Two Inches Of Rain In 30 Minutes

It was not expected.  Guess I had not paid enough attention to the weather forecast.  Or something like that.

The morning was sultry with heat and humidity.  Overcast grey skies, everything feeling wet, and heat nearly 80 degrees.  Not pleasant, but was not going to deter me from getting some things done.  The side of the compost pile opposite the area I have dug free of nettle crowns has 12 feet of trellis which had not been planted yet, so I turned that area and planted it in Trail of Tears pole beans.  Here and there I weeded, and came to the conclusion that I needed to actually buy a few plants.

There were a few things which apparently I neglected to start from seed this late winter/early spring.  Among them was Opal basil (a dark purplish/red) and Thai basil which is a kitchen essential for cooking in combination with pepper heat, seafood and coconut.  <happy sigh>  On top of that, I lost all of my mints except Chocolate Mint, which smells like a Peppermint Patty, but tastes like, well, strong mint.  Patti had purchased me a Spearmint to replace the loss of that area of the garden last winter, but I wanted to see what else was available, so we went to http://www.tonkadale.com/ which is just on the other side of the lake from us, is huge, and fun to just walk around in.

I came home with a pot of peppermint, an applemint (mild pleasing apple and mint taste, but zone 5 so we will have to see if it makes it through the winter) 6 dill plants (because I had not seen any emerge and they had previously reseeded themselves every year for the last decade since I first planted any) and a pot holding 3 Malabar climbing spinach, which is not a spinach at all, but it loves heat, vines all over a trellis, and has leaves the size of a slice of bread which makes them great for sammiches.

My favorite using them is two slices of home made sourdough, toasted and buttered, with a slice of fried ham, a slice of Terhune (which is the width of a slice of bread) some sharp cheddar, a Malabar leaf, a nasturtium leaf, and maybe a fermented dill pickle on the side.

<happy sigh>  Soon.  Maybe even some fresh cucumber, sliced really thin, to add some crunch.

I have to stop this, or I am going to be hungry again, and I don’t need another dinner just now.

ANYWAY, we were on our way back, with the hot sultry overcast continuing until we were close to home, and the skies opened up.  At 20 miles an hour and the wipers on high it was hard to see.  We sat, parked, in our driveway for a couple of minutes hoping it would ease off so we could make the 30 foot walk to the front door without being drenched, but no luck there.  The kids ran, and I made the best time I could with a cane, and Patti holding the baby.  The rain continued for about a half hour before petering off to drizzle for a couple of minutes, and then burning hot sunshine immediately after.

2 inches in such a short time reminded me of why I always have areas that are planted higher than the surrounding paths.  Our yard was a series of miniature rivers and lakes, but all of the plants made it.  The peppers planted yesterday evening were still protected by the cutoff plastic milk jugs I protect small and unhardened seedlings when first planted.  The beans planted earlier in the day were not washed away.  Every bucket around the front and back of the yard had a few inches of water in it.  The two wheelbarrows were nearly overflowing at the ends, and the flats of unplanted transplants all had to be emptied as the plants were waterlogged and drowning sitting in them.

The only thing I then planted before leaving for dinner and a visit with SIL Cindy was the applemint, which went into a planter garden I already have three cabbage in, and the Malabar Spinach which next to the Purple Blauchakker peas, and will fill that trellis up when the peas are dried up and gone later in the summer.

This rain puts the Ness farm gardens on hold again, as I really want a dry surface so that it can be worked easily with a stirrup hoe.  Regardless, we are going to have to spend at least a day, and maybe a couple of days, getting that garden done with its first weeding.  Just hoping for a good run of dry, like, 5 days, so that things can firm up well.

There.  I did it.  Cursed myself.  Last couple of years have all had wet springs and early summers, followed by horrible drought.  I really don’t want it to stop raining.  Just a pause in the rain, long enough for us to get done the things still needing to be done, that need soil that is not muck to get it done in.

The rain event even made the news.  Guess there was enough to swamp some roads.

http://www.kare11.com/news/article/1028950/391/Heavy-rains-soak-parts-of-Metro-on-Saturday

 

 

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2 Responses to Two Inches Of Rain In 30 Minutes

  1. stone says:

    Let’s not complain about the rain… After all those years of drought… I appreciate every drop!

    Re some dry ground to plant… Have you considered raised beds?

    In my previous garden, I’d till manure into the planting areas, and walk in the path… after tilling the first time… instant raised beds! I could usually do anything in the garden.

    Now in the sand… It’s never wet. The sand is bottomless.

    You lost mint? :0

    • Tom says:

      The beds are raised. They were islands in the water. Yeah, it was a heck of a winter. We had -35 and no snow early on and lost a lot of perennials. Oh well.