Our normal high for today is 95 degrees.
From the Houston National Weather Service DISCUSSION...
ALL TIME RECORD HIGH OF 109 HAS BEEN TIED AT IAH (PREVIOUSLY SET
ON 9/4/2000) @ 244 PM. TEMP SPIKED THEN WENT BACK DOWN. STILL HAVE
A FEW HOURS TO BREAK THAT. SADLY...DON`T SEE MUCH OF A CHANGE
TOMORROW WITH A REALLY DRY AIRMASS REMAINING IN PLACE. WRF/NAM12
SHOW ABOUT THE SAME READINGS AS TODAY. (GLS MIGHT SEE A SLIGHTLY
EARLIER START W/ SOUTH WINDS THEREFORE LOWER TEMPS). A LIGHT S/SE
FLOW RESUMES AREAWIDE MONDAY ALLOWING TEMPS TO PLUMMET BACK DOWN
TO 100-106.
Guess what? Since the mayor has gone to a LEVEL 2 water rationing scenario, the water usage for the city has gone....UP!
Of course it has. It's called the hoarding effect. In general, when people think a commodity will grow scarce they will immediately start to use their share. Suddenly, EVERYONE starts watering on their day....even non-gardeners. You can also watch the hoarding effect when a hurricane MIGHT hit Texas. Suddenly, there's no more bottled water on the shelf in all the stores.
My normal usage for a family of 4 is around 7,000 gallons.
BASED ON HAVING NO RAIN FOR THE MONTH (we've had .09" in August), here are my numbers for just keeping things alive. I'll do this twice a week to keep us from going to LEVEL 3 and NO outside watering:
DRY ROCK BEDS (three areas with many plants)..........60 gallons
WESTSIDE AGAVE AREA & SEGO PALM.............. 50 gallons
SMALL LAWN ............................................................60 gallons (lawn looks stressed)
WOODLAND GARDEN (large area) .......................... 80 gallons
ENTRY GARDEN with GRAVEL ................................40 gallons
TOTAL FOR FRONT YARD.....................................290 GALLONS X 2 = ~ 600 GALLONS/WK
GOOD NEWS: You can garden even in this drought. Dry gravel beds in my front garden are worry free even with extreme heat and dry conditions.
I always liked the names in the movie Dances With Wolves. So I've decided to give myself the name "Dances With Death" while I water my drought stricken garden. It sure feels appropros. Guess what? Since the mayor has gone to a LEVEL 2 water rationing scenario, the water usage for the city has gone....UP!
Of course it has. It's called the hoarding effect. In general, when people think a commodity will grow scarce they will immediately start to use their share. Suddenly, EVERYONE starts watering on their day....even non-gardeners. You can also watch the hoarding effect when a hurricane MIGHT hit Texas. Suddenly, there's no more bottled water on the shelf in all the stores.
The most severe casualities are the trees in our city parks
I REALLY do not like how long this drought has dragged on and I'm now trying to decide what lives and what to let go. I really can't afford a higher water bill than what I used last month...a new record..I'm trying to keep trees alive at this point. I don't feel bad about my number because one of my friends who powerwashed her sidewalks and house for hours used 40,000 gallons in one month! That included topping off her swimming pool daily!My normal usage for a family of 4 is around 7,000 gallons.
Agaves, Yuccas, and Aloes do fine in arid conditions
BASED ON HAVING NO RAIN FOR THE MONTH (we've had .09" in August), here are my numbers for just keeping things alive. I'll do this twice a week to keep us from going to LEVEL 3 and NO outside watering:
DRY ROCK BEDS (three areas with many plants)..........60 gallons
WESTSIDE AGAVE AREA & SEGO PALM.............. 50 gallons
SMALL LAWN ............................................................60 gallons (lawn looks stressed)
WOODLAND GARDEN (large area) .......................... 80 gallons
ENTRY GARDEN with GRAVEL ................................40 gallons
TOTAL FOR FRONT YARD.....................................290 GALLONS X 2 = ~ 600 GALLONS/WK
Basically Tucson Arizona gets more rain on average than the amount we've received during this drought in Houston.
Tucson, Arizona (average rainfall) Feb-August = 6.82"
Houston (2011 drought) Feb-August= 5.90"
THE GOOD NEWS~ TEMPERATURES ARE FINALLY GOING DOWN after today and tomorrow!
According to the latest NWS weather report (just out this morning), we will go from the extreme temps of 108 today to a steady progression downward EACH DAY and end the week with a high of only 93 degrees and a 40% chance of rain by next Friday!
THESE GREEN SEDGES OFFER HOPE FOR A NEW LAWN
I've been studying these native sedges for over a year now and have let them take over the gravel garden. I have about 60 now and plan to transplant these to form new colonies in the front yard.
So far, they transplant well, take half the water of St. Augustine grass (Pam at Digging also confirms this on her post) and can take temperatures up to 105 109 with no damage.
It's a new look that takes some getting used to. But it's much better on my conscience.
I think it is the species Carex retroflexa, but that's not certain without some more research.
All for now. Hang in there garden and Texas gardeners!
David/ Tropical Texana :-)
Sorry about the rationing of water. That's terrrible!!! The problem with tropicals in Tucson is that they require too much water so I've had to put them in pots. While water hasn't been an issue for us here, the winter certainly has had an impact on the garden at El Presidio. Only now are things starting to bush out. It has been a terrible year, hasn't it? BTW, excellent post on watering. Pools need to go in the desert. They waste too much water.....especially when they aren't even used by the homeowners. When there's a drought, like the one you have, it puts everything into perspective. By getting rid of our pool, we save 4-5 hundred bucks a month on electricity and water.
ReplyDeleteI'm most worried about the trees. Driving around, almost every tall hardwood is dead or dying. The pines are looking like they will give up any day now. We really will be a desert if all our trees die off. Sedges look great! I hope it really does cool off, and I hope it rains for you on Friday.
ReplyDeleteThis is a brutal test of us Texas gardeners, all right. And after a very trying winter as well. I've seen Texas and Berkeley sedge used effectively in Austin in part shade locations with much less water. I look forward to more info about sedges in place of traditional lawn.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy that Houston is getting that much heat/lack of water. A record breaking summer for Houston as well as Austin. We are on day 73 of over 100 here. It is to get to 110 today. I can't remember a time ever being on water restrictions in Houston. Hope you all get relief soon (and then it comes to us!- or we get it and then it goes to you!)
ReplyDeleteThose sedges look nice- there are several varieties that do well in the heat, I like them and like to put them sporadically in the garden. Have you seen the variegated one? I think that is my favorite right now.
42.7 degrees celsius! That is just insane! It reaches 34/35 here, and we at the equator complain all day about the heat..I hope it lets up soon in Houston! I can't imagine rationing water..(but then I don't think you can imagine using our water - our drinkable tap water is 'newwater'- recycled pee) =D
ReplyDeleteHouston’s increased water usage after going to Stage 2 restrictions even made the local news reports here in DFW. Your dry beds look great. Very practical in these days of drought. How do you think they will do if it ever starts raining again? I am curious. How do you plan on allotting specific of gallons of water to each area of your landscape? I like the bird bath in the last photo. Is it a natural stone?
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention....San Diego is going through some sort of water rationing. I remember the city being very green, but like you guys, they have had to cut back and their landscape has changed a bit.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you start getting some much needed rain soon. It was never that bad when we lived in Texas but, I do remember the heat. Texas gets hotter by 20 degree higher than our tropical island of Grenada.
ReplyDeleteI am so frustrated at peoples' attitudes about the water restrictions. I am not in the city limits but I have been limiting myself to giving each lawn a really good soaking about once a week. The nice part is I can get away with only mowing about once a month. And the lawn is hanging on for the most part. Not that I like having a lawn, I could do very well without it, but my house is on the market. So.
ReplyDeleteEverything else is dead except for my container plants, my trees and oleander, and the knockout roses and jasmine in the front. The exciting thing is that the installation of a bird bath and some feeders in the back has made my back yard VERY popular with all of the water and bug shortage!