Is It Already Dry?
Essex County is no longer in drought. We’ve even had a wetter January than usual, yet the quarries are still lower than the historic water lines worn into the granite. The terra-cotta pots on my porch are drying out faster than in springs of the past. While there’s still snow predicted, I’m inclined to prepare for another dry growing season.
Three major game changers for gardening in uncharacteristically dry years:
Infrastructure for harvesting rain water. A simple rain barrel or an army of 5 gallon buckets at the ready counts, too. (The latter being much easier to move than the former.)
Adding shredded leaves. They retain moisture themselves and protect soil from extraneous water loss.
Increasing microbial activity. A light layer of compost over lawn areas will strengthen the soil and help retain moisture (without setting the area up to become waterlogged). The addition of compost teas can also help bring soils into balance so they, in turn, can retain moisture and stay cooler beneath the surface.
There is benefit to these measures, even if we go on to have another wet, wet growing season, or one with average rainfall. We could characterize these efforts as simply building resiliency, which in turn prepares our landscapes and our homes for any number of outcomes.