Welcome To The Rainiest City In America
I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. It is among one of the oldest cities in America. It is also one of the rainiest cities in America. According to some sources, Mobile may even be the number one rainiest city in America.
I moved to California in 2001, where I lived in Vallejo for many years. Vallejo has a rainy season and a dry season. The rainy season starts in the fall around October and ends in the early spring of the following year. From late spring through late summer, there is rarely any rain in Vallejo. Those of us with gardens have to water by hand or through some type of irrigation. When my husband and I were debating moving back to Mobile from California, we had frequent discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of moving back to Mobile versus staying in California. Both of us are farmers. One of the positive aspects of moving back to Mobile is that Mobile, like the rest of the Gulf Coast, gets a lot of rain. We figured we could count on the rain to do a lot of watering on our farm for us.
Apparently, we figured wrong. Are you familiar with Murphy’s Law? Murphy’s Law essentially states that if anything can go wrong, it probably will. Lately, that seems to be the case with the rain in Mobile. Mobile is still a rainy city. However, the rain comes with caveats. One of the caveats is that sometimes, the rain occurs all at once. Occasionally, the rain is so heavy, it will flood the streets of Mobile. Heavy rain can be problematic for gardeners and farmers, particularly when growing from seed. There have been times when the rain was so intense that the raindrops drowned my baby seedlings. I always feel frustrated when that happens. I sometimes mutter to myself, “Welcome to the rainiest city in America!”
On the other hand, there are occasions where we can go for days, weeks, and even months with little or no rain. Remember what I said about Murphy’s Law? Murphy’s Law applies again. Long periods with little or no rain can be very unforgiving to those of us who are counting on the rain to water our gardens. Take, for instance, last spring. We had a few months with very little rain. Consequently, this lack of rain affected fruit production on our old muscadine vines. The lack of water caused the vines to produce very little, if any, fruit last year. If I had known then what I know now, I would have watered the muscadines by hand. I remember discussing this issue with an agent from the Mobile County Extension. He concurred that he knew of a few other muscadine growers who also had little to no muscadine production last year due to a lack of rain and watering. During this conversation with the agent, I sarcastically thought to myself, “Welcome to the rainiest city in America!”
One of my issues with watering by hand is that it can be very tedious and time-consuming. My gardens are spread far apart all over my property. Watering by hand can also be very treacherous, especially in the summer. Humidity, coupled with summer heat, can cause extreme temperatures. In the summer, I try to water either early in the morning before the sun has risen or late in the afternoon as the sun is setting. Another issue I have with watering by hand is that I can be destructive. To reach some of my gardens, I have to use a single water hose that is composed of several smaller water hoses that are connected together to create an extra-extra-long water hose. While I find it challenging to keep the water hose from coiling and kinking, I find it even more challenging to keep the hose from knocking over or uprooting plants in other nearby gardens and beds. I can’t make up my mind if maneuvering the water hose is a struggle or a fine art. Imagine yourself walking forward, looking ahead, yet simultaneously looking back while stretching out a never-ending water hose. On one hand, you’re trying to prevent coils and kinks. On the other hand, you’re also trying to steer the hose away from other plants so they are not damaged by the destructive water hose. It almost never fails that I damage or ruin a plant with the water hose. My grandmother used to tell me that I am like a bull in a China shop. Apparently, she was right! On the other hand, I could just blame it all on the lack of rain and tell myself, “Welcome to the rainiest city in America!”
Maybe I shouldn’t complain. As a nurse, I have advocated for many years that working in the garden is a form of exercise. I have even argued that gardening is the ultimate form of exercise, benefiting the body, mind, and spirit. Maybe instead of looking at watering by hand as physically taxing, I should look at it as physically rewarding? After all, when I water by hand, I do a lot of walking along with constant pulling and tugging.
In spite of all of this negativity, I have some good news to share! You may not believe me when I tell you this. I have figured out a way to make it rain! Remember what I said about Murphy’s Law? If anything can go wrong, it will! I have discovered that if I go outside and water all of my gardens by hand, within a few hours, it will start raining! Not just a little sprinkle, but a ground-soaking rain that farmers and gardeners love! When this happens, I smirk and say to myself, “Welcome to the rainiest city in America!”
Thanks for reading about my latest misadventure! Be sure to like and follow me on social media.
Clifton Joullian B.S.N., R.N.
The Nurse Farmer
