the water hose dribble overnight on my pecan and the red oak. Many in my neighborhood have done nothing and it will look very different in a year. Predict a run on chain saws.

lou one of my nephews has a camp on Toledo bend at Turtle Bay and it has not been usable for some time now due to the low water levels ..he is just hoping for any rain at all ..We had some rain here in SE Oklahoma in the very early morning and got almost one inch ..Talked to my Sis in Conroe on Sat. she said it was just too hot to do even simple chores in the shade muc less in the sun...

We have one of the few ponds still wet around here, although we are otherwise totally dust. The long range forecast is downright scary and well guys are already overworked and far behind.
Had this bright spot this morning at our old pond, the little slider is working very hard to keep from being dinner. Only the second time I have ever seen a spoonbill here, the first was about a month ago.
We have had one hummer all summer long and have been getting more the last 3 weeks. It is now officially a swarm, made 1/2 gallon sugar water yesterday afternoon, used it all refilling feeders on the porch, looked at them around 10 and all but one were empty again. Made up a gallon and I am off to pick up another one or two big feeders so there is enough room for all of the hummers. I have found three dead ones on my porch so far this year. Can't ever remember finding dead hummers before.

Joy

Joy, congrats on that Spoonbill (one of my favorite TX birds). You are so good to take care of the hummers that way. They will be desperate for your efforts, as the native stuff just isn't there for them this year.

Carla

Thanks for sharing the spoonbill picture I have never seen a spoonbill and have been doing birds pix for 40 years

Rouxcrew ~ another delightful photo. Wasn't sure what a slider was tho... lol I was thinking snake.

We have had hummingbirds all summer. I am fascinated that the hotter times of day make them even more active. They seem to thrive on heat. On your dead hummers, that is unheard of. I wonder what killed them. On cold mornings, I've found a rare one in a torpor but they will revive and fly away. Never dead ones in summer.

We have made it out of August with only one day under 100° and way too many coming in at 110°. DH always says climate is what we expect and weather is what we get. We are there this summer!

I will still say the beds that I have built are doing well with minimal water requirements. In spite of the drought, I hope to keep growing green things.

LouC ~ I have been watching the humidity on the weather site and comparing it to yours since you posted above. We are very close in their relative humidity readings. A time or two, yours has even been higher than ours. I think any wind can be even more stressful on plant leaves. Are you having any wind right now?

I found a site on watering trees and will stand corrected. It said that shallow watering is important and can keep a tree alive. OTOH, it also said overwatering trees can do damage. I'll see if I can track that site down again. I was looking for leaf scald due to heat.

I have always been baffled by the advise to only do deep watering ,so many plants have wide reaching roots that are just below the surface by design as to catch even minute rainfalls Anywho it has always confused me because I lived for 40 years in a very arid part of this country and am still trying to get used to having rain in the summer..Some summers that is ...

Well, forget the cool down. Didn't happen. Watching the Gulf now. Not expected to provide rain here. When the newspaper reports scattered showers, it is just that. The "shower" is so sparse the drops don't even come together and you can see all the way around the little cloud burst. DFW is over 500 sq miles so somebody somewhere gets a quick "shower". Nothing even remotely like rain. ......and the saga continues.

This is the site I found while searching for leaf scald due to hot weather. It is a 'trees' site

http://www.treesforyou.org/Planting/InsectsandDisease/hot_weather_%26_leaf_scorch.htm

Interesting and written in an intelligible manner.
A couple of interesting points.

Podster, if you look on the log to the right of the picture you will see a small red eared slider (turtle) stretched out in defiance of the spoonbill. Sorry, my fingers type too fast for my brain sometimes.

Joy

Yes... I saw that but had never heard them called 'slider'. Guess I had snakes on my mind. LOL
You are so fortunate to see things like that. Thanks for sharing.

We catch the baby sliders, by looking for little bubbles in the leaves in the spring where they hide, loggers too, but they -the loggers-you dont mess with grown, red ear sliders the first grade teachers use in classrooms aquariums/terrariums

I like them... I feed them all summer but they stay in water until I leave the pond.

I have seen two loggerhead turtles. A friend that handles exotic animals caught a large one and I found a baby loggerhead in the backyard. I brought him in to show DH then turned him back out.

We HAD red eared sliders in the big pond here in Odessa until the city let it dry up this summer. Their claim was to do work on it. After it completely dried up they did some work on the street above and a little work near one outer edge. What an excuse. They have replaced the water now. I knew they would for this upcoming weekend since it is the centerpiece for the 9/11 ceremonies every year. All 3000 flags will be placed around .. it is beautiful and people will do their walks around the pond/lake while the flags are there.

I love that spoonbill picture! I've never seen one in person.

We had to work on a pond pump for the last two days. While wading around we found a slider with fishing line around his neck and only able to walk/wade around in a 6 foot circle. We was freed and I think it smiled at us as it headed for water.
Later we turned over the boat and found three different kinds snakes and an enormous frog. Which my dog immediately grabbed and killed before I could stop her. Also, killing our high of saving the turtle :0(

No ~ you did good. And your dog did what it does by instinct. Not to worry. What kind of snakes?

I'm not sure. Once the dog jumped into the mix, it all became a blur! Two larger snakes looked like black water snakes, but one smaller and lighter, looked to be a corn snake. Then there were baby snakes that were dark, like water snakes, but had a distinct pattern. We went one way, and the snakes another.

I don't know what kind of frog this is either..any ideas?
A big leopard?

We had 2 days of under 100 weather....it's wonderful. I have windows open and the ac off this Monday

The wind is from the north and blowing strongly, drying the sandy soil out even further. It's been nice all day.
High fire danger all around adds to the worries of living in a wooded rural area.

No precip in site for as long as the weather readers can see. I have lost most every plant that was added or transplanted this spring, and it was alot. A really lot considering I garden on acres and worked my tail off. . Not necessarily for lack of water, I have wells and have been diligent . The newbies just couldn't take the 100s for days on end. I have many things that have been in the ground for 5 years or more.

We have been blessed and also responsible for a lot of wildlife this season. I have gotten some great pictures. Photo is my second hobby .Looking back at my dated folders from last summer at this time and it about makes me sick to realize how much has gone. The ironweed in the fields looks like it normally looks in winter and the sumac is pitiful, none for the many birds that depend on it. There are a few stands left around the drying ponds that I think will make it but nothing of the flaming colors that usually beautify this area. I am not expecting much this fall.

I know all in this life is just temporary, still it's just hard to take such a set back. I am thankful I don't have to depend on my gardening labors to provide food for my family and am praying for those who do.

We actually received some moisture from LEE but the high winds dried it out so you could not tell it had rained. Amazing... the Lord gives and He takes away.

I agree Sharondippity ~ we are blessed to be able to provide for the wildlife and grateful not to need to provide food for ourselves at this time. I love the photo of the Chaparral. I have always loved them and we've missed seeing them here in recent years.

59 days of 100° plus in the past 60 and a few days of those days recorded at 110° has made me rethink the types plants and types of beds that I still have or have lost. Doing mental inventory of what I will be giving up and what I will be trying for this next season.

One goal is a woodlands trail on our property, sided with plantings for the wildlife.

Water conservation is where this thread began and this weekend I built another raised hugelkulture bed for perennial onions. And I'm still reading more regarding moisture conservation with hopes of being better prepared next year.