My drip bucket technique – low tech drip irrigation
You discover one of your tender young plants is wilting – and it's not your day to water your yard. What can you do?
Multi-year drought, megadrought or Aridification
"Drought" is a really lightweight term for what we're experiencing. We should really be using far stronger terms. A multi-year drought? A megadrought? Aridification?
What’s your get-ready-for-rain routine?
We’re ever hopeful that we’ll get some rain. Here in L.A., deep into this historic drought, that still remains a big hope! But each time the weather forecasts call for precipitation, I run around doing my routine … garden tools…
Rainwater Harvesting demonstrated at the Community Garden
We have 4 different types of rainwater harvesting demonstrated at the Community Garden at Holy Nativity in Los Angeles. You are welcome to come and see them, and copy them at home.
El Niño: What to check on your downspouts
In usually-water-lean Southern California, most of us have directed rain gutter downspouts to run into our gardens, so that we can make the most of every drop. (drawing A) This is a great setup for most years, when we get…
Are you prepared for El Niño?
Looking for guidance on what to do to get ready for the Godzilla El Niño storms? If you missed our workshop last weekend, here are other places to get the info…
Making the best of drought and flood
Seems like we’re getting the weather extremes this year. A summer of extreme drought, water rationing, and lawn removal. And winter forecasts are for record-breaking rains (but all that water isn’t here yet). How do we make the best of…
Rainwater harvesting: Infiltration features
One category of rainwater harvesting uses Mother Earth as your “storage device.” You design your landcape, including choices on surface materials and making decisions about the grading (land sculpting), with the goal of making water soak into the ground. Up until fairly…
Rainwater harvesting: Capture and Store devices
I’ve written before about rain barrels. At the Community Garden at Holy Nativity, we have rain tanks. TreePeople has a massive cistern up on Mulholland. All of these devices — rain barrels, rain tanks, cisterns — are what are…
Water waste or water savings – which are you planning for?
If the most current forecasts prove true, we in drought-wracked Southern California could be in for a very wet winter. Weather analysts are predicting a Godzilla El Niño, with once-in-a-generation levels of rainfall. Rainwater harvesting is the word of the…
