Level 1 Drought Declared on September 9th
On September 9th the Georgia Environmental Protection Division declared a Level 1 drought for 53 Georgia counties. This includes the Northwest part of Georgia which is experiencing severe and extreme drought conditions.
A Level 1 Drought Response declaration means you will be hearing more from your local water authority about water conservation.
What does this mean to community and school gardens?
At this point, not much. As always, we need to use best management practices in watering our gardens. According to the Georgia Water Stewardship Act of 2010 irrigation of personal food gardens is allowed at anytime. It allows daily outdoor watering for “purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants only between the hours of 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. by anyone whose water is supplied by a water system permitted by the Environmental Protection Division.”
You may want to make sure your irrigation system, hoses, and faucets are not leaking. Does your garden have a rain barrel? Find additional watering tips below:
Happy gardening!
Becky is a Georgia Certified Beekeeper and works with community and school gardeners to increase beneficial insect habitat.She is the coordinator of the Great Georgia Pollinator Census, happening this year on August 19th and 20th, 2022.She is also part of UGA's Native Plants and Beneficial Insect Working Group.
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Nice video and great information! We need some rain!