dry heat, tank prep, and canned tomatoes

Pad for the big tanks

Tank platform prior to decking

Tomato bed #4

Nicotiana

Our first grapes

It's been in the mid-nineties round here with nary a drop of rain for days and days. We've finally had to start watering with city water. One of my nicotianas is taller than me and has flowered. The squash and melons have wilted every afternoon, only to bounce back in the cool of the evening. Our tomatoes produced enough to need a canning session and the basil is starting to go to seed, so we now have fresh pesto. We've also been enjoying some grapes from the bamboo arbor.

Our friends from Bermuda are visiting, and while Suzy helped Jacq with the canning, Carl and I built an elevated platform for one of the 500 gallon tanks I ordered. We also built a ramp for getting the tanks, three 1550 gallon and three 500 gallon ones, off the truck. I had hoped they would arrive this week but it is not looking likely. I've moved the rain barrels onto the pad until the big tanks get here.
Another project Carl helped me with is the first flush diverter for the collection system. The main diverter at the top of the gutter downspout clears out the big debris before passing on the bulk of the runoff to the first flush unit. It involves a kit of parts to which one adds various PVC pipes and fittings. The long 4" pipe collects the appropriate amount of the first runoff, later drained or set to drip, and then seals to pass the water onto the tank. 

First flush and main diverter