Garden of Guilt

The state of California is in an extreme drought.  We have been ordered to cut our water consumption as much as possible and water deliveries to distributors are being cut by 15%.  But I really wanted to plant a few vegetables in the pond after ripping out the spinach that had run its course.  And Gus died.  And Artie, who has had a very productive year, is almost done producing buds.

Then I opened my water bill.  My consumption as opposed to last year is 50%.  Yes, Roommate Smurf was still here last April, but I have both a front and back yard to water.  With other water-saving habits I have adopted, the usage should have dropped about a third, not by half.  I grabbed a hat and went down to the garden center.

I picked up a cucumber and a six-pack of snow peas and started working some blood meal into the soil.  The dirt was dry the entire six inches down I excavated, but Bradley is thriving and producing several large tomatoes.  This drought seems to have cured my tendency to over-water.

After planting, I built a twine support for the peas out of some old molding.  Once the vines have latched on, I can slide up the twine on the sticks as they grow.

For this one time, I watered the pond with the hose.  The baby plants got a deep soaking, but you can see in the photo that the unplanted areas are still dry.  I've taken to showering with the mop bucket as a companion.  I only collect a gallon or so per shower, but that's better than sending it down the drain.  It's almost enough to water all of my vegetables.

Oh, and I have to share that I've eaten two whole boysenberries.  They taste almost like raspberries, which I don't particularly care for, but with a blackberry undertone.  The plant is taking off, and maybe I'll have a decent harvest next year.