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.