What does this summer hold for us with regard to rain?  There will be drought somewhere, I’ll guarantee it.  I’ve mentioned my interest in rain gardens.  My significant other and I took our first step over Memorial weekend by getting the gutters up, and linked to water barrels for watering our two large gardens out at the farm (it is way out near Ortonville, MN where there is BIG wind all the time, and that wind sucks the moisture out of the ground super fast).  We also invested in a fabric landscape material that has soaker hoses built right into them.  If you cover them with mulch, as we did to protect them from the deteriorating effects of UV rays, they will not only hold more moisture in for your plant roots, they’ll also last up to 20 years.

Here are a couple links to where you can find this type of product (we used the first one, you need a header hose to go with it):

http://02a5830.netsolstores.com/rainweave22x-1-1.aspx

http://www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/Product.asp?PG=177

We should all be conscious of water usage all the time, we only have so much clean water on this planet and that amount is shrinking as we contaminate it, and as glacial ice melts running into our oceans (it’s all fresh water, those glaciers). 

If we suffer a drought this year, there will be even more reason to conserve. 

There are a number of simple things that we can all do to conserve and use our water more efficiently, here are a few ideas:

·          Turn hot water down.  When you are running water for something – dishes, bath, washing machine, anything, if the water is too hot, don’t turn up the cold water – turn down the hot water!  You pay money to heat the hot water, so use less of that.

·          Use shorter cycles. A shorter cleaning cycle in your dishwasher is often enough. Try using the “quick wash” or “china and crystal” setting, especially if you rinse the dishes first. Using the air dry feature also saves energy. The same goes for laundry. “Quick wash” or the “light” setting is often all that is needed.

·         Use only what you need. Your bathroom faucet is often used only for washing your hands and face.  Try turning those water faucets full open, then go under the sink and turn the hot and cold water valves one half, to three forth OFF.  You should have enough water to wash hands or fill drinking glass and not waste water.

·         Reuse water.  Whenever we shower or wash vegetables we waste gallons of water.  Place a bucket in the shower to collect water during your shower and in your sink when you are washing fruits and vegetables.  Then use that water for potted plants inside and out, or anywhere there is a plant in need of water.

Feel free to add your ideas to these and share with others!!!

I don’t think that Martha Stewart is the end all to gardening or signage for that matter. Every year I plant bulbs and perenials in my garden. In the spring I go to weed my gardens and I am never sure what is a weed and what is a plant just breaking ground. The bulbs aren’t so hard to identify, but I often forget which bulbs I put where. Martha’s idea is not original, in fact people have been painting on stones since the dawn of time all around the world (cave paintings, fun images, and park signs). 

Martha just told me what I’d need in case I didn’t want to think too hard.  It is easy and super inexpensive.  All you need are some smooth stones (the north shore has some great stones if you happen to be in the area).  They can be large or small, and you can choose how you want the finished product to look.

Use a permanent dye-based ink and a set of alphabet stamps (or freehand if you are that good), stamp or paint the names of your plants on cleaned stones and then put them in your garden next to the corresponding plants.

If you want to get your kids involved, you could also use a paint brush and an exterior paint. Let the kids paint the words on the stones (you may need to spell the words out for them).  It’s a fun weekend project for the whole family.

Just leave those stones in your garden when winter comes and next year you’ll know exactly where all your perenial herbs, plants and bulbs are. PLUS every surface the stone covers is that much less area to weed!!!