Like many Wangaratta residents, Kath and Bernie Holmes have faced a challenging summer in their garden, contending with unusually dry conditions but recent rainfall could be a turning point.

The Rural City of Wangaratta experienced a downpour of 27.4mm from 9am Sunday to 9am Monday this week, the most significant rainfall the city has seen in a single day since 24 June 2025 when the Bureau of Meteorology’s (BOM) weather station at Wangaratta Airport recorded 29.4mm.

On Tuesday 0.2mm was recorded, 15mm on Wednesday and 1.8mm on Thursday, bringing this month’s rainfall up to 45.8mm, the highest the city has recorded since July last year when 65.6mm was recorded.

Despite the difficulties, Bernie and Kath have managed to cultivate a variety of produce including tomatoes, corn, potatoes, cumbers and pumpkin, though not without significant effort.

Bernie planted corn in stages to ensure a staggered harvest.

“While the first lot was reasonable, subsequent plantings yielded little cobs that didn't respond to water, despite consistent watering,” he said.

He also recently planted another batch of corn in the same spot where he had dug up potatoes.

Tomatoes, which Bernie initially wasn't going to plant due to issues with fruit fly, have been tremendous.

He picks them early, before they turn red, to prevent birds from finding them, and then ripens them on a windowsill.

Bernie said this year's tomatoes haven't ripened as usual, attributing it to "too hot" days, as warm nights typically aid ripening.

The dry summer has necessitated extensive watering, which Bernie believes has likely increased their water bill.

“The recent rain hasn’t made a significant difference yet,” he said.

“The dry spell has also taken a toll on other plants in the garden, our box hedge is dying in patches, and a tree near the road that was planted about 15 years ago which never needed watering before, now requires attention.

“We’ve been watering them on a timed sprinkler system but it’s not the same as other years.”

Like the Holmes, much of the rural city has seen increased water usage, with water storages dropping this month.

According to Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) Lake Buffalo is sitting at 82.74 per cent of capacity at 19447ML, slightly below October-January percentages which were sitting in the high 90s.

Lake William Hovell has also dropped, with GMW recording it at 74.07 per cent of capacity at 10140ML.

The wet weather forecast is expected to continue into next week, hopefully bringing some much-needed moisture back into the area.