Summer of 2025 was historic but not for the right reasons. As I write this, I am nervously hoping for rain to help snug a massive forest fire in our province right now. We haven’t seen rain in 7 weeks. At least nothing significant… I tried a rain spell one evening and we got a spit but not nearly as much as we need to undo the horrendously dry conditions we currently face.
The clouds are dark, I know other areas of the province have started to see rain, but we’re still dry here.
Despite the dry conditions, I did my best. We never had a mandatory water conservation, so I was able to keep up with watering every evening to get some sort of harvest from the gardens.
What did well:
GARLIC. All 24 garlic cloves planted grew to beautiful bulbs. I was able to share many with friends and family while still having lots to play with myself.
Peas also did great since they are harvested earlier in the season so they were able to avoid the worst of the heat and dry soil.
Rhubarb like usual thrives since they get first dibs on the fresh soil LOL. I’ll continue to create new ways to utilize rhubarb each year since it grows so easily here.
What did ok:
Tomatoes: There was some disease that took quite a few out but I still managed to get a small harvest of tomatoes and a tasty soup made.
Green Peppers: They’re small but they survived!
Carrots: Same as the peppers, they’re small but they’ve made it!
What didn’t make it:
Cucumbers: I had set them up in pots this year which caused a headache keeping the soil from drying out. I’d planted pickling cucumbers, and they were almost too small to use for anything. I managed to get 2 jars of dill pickles (and they weren’t packed tight) and that was it.
Zucchini: Every zucchini rotted while still on the vine. Didn’t get a single one harvested.
This was a historically dry year and I’m sure this is just the start as climate change become an even bigger threat. For next year I’m hoping to get a better watering system in place and take advantage of any rain that does come down. I have plenty of buckets but rely on manpower to get the water to the gardens. I’m hopeful a solar distribution system will help keep things watered better going forward.
I pride myself in being somewhat able to communicate with elements, I understand them and meet them.. But climate change is a different beast. There’s no communicating with climate change, just hunkering down, hoping for the best, and hoping when it’s time to rebuild you can rebuild stronger.
