country n news-not a pioneer

COUNTRY N NEWS-NOT A PIONEER

here at the country n we are glad we are not in the pioneer days
if we were
we would starve to death or die from dehydration



on the left is the drought in july
at that time we had gone a month without measurable rain
where we live is the light white color
on the right is the drought in october
at that time we had gone 3 1/2 months without measurable rain
where we live is the darkest of the colors
that dark maroon aggie color

starting in june we had all our rainwater tanks filled up
24,000 gallons
i donated 6,000+ of that to my garden to keep it alive
leaving us with 18,000 gallons
of which i accidentally drained over 3,000 gallons
leaving us with 15,000 gallons
sure wished we had that tank of water back

which as of today we have 2500 gallons left
if we dont get rain in the next 30 days we will be out
of water
the last time this happened was during the severe drought
over the last few years
again i drained two tanks accidentally during the drought

now unlike the pioneers
i can buy water in 1500 gallon increments if i have to

now we chose to use rainwater for our only water source
it just seems like the right thing to do
for our environment
plus
if youve ever
drank rainwater
washed your hair in rainwater
showered in rainwater
washed your dishes in rainwater
washed your clothes in rainwater
grown a garden only using rainwater
then
you understand why we do it

so we have learned how to conserve water on a daily basis
short showers
reusing shower water in the landscape
using greywater in the landscape
not over using water while washing hands or brushing teeth
having a washing machine that doesnt use too much water
not watering landscape as we only have xeric native plants
using our 10 acres for nature when possible
ok thats a male thing
it makes a great weed killer
maybe an outhouse is in our future

now all of you who dont have rainwater systems should be
doing this also
dont worry you may have a lot of water now but the time
is coming when the shortage will get worse
the new war will be over water rights

now look at you water bill to see how much water you
are using each month
it may be surprising and wasteful
well disgusting to those who chose rainwater as our water source

now in my garden i am switching over to water conservation
methods
i now water the larger plants like tomatoes peppers winter greens
with buried basins like 5 gallon buckets and 1 gallon buckets
that water deep into the soil
this puts the water where it needs to be
and
uses less water to keep the garden going

we also use heavy mulching with newspapers pine straw
your leaves you give me
we also will be digging trenches between the beds this fall
then fill them up with mulch items to act as a water sink to hold
even more water in the soil in the garden

so in summary
im not a pioneer
i have a lot of respect for pioneers
but
ive learned a lot from what they did to stay alive
we use it here every day
maybe
yall should be doing it also


october 17   little rock
team #joe nash

the organicgreen doctor