Welcome to the Dry Season

Landscape Adjustments

A day of record rainfall was indeed welcome in Tucson. However, the storm revealed a problem in my landscape. One of my downspouts directed water into my yard, but it didn’t stay there. A few feet away from the downspout, that water flowed into my driveway, then off my property. Once it’s off property, rainwater becomes stormwater, which can cause urban flooding. So, I’m making adjustments. I’m building a path that will gently suggest a different path for rainwater coming out of this downspout. The goal is to keep that rainwater here, where it can nourish plants as it get absorbed into the ground.

Cistern Math

With the summer monsoon season starting on June 15 and running through September 30, it’s time to do the cistern math. If your cistern is below capacity and you’re hoping for rainstorms to come and fill it, how much water will you need? In this episode, I’ll walk you through the calculations.

Garden Gambler Update

Back in Episode 59, I announced that I was a gambler, a garden gambler. I planted a pre-monsoon summer garden. Now it’s time for an update. It’s a combination of gardening successes and failures, along with some much-needed problem solving and no monsoon rainfall–yet.

2026 Arizona Monsoon Outlook

The National Weather Service just released its summer monsoon forecast. It calls for above average rainfall for the entire state of Arizona, especially northeastern Arizona. El Niño is also becoming a factor, which could lead to an active hurricane season. This episode discusses how the second activity of water harvesting, storing rainwater for later use, relates to the forecast.

A Meditation on Mulch

This is an episode devoted to an organic superstar– mulch! This a layer of material that’s derived from carbon-based life forms like trees, shrubs, bark, and leaves. I’ll talk about the wonderful things that mulch can do for your yard and the plants in it, and explain how you can get mulch. Includes a special guest appearance by a wood chipper.