Buford, I would rather have rose blooms than washing my car. I have not washed my car in months!

Carla

I never wash my car. I bring it to the car wash once in awhile when I get my oil changed.

I couldn't spray anything today, too windy.

The link below is to the folks I bought my polymers from. There's good info there about how they work and whoall are using them and why. Good read in the garden instructions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Watersorb

and if all else fails, sneak those bands into the house and water them there!

I think the soil polymer idea is fantastic. Putting leaves and such all around the pots to shade them and keep things moist is always a good idea too. I put my pots where they get less sun hours than the big established shrubs. Mostly morning sun until 1 pm or so.

Vote for politicians that have the courage to spend money on essential infrastructure including adequate reservoirs instead of vote buying social programs. Georgia is notorious for not spending on enough on roads, sewers, and water resources until it is way too late.

ROSEBUD, wise words. In California, we have it set-up
to avoid a water ban. We are in a drought in Southern
California that I'm sure matches Georgia's and we have
no water ban or restrictions at present. I don't think,
where I live, we have ever had one and I don't remember
my parents ever having water restrictions and I've lived
here all my life. So there should be measures in place to
avoid this and to have back-up water, for emergencies,
by the state you live in..

Perhaps Devon was not aware of it, but yes.
There have been restrictions on water use in Southern California. There surely will be again.
Very strict restrictions on water use were imposed a couple of weeks ago, in the City of Long Beach, CA.
Other SoCal cities are eyeing similar measures.
Still other water providers will (as they have in the past) probably institute "tiered billing" plans,
which penalize large users of water.

It is now illegal (and has been for a long time) to install any but "low-flow" toilets in Southern California.
Even with those, in tough times, Californians learned:
"If it's yellow,
let it mellow.
If it's brown,
flush it down."
Low-flow shower-heads are the standard here.
Water-saving washing machines are the way to go.
Warm-up water, food-washing water, and dishwater go into our garden.
If things get bad enough, so will laundry water.

We live in a desert. We save water.

Jeri

I'm surprised no-one has suggested rain water tanks. They work really well if you have large roof areas. Relatively little rain produces quite a lot of water.
It's expensive to set up but it can mean permanent free water for your garden.
We are about to put in a third tank which DH says will be sufficient for a very large garden even if we keep having "driest on record" months.
Melbourne is on fairly severe restrictions and the dams are less than half full at the time they should have filled up, but our tanks have been close to full the whole year that we've had them.
We did look seriously at recycling shower and washing machine water, but even using ecofriendly detergents the effects on roses were looking dubious and the consensus seems to be that it needs to be dispersed to the garden quickly, to avoid health hazards.

Jeri, is very sage about all this, so I'm sure you
are right, Jeri. I must not pay much attention to all
that is going on around me here, because I have'nt
been that affected(LOL), except to be aware of the
drought. But we are in a tough one now, so I guess
I'd better prepare for it. I must be a spoiled brat,
but in all my years of living here, I've used all the
water I want. We'll see what happens!

Also have to mention, for the kind of drought we are having,
there are relatively few restrictions here in The Golden State.

Susette, are you talking about rain barrels? We are considering getting two which are about 75 gallons each. It's going to cost about $300, but I think it's worth it. We tend to get downpours and a lot of the water runs off. This way we could capture some of it.

The pail in the shower is doing quite well. We get about 2 gallons a day between the two of us. I admit I've been lingering in the shower a bit.

Rain barrels -- even cisterns -- are a great idea, IF you get at least SOME rain.
Southern Californians know quite well how to live with naught but hopefully a 4-month "rainy" season.
The BAD news is that in our last twelvemonth, where I am located, we got virtually NO rain.
Of course, it can't ALWAYS be this bad.
CAN it??

Jeri

Buford
Our tanks hold about 1,500 US gallons each.

Here I start to get totally confused by our different systems of measurement, but 1mm of rain on 1square metre of roof delivers 1 litre of water into the tanks. Tin roofs are best. Most roofs slope, so their area is actually much bigger than you would expect.

Our experience has been that water restrictions never really go away. They may be eased from time to time but ultimately politicians have latched onto a new product they can control and sell, and will preach about the virtues of saving water to avoid creating the infrastructure needed by rising populations.

Long term, if you want a garden, ensure your own water supply.

Sue

Buford, what is the penalty in Georgia for over-watering or
watering outside alloted times? Just curious.

I was talking to a friend and discussing the drought stuff in
certain parts of the country. We know California has never
had a total water ban like Georgia is having. JERI, back us
up on this, if possible. Our drought surely has been going
on longer than Georgia's, but we seem to have more liberty
with water use.

We know California has never
had a total water ban like Georgia
is having. JERI, back us
up on this, if possible.

*** Not for the entire state. HOWEVER, the Georgia ban appears not to be for the entire state.
There have indeed, in the past, been area-wide, or city-wide bans on watering of landscape plants -- and particularly of lawns.

It should be understood that Drought is a PERENNIAL problem in Southern California.
This area is basically a desert.
The only reason we are able to stuff in the population we have, and plant water-wasting things
like lawns, is that we have stolen water from other areas.
As water supplies diminish throughout the West, we are losing those water imports.

These things (and the inability to provide dependable electricity supplies) should be taken into
account in any further development plans.
Southern California gardeners ignore the problem at their peril.

Jeri

Even in a severe drought, Georgia has had at least double what most California counties have during wet years. It is about how it is managed (or mismanaged in the case of the COE).

Ban on most outdoor watering may not be enough, state says
EPD ordered the ban for metro Atlanta and north Georgia

By MATT KEMPNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/28/07
Even as the state mandated the toughest outdoor watering restrictions ever for North Georgia on Friday, officials are scrambling to determine what other steps they might take if the measures aren't enough to withstand the brutal drought.

Carol Couch, the director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, ordered an immediate ban on most outdoor watering in the northern third of the state. It's the most severe step laid out in the state's drought response plans. But Couch said, "My calculation is it may be inadequate."

The drought "has reached historical proportions," she said.

She suggested that she will consider using emergency powers to scale back outdoor watering by certain commercial businesses exempted from the latest restrictions. The exemptions allow some watering by professional landscapers, sod farms, food producers and others.

But Couch said she may take steps that go even further if the drought deepens.

"If we have the worst-case scenario unfolding as probably would be suggested, we may need to consider other alternatives," she said after a meeting of the state's Drought Response Committee.

Among the questions she'll face is how much water can be saved by further restrictions and how much economic pain the limits would inflict.

"When your tap has nothing coming out of it is not the time we need to be figuring out what the next step is," she said.

Couch said she is "reaching out" to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce water releases from corps-run lakes such as Lake Lanier, metro Atlanta's main source of drinking water along with the Chattahoochee River. The corps, which releases the water for downstream uses, has already said it will curtail releases from Lake Allatoona, another important local water source.

Much of the state is parched, and northern Georgia is in what officials consider an "exceptional drought," the worst designation. Some parts of the state have had only half the precipitation that has usually fallen by this time of year. Soil moisture levels are lower than what would be expected in 99 of 100 years, state climatologist David Stooksbury said. Some streams are at record low flows, and lakes are quickly draining.

By the end of the year, Lanier may fall to by far its lowest level ever, according to the corps.

Typically, leaders count on wet winters to help refill depleted lakes relied on for drinking water. But Stooksbury said indications for the next few months point to warm dry conditions in much of North Georgia.

The conclusion, said Wei Zeng of the EPD's hydrological analysis unit: "We're in a dire situation."

Some communities, including an area covered by the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority, already had in place outdoor watering limits as strict as those the state just enacted. Several others have a variety of lesser restrictions, such as allowing outdoor watering only at certain times on certain days.

Local jurisdictions are free to put in place watering restrictions that are more stringent than those mandated by the state.

Couch said she hopes the state's new restrictions will cut water use another 10 percent to 15 percent in North Georgia. The fall isn't a time of year when a lot of landscaping is done, she said. Nonetheless, Georgia gardening experts often cite this as the best time to install a variety of plants.

Landscapers fear that the watering restrictions will hurt their business, making the public wary of spending on new plantings.

Mary Kay Woodworth, executive director of the Metro Atlanta Landscape and Turf Association, told Couch that if she considers further restrictions, she should "look at all the industries, not just professional landscapers."

And Julie Mayfield, the general counsel for the Georgia Conservancy, an environmental organization, said the state's drought plan relies almost solely on restrictions in North Georgia. The southern two-thirds of the state " which mostly uses groundwater rather than lakes and rivers for its drinking water âÂ" remain under limited watering restrictions.

The state plan "probably needs to be revised to include restrictions of commercial, industrial and possibly even agricultural uses," she said. "The burden of providing enough drinking water and protecting the environment should be more evenly on everyone."

Other than curbs on outdoor watering, residential water use is hard to regulate, she said. Many counties have billing rates that go up as customers use more water.

Exemptions to the state's outdoor watering ban:
 Irrigation of personal food gardens
 Watering new landscaping (in place less than 30 days) and installed by "certified or licensed professionals," sports turf landscapers and golf course contractors.
 Irrigation of golf course greens.
 Use of stormwater or condensed water from air conditioners.
 Use of gray water (partially treated water) as allowed by local jurisdictions.
 Commercial outdoor water use by irrigation contractors during installation and adjustment, sod producers, ornamental growers, fruit and vegetable growers, retail garden centers, hydro-seeding, power-washing, construction sites, producers of food and fiber, car washes, watering in of pesticides and herbicides on turf, and "other activities essential to daily business."
One important caveat: local jurisdictions are free to put in place restrictions that are more stringent than the state's.

THANK YOU JERI! What a fountain of knowledge you are about
our great state, even though we are water thieves(lol).

ROSEBUD, very interesting info. Thank you for posting
all that. I think your right about politicians not preparing
for things like this and focusing on needless pork in the bills
passed. Heck, to get political, I'm still trying to understand
how we are supposedly protecting The U.S. from an attack
of terrorism, when our southern border is wide open and
undefended. Go figure!

People here do waste a lot of water. And living in a normally wet and humid climate, we normally don't worry about water. Hopefully we will get some rain soon, which will take the pressure off.

But I think long term they are going to have to do something to provide for the massive growth that has happened here.

Here in Athens, GA, they first issue you a warning. Next, they fine you $1000. If you do not pay, they cut off your water. Landscaping companies and nurseries must decrease use by 20% or go out of business. All 'laws' apply only to outdoor watering. You can let your toilet or shower run all day and not be subject to a fine. The ordinances are poorly written, so it is not clear what eco-friendly approaches are or are not allowed. From what I have read, it is illegal to sweat or spit.

HydroPetunia

Hey, y'all,

I'm new to the forum, and it's great to know that it's here, because this drought is really worrying me. We have just moved to this area, and we have almost 50 mature trees on half an acre of park-like yard, not to mention dozens of wonderful plants that could die.

Here's a question: Isn't there something that can be done to induce rain? Seems like I remember hearing a long time ago about "seeding" the clouds... or, was that just in the movies?

Meantime, let's all pray for rain, and right soon!

Rainy Day

I wish I had my crystals in place last night. We got about 2" of rain. More rain please.

Carla

Yes, we had a glorious inch of slow steady rain today. I ran out to put all the pots out to get them even wetter.

Plus everything else got a nice soaking.

Am so glad for you both- still waiting in north Alabama.

Hi,

I haven't posted on here in ages. I live in the middle Georgia (Macon area). We have had odd/even day watering all summer, having been fortunate in that we've had more rain than many in the state. I bought over seventy rooted cuttings from Pat and Lisa (no longer in business Rosepeddler) three years ago this month. I knew I shouldn't have bought the roses at the time, because my partner and I were considering to move (We have bought a house in town now). I have been babying my roses (repotting three times) for three years now. Our August was the hottest (many triple digit heat days) that I can ever remember. I ended up moving many of my roses into semi-shaded areas. Lisa and Pat (two wonderful ladies) came over to my new old house Thursday to help me design my rose garden. Having so much time, money and dreams tied up in these beautiful plants, the thought that middle Georgia could go into into a total water ban is very scary to me. Life isn't easy!!! But great to be able to reconnect.

Sincerely, John

Hi Jon, having a planned rose garden sounds wonderful! Since you are starting now, I would do it with any eye towards making it more drought friendly. I'm assuming you have clay, like most of Georgia, so that's good. I would put in drip irrigation and incorporate the water crystals that many of us are discussing on this thread. (I think there is another thread on it too).

There is also a pretty active Georgia Gardner forum under the regional forums where we are all commiserating about the drought:)

I think your area is safe, for now. I do remember August as being horrible. I actually lost a potted rose because I forgot to water it one day! And two newly planted roses didn't make it because they couldn't get enough water to deal with the heat.

North Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana have had a summer long program of chemtrail spraying. This spraying program causes a high pressure area that prevents rainfall. Don't believe me if you want but look up once in awhile. Write your congress person.

I'll do that, as soon as I get fitted for a new tin foil hat.

Carla--y'all were lucky. we got two tenths of an inch. I'm taking credit for what little we got--they were supposed to start painting my house yesterday.

It's never going to rain again.

Buford, if you haven't already ordered your rain barrels, please check ebay. I got mine there and saved a lot - 50-gallon recycled food-grade barrels were $40 each. I'm very satisfied with them.

Even though I'd done some rough calculations, I was impressed with the amount of water collected from the front roof alone of our little Cape Cod style home. Ordered three more barrels ... and we haven't had significant rain since, so I can empathize.

We've been through some bad droughts here, too, and all those greywater recommendations listed above sound too familiar! (Our children were young, and I'm sure they thought Mom and Dad had completely "lost it" ... making them wash their hands over a bowl and saving spaghetti water to pour on the plants!) Those measures do help, though, and really make one aware of just how much water is routinely wasted.

I hope you and your gardens will soon have a respite from this widespread dry spell.

I heard today that the garden centers in GA have had their watering cut, and will have to stop watering anything soon. The big chains like Home Depot can weather this, but it is likely to be a tragedy for small independent nurseries.

Jeri

I just noticed the parts of SC and NC are now in the 'exceptional' drought range.

"drought monitor"

I understand that the fountains in Atlanta have been turned off indefinitely. There was the defensive arguement that these run on recycled water. It doesn't matter said the authorities. This reads of sensational paranoia...... - John

There is heavy evaporative loss from fountains, but also a psychological issue-- it looks wasteful to individuals who are making sacrifices to conserve water. I remember visiting an art gallery in Santa Fe that had a courtyard sculpture garden with fountains and an artificial creek. The humidity felt like Heaven, but it seemed shockingly extravagant and wasteful in view of the conservation ethos that prevails there. The fountains of Las Vegas and green fairways of Phoenix creep me out.

John, if you drove over Lake Lanier every day, as I do when I go to work, and saw how low it is, you wouldn't think it was paranoia. That is the water source for the Metro Atlanta area.

Thankfully they also stopped the billion gallons of water that was going to be used for fake snow at Stone Mountain. Fake snow in Georgia. Geesh!

"Fake Snow"

The fountains of Las Vegas and green fairways of Phoenix creep me out.

*** YES. They're almost an obscenity, IMHO.

Jeri

Yes Michaelg, I think you're right in that they thought that it might be sending the wrong psychological message. I wasn't in that mindset, as I see water as such a calming and healing presence. To me it would be disturbing to see all the fountains around town dry, a constant reminder of the drought. Kind of like in the depression era movies, where almost everyone seem to be rich and happy. I've never been to Las Vegas, but am not surprised that they would have obsene fountains. And yes buford, Fake snow, same thing. Atlanta is outgrowing its water supply and is taking water away from others down the line. I think the city needs to reconsider it's goals.

Lake Lanier is managed by the COE, the same geniuses who designed the levees in NO. I don't see the down stream states the COE gave all the water to on full restrictions, or any restrictions. I cannot think of one branch of government that is competent regardless of who is in power. The COE is accountible to no one.

Buford,
With the weather cooling, your roses are not under nearly the stress they were a month ago. I manage a greenhouse in north Georgia and had a call from a customer an hour ago because a client was rotting their lavender with too much watering. The weather should cool considerably by this weekend. You will be surprised how much water you can collect when you rinse out dishes or wash vegetables. If you have a teenager, make them use the tub instead of showering, that nets a LOT of water. I have punched three holes in the bottom of coffee cans (I have plenty) and placed them on a brick beside newly planted Japanese Maples and some other plants I really don't want to lose. It drips slowly and waters them deeply. You should not need to water any more than once a week, if that, in our soil. Perhaps our counterparts in the Golden State don't suffer the restrictions because everybody there isn't trying to keep and acre of fescue green in the heat. Good luck with your roses. By the way, watch those crystals, they have been known to rot plants during a soggy season.

Perhaps our counterparts in the Golden State don't suffer the restrictions because everybody there isn't trying to keep and acre of fescue green in the heat.

*** No. Most of us gave up on that idea long ago. In a drought, a brown lawn is a badge of honor.
But don't worry -- Unless we get unexpectedly generous winter rainfall, Come summer, 2008, (if not earlier)
Southern Californians will see restrictions on water use.

Jeri

Boy ... last year we waited 3 hours for take off to Copenhagen in Atlanta Airport. It rained like I had never seen rain before during that thunderstorm. And this year we have gotten 3 times as much rain as in an average summer here. Didn´t have to water the garden at all this year. And I heard The Chicago Marathon got canceled due to very high temps too. Then there was the easter freeze. Seems like weather patterns really are changing all over the globe and we are beginning to see the effects of global warming. Everybody now agrees that we see global warming, but no one is doing anything about it.
Here in Europe we pay $6.5 for a gallon of gas and cars have 180 percent sales tax on them ...thats right ..180 percent sales tax on cars. Seems like everyone pays the price for the global environmental disaster...one way or another.

The thunderstorm you saw in the Atlanta airport is normal. That's part of the problem, we get our rain in bunches. Usually we get a brief thunderstorm each afternoon in the summer, but not this year.

Don't get me started on the COE. Earlier this year, they admitted there was a problem with the water release system at Buford Dam (where they allow water from Lake Lanier down stream to the Chattahoochie). 2 BILLION gallons too much was allowed out before they discovered the problem.

Question for rain barrel users: do you get fungus in your water that runs off the roof? In the spring I put all of our Rubbermaid storage boxes under the eaves to catch water for my new garden (after reading that chlorinated water was bad for organic gardening.) I used one box of water for alfalfa tea (my second batch.) My first batch smelled strong but green (not nasty like others had reported.) The rainwater batch smelled gross and very quickly became fouled with white stuff. I used it for a while before I read that fungus of any kind from any source was bad for roses, and here I was pouring it in the ground around my new roses. I don't know what damage I did, but I think the plants suffered from it. Hence, my question: how do you deal with the fungus that washes off the roof? Maybe some dry areas don't have this, but Florida can't be the only place.
Sherry

buford - I think it is clear that the COE is affected by global warming. If we shut down all our nukes and burned more coal to power our electric cars our government would be making much better decisions.

Sorry, that should have been 22 BILLION gallons. Lake Lanier is 15 feet below normal level. Pretty soon the roofs of the house that the flooded over to make the lake are going to be peeking up.

Yesterday, after it rained (yeah!) we went out to dinner and passed a gas station with the sprinklers going full blast. It's just not right.

Buford, you got rain yesterday? RAIN, what is that?

Carla

Oh, it was nice while it lasted. I found myself starring out the window telling it to rain harder, rain longer...PLEASE! LOL!
They're saying that if we don't get significant rainfall my city will be on strict water rationing (drinking, fires, etc.) by Thanksgiving and out of water by Christmas! Um...I live in Georgia, right, not the Sahara?

Atlanta, and surrounding counties, are going to have to do
some major planning. Atlanta, is still one of the fastest
growing cities in the U.S. Growth is expected to continue
there. So the state of Georgia, is going to have to come up
with solutions, when there are drought conditions.

I think they will just make it very expensive for us. Then the wealthy and the businesses will have green gardens and the rest will have tumbleweeds. I'll probably have a brown lawn surrounded by my pines which are so old that they can make it on their own. I hope my established roses can survive but I worry about the younger own root bands I just planted. Bathwater for them I think. Our air quality is so bad- I got 2 rain barrels but after seeing the toxic amber water that came off the roof after a months of no rain, I just dumped it all out. Now they don't get filled unless it has rained a few days to clean off the roof. Actually, I have hose water in them now, just in case theres a quake.

I'm sorry you have to see your garden suffer. It's unfair that people can waste all they want in their homes but gardeners cant water their prized plants.

I was using a bucket to rinse my laundry out on the back lawn and it was work but I felt good about it.

Add Central Illinois to the list. My city, Decatur, just announced a water ban. We haven't had a good soaking rain since the first of July. The temps have been in the high 90's all summer. Here it is october, but we had 90's last weekend! Our lake is drying up!