Most of the Midwest and East remains mired in a persistent and severe drought. It's a large-scale agricultural event with corn crops failing and soil cracking. Â Smaller gardens are faring better because they can be more easily irrigated, but that hasn't spared the Amish completely. Â These onions are withering under the unforgiving sun at this Amish home in Pike County, Ohio (actually the onions don't look terrible, but the ground is dry, dry, dry!) And other plants are barely holding their own in the crumbly soil (pic below).
The Amish Cook's garden hasn't been spared from the ravages of the drought. Â Lovina lost one of her corn patches from the dry summer. But so far,so good on her tomatoes. They look to be faring relatively well and I even spotted the orange orb of an early pumpkin in her garden and a nearby watermelon. In the tomato photo, note Lovina's creative use of "cattle panels" which she uses effectively, bent in the middle, to make 'A' Frames to straddle two rows of climbing vegetables, like pole beans or, in this case, tomatoes. Excuse the "smudge" in the middle of the tomato photo, I'm not sure how that got on the lens. Doesn't that pumpkin give us a nice reminder that cooler autumn days can't be THAT far away?
So, how is your garden faring in the Great Drought of 2012?
Theresa
My garden looks about the same. I have it mulched 6 inches deep with straw & I'm letting the weeds grow also to conserve moisture. I use a drip[ irrigation system with milk jugs. I poke 3-4 holes in the bottom of the jug & fill them with water put the cap back on & set them by the plants. the water goes right into the ground instead of running off the ground.
Charlotte
Drought not too bad here in La. June and most of July were totally dry (rice krispie lawn!) but we had 4 inches of rain last week - farmers were happy! August and Sept. are usually our driest months. Wish my small garden was that weed free - can't keep up with it! Everything is almost gone - still have some tomatoes and summer squash left and the okra will come in next month. Thanks, Kevin, for the pictures - at last, I finally know what a "cattle panel" looks like!!
Wendy
Since my "garden" consists of some oregano, sage, and a few potted herbs, it's doing fine. The weeds are doing great.
Kentuckylady717
Wow ! Lovina's garden is so neat and I did not see a weed at all.....looks like she sure takes care of her weeds.....can not stand to see weeds in people's yards especially.....this is the neatest garden I think I have ever seen.....
Lowell
Lovina's graden reminds me of the time we had a family reunion at our house in Houghton Lake, Michigan. Two cousins and I went to look at my rather large garden. The younger cousin said, "Look at that garden. There isn't a weed in it." My older cousin, in all seriousness, said, "Lowell (that's me) doesn't allow weeds in his garden." Well, I do like a clean garden and I enjoy working in it. Lovina and I would get on famously.
My garden soil is quite sandy where I live, so I've had to water it at least twice a week. Fortunately, we have had about 2 1/2 inches of rain today, which is the first in a few weeks. I doubt that it was in time to save the corn and the soy beans. A very sad year for the farmers.