This drought on the east coast of the far north is getting quite bad now. I really need to sort more irrigation lines out for next year so we're not spending an hour hand watering every evening. On the plus side, even the kikuyu has stopped growing so I don't have to mow as much as I usually do in summer.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Sounds really rough. Would a swale work?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Swales are great! But I have 6ha and just building them would be massively expensive at this scale. I would like to add some to our food forest area though.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

On my trip to the Tasman the other week, I don't think I saw a green blade of grass anywhere on the drive from Blenheim along SH63.

Down Wellington way we've had heavy rain just often enough to keep things alive, though the veggie garden needs a bit of a water occasionally.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Damn really? I'm a bit further down and we're looking greener than we usually do at this time of year. Next time I see rainclouds I'll tell them to head up to you.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Yup, have a look at https://niwa.co.nz/static/climate/smd_map.png?1234 which shows the soil moisture levels.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Okay now I'm confused, I'm up in the red part of that map too but our berms are green rather than their usual brown.

To be fair I was away from te Tai Tokerau for most of the summer so maybe I'd have noticed more if I'd been here.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Huh, strange. I haven't noticed conditions this bad since a drought on waiheke around 2012/13.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Maybe I'm in a rainshadow. Will have to get someone to take me on a drive. Not that many black crickets this year either.

I really hope the drought breaks for you.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

My wife hates the crickets with a passion! Luckily our chickens are very adept at eating them.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

I love watching chooks chase crickets and grasshoppers.