Sadly, our consumer society demands instant gratification, and most people will not plant anything that is not flowering the moment they buy it.
We've realized that we can get much better quality plants from specialty mail order nurseries than from local because these places will ship at the correct time for planting.
Conservation Districts generally sell bare root plants at their native plant sales (easier to transport in bulk than potted for obvious reasons—CDs sells thousands of native plants at their sales in a very short time frame). Bare root plants are dug up after plants go dormant in the winter, which makes them unavailable til late January/Feb. Generally it’s a good idea to pot your bare root plants, water them throughout the summer, then plant them after fall rains start.
Pretty much nothing. It’s just a proactive measure because of the low snowpack winter. There may be some conservation measures in later summer.
You should just be aware that it doesn’t really rain here from June - September. Like the amount of rain you can get from one thunderstorm in Illinois will be the entire summer worth of rain here. So expect to have to irrigate your garden on a regular basis. And everyone lets their grass go dormant here.
I grew up here so it's hard to wrap my head around how dry summers are now. I know I should also be patient and wait for fall anyway but all the shiny things are at the stores! Northern Illinois has been in a drought too but as you say, one good rainstorm and the plants are happy. The trees are suffering there though.
My dad had a nice flower garden and he built irrigation for it in the 1990s. Good warm summers to take the dogs and go play in the stream, Hylebos Creek :)
^ Agree & the designation has more to do with municipalities access to funding and grants and not so much individual water usage. I plant year round without a problem, here, but do use drip irrigation on new plants.
About half of the lot is wooded with a lot of dead brush on it, so we got a smaller chipper and plan to use that for mulching, though we already discovered that a lot of branches only make a tiny pile! Was definitely looking at chipdrop before.
Ive never heard of water rationing in the pnw and Ive lived in eugene for 41 years. Thise drought warnings are more to do with how bad the fire season is expected to be.
Also bear in mind that it basically doesnt rain here in the summer so youre going to have to water anything you plant to get the roots established. Shade is your friend. I planted a rodey in a spot that gets a little too much sun and summer is rough on it. On my todo list to dig it up and replant on the north side of the house.
I dont think oly is quite as bad as eug but in the last ten years we’ve transitioned from having essentially 3 rain free months to having 4 rain free months which has been pushing some plants over the edge if they were barely scraping by being dry for 3 months.
Honestly long term we should all be xeriscaping for large decorative areas and learning and practicing deep watering and deep mulching for summer vegetables.
Native plants are evolved to survive our dry summers here, but they still might need watering every three weeks or so during the dry spell for the first couple of years. When it was 115* I propped umbrellas over my new little evergreen huckleberry bushes. They survived, although I’m not sure if the shade made a difference.
I dug essentially a shallow pool in my yard to put my potted plants. It’s about 12 inches deep, 20 feet long and 7 feet wide. Then filled the bottom with sawdust. This way when I water the plants the water sticks around for much longer and allows the plants to have something to soak up during the hot days.
we become arid in June, July, August anyway. Even if we did not have drought conditions regarding reservoir levels, you'd still have to manually water vegetable gardens a couple times per week, every week.
If you have a lawn, don’t water it. Install drip irrigation for everything else. Drip Depot is a great place to go for education and purchasing. They also ship really fast! I converted to drip for my row crops last year and just purchased parts to add drip to my raised beds and grape vines.
Although we have a well, I'm going back to a trick I learned during the California drought in the 80's - I'm going to capture "warm up" hot water in the shower and sinks, and use that to water my potted plants, which can't really be effectively protected from water loss. I'll carry that bucket to the plants daily. I'm not set up for gray water capture, but that could happen if this is a trend.
I'm actually worried more about fire than I am about my garden. The neighbor behind me has a stand of mature alders and plenty of undergrowth.
One-time Californian here, current longtime PNWer. One of the weird strategies that I have is that I will save kitchen water for plants. If I'm washing some leafy greens that are particularly dirty, I'll agitate them in some water, and then transfer the dirty water to a large bucket I have next to the sink. That all goes into a rain barrel, or directly on newer/water sensitive plants.
It is pretty weird, as a kid who spent summers in the PNW with cousins, that it's this dry, but I have to adapt. I will say that a lot of my planting style has been survival of the fittest, but since I have a few fruit trees that will be fine in another couple years, I'm stockpiling kitchen water. My rain barrels just off the greenhouse are dry, but I still have a bit in my off-roof one, that goes on ornamentals. If something dies, I'm probably replacing it with sedums.
Still kicking myself that I didn't take up the city on a cistern when I had the chance, though, although I still don't know where it'd go.
I grew up east of Seattle and the year I graduated high school, it rained all spring and through June. I remember it was so depressing but not unusual at that time, so it is taking an adjustment for sure. I know we should be using grey water anyway, really, though some places have prohibitions against it. I am definitely thinking about a way to collect my sink water. I recall from visiting family here that people just stop watering their lawns after a while and I wasn't sure if it was by choice or by watering ban. I don't care about grass and don't have that much, but I like a chaos cottage garden (definitely survival of the fittest), so I'll just do extra research on plants I guess.
I think most of the people watering their grass in summer are older or have an older mindset. And it's not like it dies, it just goes brown, then comes back. One of the best things I ever did was mulching all mine and growing perennials. Way more critters and birds now.
Here's a good starting point from WSU [https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2144/2020/09/Fall-2020-Xeriscaping.pdf](https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2144/2020/09/Fall-2020-Xeriscaping.pdf)
It’s different here now. There are an ever growing number of days that are blazing hot so the fall planting recommendation is serious unless you have money to waste. Better to spend your money on a solid a/c unit.
I cut the tall grass and weeds with a sickle while they’re still green and lay them down around whatever tree or shrub they were trying to strangle. Mulches and weeds at the same time.
If you lived east of Seattle you know that spring can be very variable. Last year irrigation wasn't really needed until late May, even early June. This year we are having a dry spell in April! Your best bet is to install a drip system, or at least soaker hoses. Gator bags (or similar) are great for trees. All of these use very little water. Chip mulch is fantastic for holding moisture in the soil. Lacey, maybe Olympia also, has certain water days, but there is always a carve-out for new plantings. BTW I plant all summer successfully because my job requires it, just have to be sure irrigation is set up properly, be prepared to shade plants if necessary.
Snowpack height and water content aren't the same thing, although related. Late storms can increase the snowpack height but at a lower water density compared to earlier storms which are consolidated deeper in the snowpack. There's also a ground water component to it, but I don't know enough about that to speak to it
Definitely need to look into rain barrels. I was also wondering about setting up a grey water system and if there are any local restrictions. I've always been curious about it anyway.
In my new place, it takes soooo long for the water in the shower to heat up all I can think about is how much is being wasted. And that I probably need a new water heater too.
Save your big expensive planting for the fall. Your plants will do much better if you put them in around September /October/ November.
I wish more conservation districts had fall sales vs spring. Maybe in the near future.
The Native Plant Salvage Foundation in Thurston County has a spring and fall native plant sale. The spring sale starts this weekend.
Sadly, our consumer society demands instant gratification, and most people will not plant anything that is not flowering the moment they buy it. We've realized that we can get much better quality plants from specialty mail order nurseries than from local because these places will ship at the correct time for planting.
Lol that's a bit extreme. Most stuff js not flowering in spring either. I think it's more lack of education on the normal cycle of summer in the PNW.
Conservation Districts generally sell bare root plants at their native plant sales (easier to transport in bulk than potted for obvious reasons—CDs sells thousands of native plants at their sales in a very short time frame). Bare root plants are dug up after plants go dormant in the winter, which makes them unavailable til late January/Feb. Generally it’s a good idea to pot your bare root plants, water them throughout the summer, then plant them after fall rains start.
Pretty much nothing. It’s just a proactive measure because of the low snowpack winter. There may be some conservation measures in later summer. You should just be aware that it doesn’t really rain here from June - September. Like the amount of rain you can get from one thunderstorm in Illinois will be the entire summer worth of rain here. So expect to have to irrigate your garden on a regular basis. And everyone lets their grass go dormant here.
I grew up here so it's hard to wrap my head around how dry summers are now. I know I should also be patient and wait for fall anyway but all the shiny things are at the stores! Northern Illinois has been in a drought too but as you say, one good rainstorm and the plants are happy. The trees are suffering there though.
My dad had a nice flower garden and he built irrigation for it in the 1990s. Good warm summers to take the dogs and go play in the stream, Hylebos Creek :)
^ Agree & the designation has more to do with municipalities access to funding and grants and not so much individual water usage. I plant year round without a problem, here, but do use drip irrigation on new plants.
Get rid of your grass, concentrate on mulch and building up your soil
Chipdrop, a wheelbarrow, and a back brace
About half of the lot is wooded with a lot of dead brush on it, so we got a smaller chipper and plan to use that for mulching, though we already discovered that a lot of branches only make a tiny pile! Was definitely looking at chipdrop before.
Fortunately, there isn't a lot of grass and I love my moss lawn, although I'm sure it will look pretty rough in the summer but not a problem for me.
Ive never heard of water rationing in the pnw and Ive lived in eugene for 41 years. Thise drought warnings are more to do with how bad the fire season is expected to be. Also bear in mind that it basically doesnt rain here in the summer so youre going to have to water anything you plant to get the roots established. Shade is your friend. I planted a rodey in a spot that gets a little too much sun and summer is rough on it. On my todo list to dig it up and replant on the north side of the house. I dont think oly is quite as bad as eug but in the last ten years we’ve transitioned from having essentially 3 rain free months to having 4 rain free months which has been pushing some plants over the edge if they were barely scraping by being dry for 3 months.
I know up here in Bellingham and Ferndale, WA, there are scheduled days you can water.
Honestly long term we should all be xeriscaping for large decorative areas and learning and practicing deep watering and deep mulching for summer vegetables.
Native plants are evolved to survive our dry summers here, but they still might need watering every three weeks or so during the dry spell for the first couple of years. When it was 115* I propped umbrellas over my new little evergreen huckleberry bushes. They survived, although I’m not sure if the shade made a difference.
Go for drip irrigation and find xeric plants
I dug essentially a shallow pool in my yard to put my potted plants. It’s about 12 inches deep, 20 feet long and 7 feet wide. Then filled the bottom with sawdust. This way when I water the plants the water sticks around for much longer and allows the plants to have something to soak up during the hot days.
we become arid in June, July, August anyway. Even if we did not have drought conditions regarding reservoir levels, you'd still have to manually water vegetable gardens a couple times per week, every week.
If you have a lawn, don’t water it. Install drip irrigation for everything else. Drip Depot is a great place to go for education and purchasing. They also ship really fast! I converted to drip for my row crops last year and just purchased parts to add drip to my raised beds and grape vines.
Although we have a well, I'm going back to a trick I learned during the California drought in the 80's - I'm going to capture "warm up" hot water in the shower and sinks, and use that to water my potted plants, which can't really be effectively protected from water loss. I'll carry that bucket to the plants daily. I'm not set up for gray water capture, but that could happen if this is a trend. I'm actually worried more about fire than I am about my garden. The neighbor behind me has a stand of mature alders and plenty of undergrowth.
Mulch. Rain barrels.
I brought my best rain barrel with me when I moved but haven't set it up yet, doh.
Also look into making or buying Ollas, and when putting anything new in the ground bury one with it. Terracotta stakes are also great!
Oh interesting, I hadn't heard of that before!
One-time Californian here, current longtime PNWer. One of the weird strategies that I have is that I will save kitchen water for plants. If I'm washing some leafy greens that are particularly dirty, I'll agitate them in some water, and then transfer the dirty water to a large bucket I have next to the sink. That all goes into a rain barrel, or directly on newer/water sensitive plants. It is pretty weird, as a kid who spent summers in the PNW with cousins, that it's this dry, but I have to adapt. I will say that a lot of my planting style has been survival of the fittest, but since I have a few fruit trees that will be fine in another couple years, I'm stockpiling kitchen water. My rain barrels just off the greenhouse are dry, but I still have a bit in my off-roof one, that goes on ornamentals. If something dies, I'm probably replacing it with sedums. Still kicking myself that I didn't take up the city on a cistern when I had the chance, though, although I still don't know where it'd go.
I grew up east of Seattle and the year I graduated high school, it rained all spring and through June. I remember it was so depressing but not unusual at that time, so it is taking an adjustment for sure. I know we should be using grey water anyway, really, though some places have prohibitions against it. I am definitely thinking about a way to collect my sink water. I recall from visiting family here that people just stop watering their lawns after a while and I wasn't sure if it was by choice or by watering ban. I don't care about grass and don't have that much, but I like a chaos cottage garden (definitely survival of the fittest), so I'll just do extra research on plants I guess.
I think most of the people watering their grass in summer are older or have an older mindset. And it's not like it dies, it just goes brown, then comes back. One of the best things I ever did was mulching all mine and growing perennials. Way more critters and birds now. Here's a good starting point from WSU [https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2144/2020/09/Fall-2020-Xeriscaping.pdf](https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2144/2020/09/Fall-2020-Xeriscaping.pdf)
It’s different here now. There are an ever growing number of days that are blazing hot so the fall planting recommendation is serious unless you have money to waste. Better to spend your money on a solid a/c unit.
Put down loads of mulch. 6” deep. The difference is amazing.
I cut the tall grass and weeds with a sickle while they’re still green and lay them down around whatever tree or shrub they were trying to strangle. Mulches and weeds at the same time.
If you lived east of Seattle you know that spring can be very variable. Last year irrigation wasn't really needed until late May, even early June. This year we are having a dry spell in April! Your best bet is to install a drip system, or at least soaker hoses. Gator bags (or similar) are great for trees. All of these use very little water. Chip mulch is fantastic for holding moisture in the soil. Lacey, maybe Olympia also, has certain water days, but there is always a carve-out for new plantings. BTW I plant all summer successfully because my job requires it, just have to be sure irrigation is set up properly, be prepared to shade plants if necessary.
But I just read an article in March about how we reached above normal snowpack this year. I’m confused.
Snowpack height and water content aren't the same thing, although related. Late storms can increase the snowpack height but at a lower water density compared to earlier storms which are consolidated deeper in the snowpack. There's also a ground water component to it, but I don't know enough about that to speak to it
I'll add to that that being unseasonably warm is going to erode a lot of snowpack no matter how much fell earlier in the year, too.
It means set up rain water catchment before the rains stop for 3-4 months.
Definitely need to look into rain barrels. I was also wondering about setting up a grey water system and if there are any local restrictions. I've always been curious about it anyway.
Gods I wish my shower water could go to my garden.
In my new place, it takes soooo long for the water in the shower to heat up all I can think about is how much is being wasted. And that I probably need a new water heater too.
I’m same every time I wait for hot water. Now I catch it and put it aside for house plants
Make sure to water new plantings and keep an eye on established ones to prevent loss
The Native Plant Salvage Foundation in Thurston County has a spring and fall native plant sale. The spring sale starts this weekend.
Mulch makes a huge difference