Finally, after a dry beginning of spring, we got rain…..three glorious days of rain. Garden plants dance and sing and grow better in soft, steady rain…..not the harsh, stormy rains but the gentle, tiny droplets of warm sprinkles. Many gardeners harvest rainwater to use in their gardens because its just better than water from the tap.
Tap water or municipal water is harsh with chlorine and fluoride and contain heavy forms of calcium and magnesium. Rainwater is soft with natural fertilizers called nitrates and oxygen that is absorbed easily by the roots of plants. The slight acidity of rain is also perfect for most plants. An observant gardener can say their plants just grow faster and better after a good rain. Harvesting rainwater is a worthwhile project and Hope Garden hopes to tackle this very soon.
In anticipation of rainy weather, the garden rushed to plant peppers, cucumbers, and squash at odd times before the rain fall so no workdays were scheduled. Sowing squash seeds by street light is quite the experience but worth it for they have already started to sprout. As an added bonus cantaloupe seeds were sown in one of the raised beds just as the first raindrops started to fall. Stay tuned to workdays for okra and peas 🫛.
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