The rain in Spain falls where?

Well they say the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains but it would seem that most of it fell into my garden today! LOL

The rain has not stopped yet today, no break in the clouds, nothing, we had some thunder earlier also, I am very worried about my vegetables that are growing in the garden, I expect they are drowning silently and slowly right now, fortunately our garden has a nice downhill slope from top to bottom so at least it is not pooling around the vegetables.

I don't think we can get out of our gate at the moment though, well not without wearing wellies anyway, I dread to think what the track looks like, we don't drive a 4x4, we have an Audi A6, which is 4 wheel drive but I still don't fancy our chances right now.

The pool is overflowing and adding to the situation, we have all the blinds down because the rain is lashing so much it is coming through!!!

I have lived in Spain for 10 years and never have I seen rain as bad as this, granted I have seen heavy rain and when it comes in Spain it certainly doesn't mess about, however, this has to be the worst, it certainly wasn't as bas as this last winter.

It was suggested to me that I get some bricks and form some kind of small wall as a defence for the vegetable plot but I have a better idea in the form of raised beds and after seeing this weather today, the next job on the list has to be raised beds, that is when the rain stops falling!

I wish Spanish houses would build their properties using damp coursing and insulation, it would make the houses a lot more economic and green when trying to heat them for the few months a year that we need to.

Anyone else living in a Finca and suffering from heavy rains today, is your house insulated or does it have damp coursing?

The Mediterranean Gardener

Broadly speaking, our blog is about gardeners living in warm temperate regions that experience four months of hot, almost totally dry summer weather and wet but sunny winters, with the lowest annual temperatures of between 2ºC/35ºF and 6ºC/21ºF. As well as in the regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea, such conditions are to be found in parts of central and southern California, in South Africa's western Cape Province, in parts of southern, western and eastern Australia and along some of the coast of Chile.

In a Mediterranean climate, it is drought rather than cold that presents a hazard to plant life. Fortunately it is possible, to a large extent, to alleviate dry conditions by watering - at least, this is possible for those who have a good water supply!

By a good supply we mean one that will not disappear just when it is needed most - at the peak of summer - and also one that is relatively free of dissolved salts, which, even in weak solution, are harmful to plants. In many coastal areas the increased use of water because of tourism has drawn sea water into the aquifers and has increased salinity to levels which few plants accept.

Water that has passed through those types of water softener that are regenerated from common salt is also sodium-rich and destructive to healthy plant grow. If you have no alternative but to use salty water, you should choose plants that are specially adapted to saline coastal conditions (we will talk about those plants later) and give preference to those that are drought resistant too. If, on the other hand, you are determined to have a garden of verdant lawns, green foliage and bright flowers, you will have to provide a source of pure water and an efficient system of applying it regularly and economically.