Drought!

From the Manitoba Historical Society:

"The dry weather of 1886 made the grasslands everywhere in the west extremely susceptible to fire and from this region in particular there are some descriptions of the disastrous consequences of the prairie fires. Hay stacks were consumed, many farmers lost their cattle, stables and houses, and even trees on the hill tops were burned. It was reported that the prairie fires of 1886 caused more damage than the frosts of previous years."

April 2018 has not been kind. 

We have received less than two millimeters of rain (the yellow line at the bottom of the chart below). By this time in 1886, 43.8 mm of rain had fallen; almost two inches (the black line ending in the middle of the chart below).

April 2018 has not been kind. 

The first half of April was hardly warmer than the overnight lows of 1886. Only in the last week was the temperature higher than in 1886.

Our native plants in the Road Garden and Parking Lot Garden should do fine as they are developing roots up to ten feet deep. But, unless the weather drastically changes, we will have to water the Kitchen Garden and Produce Garden significantly more than in prior years.

Then again, if we are to be historically accurate, are we willing to tolerate the crop failure of 1886?