This episode is about garden plants – and giving them enough water during the hot summer months.
The unfortunate victim in this story: the larger of my two pomegranate trees. I didn’t give it enough water – and most of its fruit cracked.
How can the remaining pomegranates be saved?
I’m bringing them through the rest of the summer by using a combination of municipally-supplied tap water and harvested water.
Transcript
INTRO: From Tucson, Arizona, welcome to the Water Harvesting 101 podcast. My name is Martha Retallick. I’ve been a water harvester for 20 years, and I’m looking forward to helping you get started.
Before we do that, here’s a little Tucson secret: For most of the year, we’re in drought. That’s just how life is in the desert.
But when the rains return, oh, do they ever. They often bring an unwelcome friend called flooding.
How do we reduce the risks of flooding? We do it with water harvesting.
Water harvesting encompasses three activities:
- Redirecting rainwater away from where it isn’t wanted to where it is.
- Storing rainwater for later use, for example, during a drought.
- Recycling “used” water. At my place, I don’t let laundry water go down the drain. Instead, it’s for the fruit trees.
We’ll be covering all of these topics and more, so let’s get started.
EPISODE: It’s another episode of…
That Time I Flunked Water Harvesting.
This one’s about garden plants – and giving them enough water so that they can survive the sizzling hot summer here in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere.
The unfortunate victim in this story, the larger of my two pomegranate trees.
It came out of spring with quite the crop of pomegranates on it. And then, as the summer wore on, the weather got HOT.
The monsoons were intermittent storms – as they always are. And the pomegranates started cracking.
What’s the problem?
The more accurate question would be, WHO is the problem?
The problem is named Martha. I did not give this pomegranate enough water.
So, how to solve the problem? I went to that place, you might have heard of it, it’s called the Internet.
I did some research and learned that, during the summertime, as in, when the temperatures get above 100 – and I’m going to even say when the temperatures get above 90 degrees – those pomegranates need daily watering.
You might not have heard that pomegranates were this thirsty in the summertime, and that pomegranates can survive off of rainwater.
Well, I’m here to break the news to you: They can’t. They need supplemental watering.
As water harvesters, we’re very concerned with where the water is coming from. I’m going to name four sources:
Source #1: Your municipal water supply. There’s nothing like connecting a hose to a faucet, turning it on. That municipal water pressure is going to get a lot of water onto your plants – quickly.
Source #2: Rainwater. Good news! It has been raining here! But, in the last week or so, the rain seems to be boycotting Tucson.
Before this happened, we had quite a run of good monsoon storms.
It was to the point where my smaller pomegranate tree – which lost most of its fruit to cracking because I didn’t water it enough – it’s sprouting two pomegranate buds.
So, lesson learned, the little pome is getting daily watering, just like its big brother.
Source #3: Stored rainwater. I have been pouring my cistern water into buckets and taking them over to the two pomegranate trees. I’m happy to report that this is bringing them back around.
Source #4: Recycling used water. I’m also washing the dishes for my two pomegranate trees. After I’m done with the washing, I bucket the wash water out to the trees.
The good news during this dry spell? My pomegranates are starting to turn around. Both are showing new leaf growth.
I am not seeing any fruit buds on the big tree, but it still has some intact pomegranates. I’m hoping for a fall harvest.
In the meantime, both pomegranates are getting daily watering until the daytime highs stay below 90 degrees.
Here’s the point of this episode, flunking water harvesting. We’re all going to do it at some point.
The important thing is to recognize your mistake.
In this instance, it’s under-watering trees during the heat of summer.
I did some Internet research, realized that I was causing the split pomegranate problem, then I got to work on the solution. My efforts appear to be paying off.
If you’d like to learn more about water harvesting, sign up for my monthly email newsletter. If you do, I’ll give you a free copy of my Water Harvesting Cheat Sheet.
And if you’d like to support the Water Harvesting 101 podcast, the PayPal email address is info@westernskycommunications.com.
OUTRO: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Water Harvesting 101 podcast. If you’d like to learn more about water harvesting, meet my book family.
First, it’s City Nature, the book that’s guaranteed to look great on any coffee table. City Nature reveals my secrets to water harvesting through my 20-year journey of transforming my Tucson home into an urban oasis. Get the details at CityNatureBook.com.
And if you’re on the go, take water harvesting with you. Water Harvesting 101 is an audiobook and eBook combination that will teach you the nuts and bolts of water harvesting and show you how to put them to work. Available exclusively at WaterHarvesting101Book.com.