Local Gardener Decides to Cut Losses after Drought

As the drought persisted throughout the summer, Davis decided that paying for water to maintain her crop was not cost-effective.

“I didn’t want to put a lot of water into my garden in the sense that I’m really only growing the crop for myself. So I have to look at how much money I want to spend on water versus just purchasing the food throughout the winter,” Davis said.

“Putting $100 worth of water into my garden to get $50 worth of crop doesn’t make sense,” Davis said.

“As the drought went on and on and on, I had to just let it go and see how the crops survive on their own,” Davis said.  

Davis’s main crops include tomatoes, lettuce, several types of peppers, asparagus, kale, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, various types of squash, watermelon, and pumpkins, to name a few.

A typical growing season for Davis produces enough crops to provide her with fruits and vegetables for the winter.  Davis stores the leftover crop in her freezer to be used throughout the year.

“I of course rely on the grocery store for certain items not matter what, but it’s nice when I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor. The drought definitely had a significant impact on my garden,” Davis said. 

"I'm just hoping the projected higher prices of food I've read about aren't higher than the price I would've paid to maintain my own crops," Davis said.

“The 2012/13 season average farm price for corn is projected at a record $7.50 to $8.90 per bushel, up sharply from the $5.40 to $6.40 per bushel projected in July,” according to the USDA's August 10 Crop Production Report.

 

Local Gardener Adapts to Drought Conditions

Despite a local gardener's effort to conserve water and keep her garden healthy, the crops were unable to thrive in the 2012 drought.

“My crops are not as plentiful as they’ve been in the past.  My peppers aren’t growing very tall at all, and those that have been producing peppers are small and wrinkled,” Susan Davis, a local gardener from Chelsea, MI, said.

“Now that we’re getting some rain, I’ll probably remove the dead plants to see if I can get a second crop to come up,” Davis said.

To lessen the impact of the drought on her wallet and on her backyard garden, Davis implemented a few conservation techniques, including the use of a makeshift rain barrel. 

“In the beginning, I did some watering with the rainwater I collected in buckets earlier this year when we actually got a little bit of rain,” Davis said.

“I also put some mulch around the plants to prevent some water from evaporating throughout the high temperatures and drought we saw throughout the summer,” Davis said.

“This has been the worst drought in the Midwest since 1988,” Jeffrey Andresen, associate professor of geology and expert on weather and its impact on agriculture production said.

The Wine-tasting Event was a Sucess

The wine-tasting event was a success for the Ann ArborCountry Club, the winemakers, and the jazz band, key club investor of the AACC Mike Weikle said.

Jerry Hicks, a leading member of a jazz band as well as a member of the AACC, was hired to play at the wine-tasting event.

“Weikle and I have discussed the possibility of making this (his band playing at AACC events) a regular thing,” Hicks said.

“The event was very successful,” Weikle said, “As a result, we’ve already booked two private events."

The event also resulted in two membership applications, Weikle said.

Christina Cooper, a previous member of the AACC, said the event was “a little overpriced” food-wise, but that “the entertainment definitely added to the experience.”

“I had a lot of fun and would definitely consider coming to future events,” Cooper said, but she feels it would be “unnecessary to rejoin since the AACC is open to the public now.”

The Ann Arbor Country Club Hosts a Wine-tasting Event

The Ann Arbor Country Club hosted a wine-tasting event last Saturday in order to raise community awareness and to boost membership.

The event cost $30 per person and included three hours of unlimited wine samples, Italian hors d'oeuvres, and entertainment by a local jazz band.

“Sixty-three people attended the event,” key club investor Mike Weikle said.

The AACC paid the four winemakers at the event for the first bottle they opened for samples. It was up to the winemakers to pay for and open any bottles after the first, Weikle said.

“It was a great opportunity for them to get their name out there,” Weikle said, “All sides benefitted.”

“The AACC made the money spent on wine back through raffle tickets sold for a few higher end wines,” Weikle said.

Raffle tickets were $10 each.

Plan to scare Josh worked

Katelyn Ciaccio, 22, successfully scared her little brother, Josh Ciaccio, 13, tonight with the help of her other brother, Sean Ciaccio, 21.

"Everything went according to plan," Katelyn Ciaccio said, "and Josh's reaction was even better than what I had hoped for."

After seeing Katelyn Ciaccio walk toward him in an alien costume in their basement, Josh Ciaccio screamed, "Oh my freaking God!" and then ran up the stairs as fast as he could, Sean Ciaccio said.

Katelyn and Sean Ciaccio were laughing for several minutes after the scare occurred, which made Josh Ciaccio a little angry, but he said he "would probably be laughing too" if had been the one to scare one of them.

All three of the siblings expressed regret for not recording the scare on camera.  "We could have sent it in to Tosh.0," Sean Ciaccio said, "it would have been perfect for that show."

Katelyn Ciaccio said that next time she would remember to set up a camera, "just in case the scare turns out as hilarious as this one did."

"This scare definitely makes it into our top three scares of all time," Sean Ciaccio said.

Plan to scare Josh

Katelyn Ciaccio, 22, is planning on scaring her youngest brother tonight who is terrified of aliens and the basement of the house in Chelsea where they live, according to Katelyn Ciaccio. 

Josh Ciaccio, 13, is currently doing some late night shopping at Meijer with his older brother, Sean Ciaccio, 21, and thinks Katelyn Ciaccio is spending the night at her apartment in East Lansing.

Katelyn Ciaccio has dressed up in an alien costume that covers her from head to toe.

Katelyn Ciaccio said she plans on waiting in the basement once she receives a text message from Sean Ciaccio that will let her know her two brothers are on their way home.

Once Sean and Josh Ciaccio arrive at their house, Sean will ask Josh to help him put away the frozen food they just bought in the basement refrigerator, Katelyn Ciaccio said.

When Josh Ciaccio starts walking toward the refrigerator in the basement, Katelyn Ciaccio plans on moving toward him while "walking like an alien," Katelyn said.


"This is not the first time I've scared Josh," Katelyn Ciaccio said, "Josh is really funny when he gets scared."

After watching latest episode of Tosh.0

Ciaccio said he was satisfied with the most recent episode of Tosh.0 and is excited to watch the next new episode next Tuesday.

Ciaccio said his favorite video that Daniel Tosh, the host of the show, presented during the episode was of an old lady sky diving.

This clip was Ciaccio's favorite because it made him "laugh the hardest" out of all the videos presented on throughout the episode.

Ciaccio said the reason he laughed so hard at this clip was due to the way Tosh made fun of the old woman's skin, which was flapping in the wind as she fell through the air. 

The homemade popcorn Ciaccio ate while he watched the episode ended up being "a tiny bit too salty, but not too buttery," Ciaccio said, which caused him to leave the room mid-episode to get a drink from the kitchen.

Although Ciaccio had to leave the room during the episode, he didn't miss a single second of it since the show was recorded on his DVR which allowed him to pause Tosh.0.

The next new episode will air on June 19, 2012 at 10:00 p.m. EST.