Water Harvesting 101

On this podcast, I talk a lot about water harvesting equipment. As in, rainwater harvesting cisterns, greywater harvesting systems, etc. And you may be wondering, where does one get this stuff? In this episode, we’re joined by Eli Nielsen, co-founder of The Rain Store, a water harvesting supply store that’s right here in Tucson.

Our friends at the National Weather Services’s Climate Prediction Center just released the summer forecast for the American Southwest. Arizona is in the “above normal” category for summer rainfall, and that’s good news. It points to a possible return of El Niño, a weather pattern that is associated with abundant rainfall. This episode describes my activities in the here-and-now, along with some summer preparations.

Springtime in the desert means that the flowers are blooming–for a very short time. Then the flowers fall off their trees and shrubs. This can create a lot of work for humans who’d rather not have all of that litter all over the driveway–and other places. However, that litter can also serve as mulch. Even better, it’s free mulch! In this episode, I’ll tell you how to take advantage of that free mulch from above.

Tucson just played host to a heat wave. As in, triple-digit temperatures. In March. This episode provides practical tips for coping with such an event, whether it’s in March or at other times of the year. You’ll learn how to handle your gardening and your household.

As water harvesters, we use organic and inorganic mulches in our landscapes. Organic mulches are derived from carbon-based life forms like trees, and you’ll recognize them as bark chips and wood chips. Inorganic mulches? They’re more commonly known as aggregate or crushed rock. Which mulch should you use? And where? In this episode, we’re joined by Shota Austin from Tank’s Green Stuff here in Tucson. He’ll tell you everything you need to know about mulch.

At my place, nearly all of my attempts to plant wildflower seeds have failed. The simple truth is, Arizona wildflowers are persnickety about where they wish to set up shop. Being planted here is obviously not to their liking. Then came the brittlebush. Shortly after I moved in, I was told that brittlebush just wouldn’t grow in this neighborhood. That really disappointed me, because I really wanted to plant some. A few years ago, I spotted a volunteer seedling in the front yard. A brittlebush! It simply seeded itself! That’s what we call a volunteer plant, and volunteers are the stars of this episode.

We’ve rolled into the month of March, which marks the start of meteorological spring. So, it’s time to start planning that spring/summer garden. At my place, I’m planning for three raised beds and a vertical planter. I’ll be relying on seeds from Arizona-based Terroir Seeds. They offer the introductory sound effect for this episode, so let’s get shaking those seed packets!

This episode features the iron man of Arizona weather forecasting, Michael Groff. He produces a highly detailed daily weather forecast on YouTube, the Phoenix, Arizona Weather Discussion. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how Michael puts these forecasts together and learn about his other online media ventures.

Let’s meet Michael Albanese, author of the water harvesting book, The Modern Rain Garden: Scrape, Shape, and Plant. Michael has designed and built dozens of rain gardens and also has helped countless others build theirs. In this episode, he’ll explain what rain gardens are, and what’s behind the scrape, shape, and plant approach to rain garden design and construction.

I’m pleased to report that my place is one of the busiest natural habitats in the neighborhood. In this episode, I’ll share how the local bird species utilize my rain-fed landscape for nourishment, socializing, and nesting.