We can’t predict with certainty that the coming year will be another drought year, but we should be prepared.
If rainfall amounts for the entire season are less than average (11.6 inches), water conservation will once again be an absolute necessity.
We must also take steps now to maintain the health of our mature landscape trees which were not able to fully recover from four years of severe drought during last year’s wet winter.
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In fact, both types of grasses are dormant in winter and can do without any supplemental irrigation if the soil is still moist from previous rainfall.
If rainfall amounts still fall short of average by late spring, put off planting even drought-tolerant varieties.
Winter is pruning season, but giving trees a hard pruning or, as is more common in our area, overpruning or topping the trees, will create a strong flush of new growth that will draw up a lot more water.
During drought years, it’s best to prune lightly, removing only dead or diseased wood and using “heading” cuts on branch tips to control size and growth direction.
They are qualified to speak on a wide variety of gardening topics and answer all your gardening questions.
Send Elinor Teague plant questions at etgrow@comcast.net.

Over 270 tehsils spread across 52 districts in the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have been officially declared as drought-hit areas this Kharif season, according to a report by Business Standard.
The Chattisgarh government informed Parliament that 96 tehsils across 21 districts have been hit by drought.
Similarly, 133 tehsils across 18 districts in Madhya Pradesh and 41 tehsils across 13 districts in Rajasthan have been declared drought-hit areas.
To provide assistance to drought-hit areas, the three states have sought for a combined assistance of Rs 11,186 crore from the Centre.
Last year, Karnataka Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala and Tamil Nadu had sought assistance of Rs 54,772 crore for drought-hit areas, but only Rs 5,436 crore of the total amount requested was approved by the Centre.
The wheat sown in the ongoing Rabi season in Madhya Pradesh has already been affected due to low levels of water in reservoirs and a deficient monsoon in some parts.
If the drought-hit areas are not provided with additional irrigation facilities, it is bound to impact the wheat already sown in these areas.
Until Thursday, wheat was sown in around 318,000 hectares across the state.
Although IMD had predicted normal rain in August and September, the actual rain was around 4 percent and 12 percent less, respectively, in those months.
The available data shows that 210 of the country’s 630 districts received deficient rainfall this year.

In a new briefing, Not Time to Go Home, Amnesty International researchers interviewed returnees living in dire conditions in overcrowded cities or displacement camps in Somalia.
In its zeal to return refugees the Kenyan government has made much of small security improvements in Somalia, but the grim reality is that many parts of the country are still plagued by violence and poverty Charmain Mohamed, Head of Refugee and Migrants Rights at Amnesty International Many returnees said they had left Dadaab because of dwindling food rations and services, or because of fears, stoked by Kenyan government officials, that they would be forced back with no assistance.
“Refugees who fled drought, conflict and hunger in Somalia were coerced into returning in the midst of a severe humanitarian crisis, and many now find themselves back in the same hopeless situation from which they fled and still unable to go home.
“Until there is a significant improvement in humanitarian conditions, the Kenyan government must focus on providing continued protection to Somali refugees.
In the midst of this insecurity, the humanitarian situation in Somalia continues to deteriorate.
She told Amnesty International that the water available in Baidoa is both unsafe and prohibitively expensive: “The biggest problem that we have in the area is water.
Somalia is also experiencing serious food insecurity and most returnees rely on assistance packages and humanitarian aid to obtain food.
He told Amnesty International: “If you visit our homes you will see people who have eaten nothing for at least three days.” Because many returnees cannot return to their original homes, accessing shelter is also a major problem.
In November 2017, the UN refugee agency UNHCR’s appeal for its refugee response in Kenya was only 29% funded.
As hunger, disease and violence close in on returnees in Somalia, the need for true responsibility sharing has never been clearer Amnesty International is calling on the international community to provide adequate technical and financial assistance to the government of Kenya, to support sustainable and long-term solutions for the integration of refugees in the country.

Rain over the weekend and again Monday and Tuesday has helped improve extreme drought conditions and has lifted many burn bans across Arkansas.
Lonoke and Pulaski counties lifted their bans on outdoor burning Monday.
White County lifted its burn ban for 24 hours Monday, but placed it back into effect Tuesday.
At least 66 of the state’s 75 counties had burn bans last week.
By Tuesday, only 31 remained.
Tuesday’s rain was forecast to deliver just as much.
The drought that’s covered all of Arkansas has led to one of the driest autumns on records and more than 6 inches below normal rain levels.
Arkansas was more than six inches below average rain levels for this time of year.
Now, rain levels are finally getting back to normal.
Covering North Pulaski, Lonoke, & White Counties

This farmer from Bahadurpur Kalan village in Mahoba’s Kulpahar tehsil has not only managed to grow urad (black gram) on his entire 13-acre field during kharif — sowing it in early-July just after the monsoon’s onset and harvesting by September 20 — but even planted chana (chickpea) on seven acres and matar (pea) on the balance six acres in the ongoing rabi season.
The first has to do with the monsoon.
But about 60 per cent of the land is farmed only during rabi.
“I got Rs 57,000 at the start of excavation and another Rs 28,550 after completion of earthwork.
Chandra isn’t the only one.
“This can easily take care of two irrigations, including paleva, for my matar and chana crops,” notes Patel, whose pond covers 0.1 acres and has received Rs 52,500 subsidy on a notified cost of Rs 1,05,000.
Jhansi district, like Mahoba, has recorded a mere 453.5 mm of monsoon precipitation this year, as opposed to its normal quota of 797.2 mm.
Having seen the results from their farm ponds, Patel and Chandra are now seeking more.
Although they cost more (ranging from Rs 1.20 lakh for 2HP and Rs 1.75 lakh for 3HP to Rs 5 lakh for 5HP, compared to Rs 35,000-40,000 for normal 8HP diesel engines), I save on fuel,” he adds.
During 2016-17, the UP government subsidised the construction of 2,000 farm ponds in Bundelkhand.

So far in Chhattisgarh, 96 tehsils in 21 districts have been declared drought-hit.
In MP, 133 tehsils in 18 districts.
In Rajasthan, 41 tehsils in 13 districts.
For the Kharif season, states may declare drought in any part till October 30.
These three states sought a combined financial assistance of Rs 11,186 crore, under consideration of the Centre.
Of this, MP sought Rs 3,706 crore, Rajasthan Rs 3,078 crore and Chhattisgarh Rs 4,401 crore.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) said this was due to Pacific cyclones over the Bay of Bengal pulling the monsoon current there, leading to the disappearance of rain over central and northern India.
IMD had earlier predicted the rains to be normal in August (at 99 per cent of the LPA) and in September, within a specified error range.
Actual rain in August was about four per cent less than normal; in September, almost 12 per cent less.
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Tourists, skiers, naturalists and campers have enjoyed the serene beauty of the range for almost a century now.
Now, scientists are revealing that sometimes even small environmental changes that we as humans might take as a mild annoyance can actually have a minute effect on these mountain ranges as well.
According to a recent report, California’s historic drought has caused a loss of water from the rocks on the mountains, and the range is now about one inch higher in height.
The NASA study showed that the "growth" occurred between 2011 and 2015.
But wait, there’s more news for the aspiring hydrologist in your family.
2016 and 2017 saw an increase in the snow and rain in the state, and that led to the rocks within the range regaining about a half an inch.
In this case, the one question they are attempting to answer is what happens below the soil.
Does the rainfall permeate the soil in the timber line of the mountain and extend downward?
These are all mysteries that hydrologists would like to solve.
The team arrived at this conclusion simply by relying on data from 1,300 GPS stations that were placed at various locations throughout the mountain range from 2006 through 2017.

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) — If you live in Southern California and can’t remember the last good-soaking downpour, it may be because it has been one of the driest times ever in the region.
"In the last 10 months in downtown Los Angeles, we’ve had less than an inch of rain.
It has been one of the driest 10 months in Southern California history," he said.
After five consecutive years of drought, last year’s rainfall was slightly above average.
RELATED: California landscapes start to return after drought Northern and central California had record-breaking snowpack, but Southern California didn’t get heavy snowfall.
"(It) felt like a deluge, but it really wasn’t that much.
But this year, we’re back in drought mode," he added.
The climatologist said it appears to be La Nina season.
"Normally, our wettest months are January, February and March, so there is still a little hope," Patzert said.
"But the presence of La Nina here at the equator doesn’t bode well for winter rainfall."

Napa County’s latest rain season looks a lot like the ‘D’ word and, unlike last year, that word isn’t “deluge.” Napa State Hospital as of Monday had received .03 inches of rain for the month, a mere spit of water.
December usually is among the rainiest months of the year with an average of 5 inches.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Steve Anderson predicted a Wednesday morning storm might bring a quarter-inch of rain, with dry weather following through the end of the month.
That means the city of Napa could end up receiving less than an inch during December.
Rather, dry weather and cold nights could then continue through Christmas and New Year’s Day, he said.
Pechner said medium-range weather forecasts hint at a pattern change in the second week of January.
The storm expected Wednesday morning is out of the Gulf of Alaska.
It is taking more of an overland trajectory, so it will be drier than if it came off the ocean.
The rain season runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
The season average by Dec. 31 is 10 inches, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

KISMAYO – On a visit to the recovering southern port city of Kismayo, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, pledged to continue investing in housing, education and livelihoods for returning refugees, IDPs and the local population.
“We see refugees … as an asset into which we need to invest.” “Refugees should be a force to rebuild the country when they decide to come back,” Grandi said, noting that UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, assisted over 100,000 to return over the past two years, while over one million remain in exile.
“We see refugees not as a humanitarian problem, but as an asset into which we need to invest,” he added.
In a meeting with the President of the State of Jubaland, Ahmed Mohamed Islam, the President spoke of the need for refugees who were educated and trained to come to Kismayo to contribute.
While some 19,000 refugees in the Dadaab refugee camp are currently in the pipeline for voluntary return, most Somali refugees cite security concerns as their top reason to remain in Kenya.
The UNHCR and Mercy Corps project is designed to provide returning refugees, but also a percentage of people who had been internally displaced as well as people from the local community, with a decent living environment so they can focus on educating their children and pursuing work.
What a great result to see young people go from being refugee to being back in their country, contributing to their country.” But the refugees are returning to a country with massive challenges.
Given the country’s current struggles, Somalia’s Federal President, Mohamed Farmajo, told Grandi at a meeting on Saturday in Mogadishu, “We want our people back.
“The best response to violence is education so what can be better that building a school,” Grandi said.
In his meetings with the Somalia leadership, Grandi recalled UNHCR’s work with Somali refugees since the start of the conflict in 1991.