Hot weather and rain

Hello everyone,

I hope you are well and taking it easy in the heat.

I've been taking naps.  Giving in to the only thing my body seems to want to do.

Rainfall amount can vary from district to district here in London Ontario. At our place we seem to have had 1.5 cm of rain ... that's according to a couple of empty containers scattered around the gardens.  It came down in two main rainfalls, one on Tuesday, and another on Wednesday.  They were hard rainfalls, the rain coming down fast and heavy.  Somewhat, but not as severe as some of the rainfall we've been seeing on the news.

I am so grateful for the rain.  I've been feeling pretty desperate about the heat, and about whether I'm doing an adequate job of watering the seedlings of swiss chard, squash and beets (which need steady water down far enough in the soil to encourage development of their beet roots), and of watering the more established things like cucumbers.

The cucumbers have increased in size by a full third in the last two days, from a 30 to a 45 cm length with more leaves.  I've got to train them to the fence now they are this size.

The plants know the difference between rainfall and hose water that has sat for a day to let "the chlorine evaporate off" ... at least, this evaporation is the thing I was told years ago.

Even a full roof-rainwater capture system wouldn't supply enough water for the gardens' needs around here.  I'd read a comment a few weeks ago; the person said that everyone should be able to capture their own water and that this should be all the person may have.  I cannot agree with that.  The way I figure it, I'm paying for the City water, using it as efficiently as I can (with mulch and interplanting), and by using it to produce food I'm not causing the use of food processing water and fossil fuel to bring in food from 500 - 1500 kilometers away. 

Surely that has to be taken into the resource use equation? 

Nothing is black and white, or simple as we learn how to garden for global warming.

For today, HOORAY for some rain.

Best regards to all,

Why's Woman