Several years ago, I planted 500 pine seedlings by hand. Drought hit that summer and I now have maybe 50 left.
This spring, I planted an orchard with 50 fruit trees. Not wanting the same result, I invest in an irrigation system. All summer long, like clockwork, we had a one inch storm every week with sun the rest of the time. Didn't need the irrigation system at all.
This fall... I order 200 pines. Haven't seen rain in perhaps a month and tomorrow, the day they arrive, it's projected to be 88 degrees. This will be one of the hottest days of the year in mid September. No rain in the long range forecast either. Of course, the only time I have to plant is this weekend. Ugh.
The only saving grace is that I had a tree service dumping chips this summer. I'm hoping the chips have retained some moisture in the soil. Otherwise, I just bought some expensive twigs.
This spring, I planted an orchard with 50 fruit trees. Not wanting the same result, I invest in an irrigation system. All summer long, like clockwork, we had a one inch storm every week with sun the rest of the time. Didn't need the irrigation system at all.
This fall... I order 200 pines. Haven't seen rain in perhaps a month and tomorrow, the day they arrive, it's projected to be 88 degrees. This will be one of the hottest days of the year in mid September. No rain in the long range forecast either. Of course, the only time I have to plant is this weekend. Ugh.
The only saving grace is that I had a tree service dumping chips this summer. I'm hoping the chips have retained some moisture in the soil. Otherwise, I just bought some expensive twigs.