Garden: the benefits of a rain gauge

Too cold, too hot, too dry, too wet... When you're gardening, you're rarely happy with the weather! But rain, and therefore the resulting watering or not, is what comes up most often in conversations in summer. And to establish perceptions and observations, the essential tool is the rain gauge, to be placed in an open area, far from a wall or a tree.

The rain gauge allows you to decide whether or not to water: if it hasn't rained for a long time, even long-established plants sometimes need help. As for newly arrived plants, the 0.2 mm that fell the day before won't be enough to get them established. Because how many people, after a short rain shower, are convinced that it's enough? For professionals, the rain gauge is a reference. Early in the morning, at this time, the first thing nurserymen do is check the graduation, then decide whether or not to water the babies growing in pots.

The other essential tool is the mini-maxi thermometer . Especially useful during extreme seasons, the mini-maxi thermometer stores the lowest temperatures during winter nights and the highest temperatures under the blazing summer sun. Ideally, install two, or even three or four. One, placed sheltered from the wind, rain, and sun, under an awning, for example, for the "under cover" temperatures given by the national weather forecast. A second, in full wind and full sun. And one or two others in various places in the garden, to locate microclimates. This way, they tell you if the little South African wonder you like so much is capable of surviving in a specific location.

The minimum difference can be as much as 5 to 7°C depending on the location. The differences are just as enormous between the maximum temperatures measured under cover and in full sun. Never forget that plants are subject to these extremes, not the temperatures under cover. By regularly checking the thermometers, you can better understand what is really happening in the life of your plants.

Monitoring the rainfall, temperatures, sunny days, winds and other weather hazards day by day, and noting them down, is very important, to know which new plants you can test, to know the resistance of those already planted. But also to know, from one year to the next, when the first and last frosts of the year occur, in order to determine when to sow the first radishes, install the tomato plants , and, in the fall, bring in the chilly ones. And to exchange advice, experiences and tips with friends and neighbors. Or to be tempted or not by the adoption of beautiful foreign women from far away.

To raise awareness among our little ones about the vagaries of nature, introduce them to making a rain gauge. A rain gauge is used to measure the amount of water (rain, snow, or melted hail) that has fallen over a specific period of time, in a specific location. It can be calculated per 24 hours, per week, or per month. It is especially valuable and useful in agriculture and gardening. You will graduate it in millimeters. A thickness of one millimeter corresponds to one liter spread over one m².