The several storms that hit San Diego this past weekend left me little to do in the way of gardening but plan. So I fiddled with my designs for a living-roof chicken coop — designs that needed no fiddling. That will get built in January. Chicks in February or March (We can’t wait!). I flipped through the Gurney’s catalog several times, noting the seeds I’ll order for spring and fuming at their refusal to ship most fruit and nut trees to California. I peered out the window, from the sidelines, as the strong winds that came with the rains tore at the broccoli, tomatoes, and peas.
But mostly what I did (besides grade final exams) was watch the rain run off things. Suburban areas are pretty well waterproofed, with roofs, patios, driveways, streets, gutters, and slopes that ensure the water goes to a particular place — away. For a drought-stricken area such as San Diego, it’s a strange objective. Then again, this is a place where people have to be reminded to turn off their sprinklers when it rains and threatened with fines to adhere to rationing during the driest months. It’s a mindset that comes from never having lived without water, and it’s luxurious thinking.
Watching the runoff made me think about rain catchment systems and wish we had ours. We have plans, but that’s all. For someone who intends to grow edibles here in July and August, saving the rain seems like the right thing to do. Forget edibles — for anyone planning on growing anything in San Diego in July and August, it’s the right thing to do (unless that San Diegan is making trips with a bucket to the San Diego river — not recommended). But I don’t know a single person who catches the rain.
The weekend storms twisted and tied my tidy climbing snow peas into a knotted ball, and the harsh winds and cold proved the final blow for the Delicata Squash, following on the heals of a massive aphid infestation and powdery mildew. But the peas are still producing, and there are a few salvageable squash. The leafy greens looked vibrant by Monday morning, so we ate some, and all the newly planted, second-round winter crop seems to have gotten a boost from the downpour — including the winter wheat fortuitously sown the day before the storms.
So not all the water went to waste. We kept some.
Great article and I applaud your goal of growing your food and plans to catch rain. I do have to take issue with you regarding the San Diego River though. The reason we have the San Diego we have today is because of the river. It has served the people of San Diego for nearly 10,000 years and plays a huge role in supporting the globally significant amount of bio-diversity we have here. This weekend will be planting at a restoration project on the river using the river water to sustain the plants we put in the ground. We do test the chemistry of the river and there are many sections that have water good enough to irrigate a private crop of consumables.
We love the river and are working diligently to restore its health for all to enjoy. Check us out at http://www.sandiegoriver.org
I agree with you: I shouldn’t have condemned the whole river. However, it’s not exactly the pristine waters of 10,000 years ago, either. When I think of the San Diego River, I think of the sections I drive past in my area, murky and foaming with whatever the San Diegans of today have dumped into it.
I applaud your restoration. What sections would you recommend for a visit? Whereabouts are you irrigating edibles with the river?
I can’t wait to have a house so I can set up a rain saving system. Renting sucks.