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 :-)
