Is This A Drought Yet?

If the rainfall for a given period of time is more than 20 percent of its average rainfall it is generally considered  a drought for that area. This does not necessarily mean that there will be any water restrictions placed in the community or changes made to how water is allocated, however, it should be taken into account when trying to maintain a garden. Here in Columbus this year, our observed rainfall amount has been 3.86 inches for the months of May and June. The average amount of precipitation for those months is 8.55". This amount definitely would qualify for that layman's definition of a 'drought,'  and we at RTCO thought it might be a good idea to explore some ways to protect some of your parched plants. Check out some solutions that we have thought of below.

Those Rascally Rabbits and Groundhogs

Two of our three garden beds have been flourishing this season, but the only non-raised bed in our lot has been the victim of some pest activity. We had originally planned on growing some green bean bushes along the edges and some cucumbers right up the middle of the bed. In the photo above you might

Double-Deck Composting

One other development that is still in progress is our attempt to build a double-decker drum composting unit. The goal is to have two barrels lodged within the unit, and after one fills up it is set to compost, while the other begins to fill up. As of now we have only one of the barrels lodged within the frame, but we plan to have both barrels up and running in the near future. This addition is key to our attempts to heighten the sustainability of our Demonstration Garden in 2012. You can see what our double-decker drum composting unit looks like now in the picture below the jump on the left, and what the double-decker style will look like as a finished project (minus the blue).

Something Borrowed, Something New

Another addition to our garden includes a table-top style raised bed that was constructed after viewing a similar bed at Franklin Conservatory. It can be seen on the right in the photograph below, after the jump. This construction is perfect for those who don’t have the knees to garden like they might have used to, but still have the desire to make the most of their green thumb.

2012: Back At It

After a triumphant inaugural harvest from the RTCO Demonstration Garden in 2011, our staff was put to task to repeat its success and continue with the mission to share economical, safe and healthy ideas for home gardeners. A key component of the Demo Garden is to develop a plan for sustainability and continued success year after year. The opening year harvest of 2011 featured plentiful cucumbers, tomatoes of several varieties, basil, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and peas. This year we are planning to continue our success with these plants, as well as adding a variety of squash, regular potatoes, and some herbs connected to our upside-down tomatoes. As far as construction and layout are concerned we have added multiple new features to showcase a few possibilities that might be useful at home.