Watering

This summer so far we haven't gotten a lot of rain, at all. Last year we had severe flooding all over, and this year, nothing. I hate to do it, and I hate admitting it even more, but I have been using the hose about once a week, sometimes twice, if it's really hot.

I hate using the hose because there are plenty of other ways to water the garden without resorting to the hose. I use grey dishwater a lot. I also use water collected from the bathtub during showers. At my old house I had a system hooked up such that I could use the water used in the washing machine to water the garden. I really want to do that again, if I can get my husband back there to hook it up for me. It's quite a simple process, I just don't have the time for it. Lord knows what my girls would get into while I'm down there fiddling with the water hose. As a side note, I make my own natural laundry soap, so there's no need to worry, in my case, about any gross residue in the water (or on the clothes, for that matter).

I try to collect rain when I can, but I don't like to leave rain buckets standing around too much, again, because of the girls. Perhaps next year they will be ready for fish outside. Not this year.

Despite the fact that my plants have not been watered every day, they are in amazing shape. They all look wonderful and are setting fruit as usual.