The city council announced it today, here in Carlsbad, Southeast New Mexico. We are not allowed to water with hoses between 10 am and 6 pm, and not at all with hoses except on our allocated days...three of them per week.
Meanwhile, we are allowed to water out of buckets other times, if needed.
These restrictions aren't a lot to ask of anyone. But on the other hand, it's only June.
The last time I remember it raining here, to any extent, was last September. Our summer monsoon tends to end around late September, and our winters tend to run dry.
This year, we've gotten less than an inch of rain in town. Our city wells are about 12 miles SE of here.
There have been large storms at the park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, about 20 miles or so SW of here, and other places in SE NM.
But there have not been any in our little plains area down here.
I could write this as a rant. I could talk about how much I hate people who grow huge lawns. I could talk about water rights.
But that hasn't been at the forefront of my mind this evening. I've been thinking more about my garden, which is doing all right, all several hundred square feet of it, considering that I use about 700 gallons of water a day for it and me both.
Here's my pumpkin squash and corn patch:
and here's some tomatoes:
just to give you an idea. And there's more, and I'm just getting started. It's only June.
I get all excited about it when I manage to grow a lot of produce, and tend to give it away to people. The more I stay stationary, and grow these plants; the more I get known for it. I already have my neighbors, down here in the barrio/ghetto/whatever territory in which I garden, looking over my fence, saying nice things, licking their lips...!!
lol. And...that's good, that's okay. They give back. They offer me squash their friends gave them, when they don't have squash. They offer me houseplant cuttings. It works, it's real.
So...now we have stage 1 water rationing...I worry. Global warming, and all. And I'm wondering, maybe it's time to start working towards a community garden, just in case. Not that it wouldn't be a great idea anytime, not that I don't think about it often; but just in case. Just in case we need an anchor, a garden, to hold us together, if times get harder. Somewhere we could grow vegetables and flowers together, and know that the city was behind us - that we WERE the city - and that whatever water was around, would be available for us - that we would be a high priority for that water, with our community garden. And that we would use it well, and wisely.
Meanwhile, I'm mulching. I'm cutting down every weed I see for mulch, including the spiny ones. Life changes when the people who control your access to water start saying "bastante!"
I'll be watering at night. I'll be watering with buckets. I'll be doing everything I can do to keep this garden alive, without being sneaky and breaking the laws. I don't want to go to jail for 90 days, or be fined $500.
But most of all, I don't want to be a water hog. That's pretty easy, though; I'm already well in there. Have to fine tune it a bit more.
The water restrictions, so far, are pretty vague. But when they get stricter (and they may well) I'm going to have to have to come out of my yard and go talk to people. I am going to have to talk about my garden, and my vegetables, and my neighbors. I am going to have to talk about lawns.
But, for now; I'm mulching. I'm adapting.