Careful Planning and Conservation Can Ease the Effects of a Drought

Droughts may very well hang over gardeners and farmers in parts of the United States this summer. Large areas are reported much drier than last year even though spring has begun to bring relief to some sections of the West. Parts of Montana, California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington are still very very dry.It's going to take a lot more than just one good month of precipitation to ease the drought in those areas. Droughts are not a problem that have a quick solution because they are a creeping phenomenon sometimes taking months or even years to develop.

What can you do in the face of drought? Check for auxiliary irrigation sources. If possible, utilize drip irrigation for individual plants instead of general sprinkling. Stop faucet leaks, cut down on lawn watering, toilet flushing and the volume of shower spray. Revive the rain barrel collection system and conserve household, bath and laundry water. Clean rinses and cooking water may be used in the garden and on trees, window boxes and indoor plants. Drought-tolerant plants are available including beets, turnips, carrots, radishes, onions, beans, peas, collards and sweet potatoes. Corn, melons and tomatoes need lots of water for their smaller return.

Mulch your garden with moisture retaining organic material. The more organic matter you add to condition soil, especially to sandy soil, the more drought-resistant it will be because it will increase soil water-holding capacity. Such materials include peat moss, leaves, straw, vermiculite and old manure. These materials act like sponges, absorbing water. Clay soils retain more water than sandy soils. Make trenches or furrows near garden rows and flood them with water that penetrates into the root zones.

Use hoses with tiny drip holes to help water sink deep and to reduce overhead sprinkling evaporation. Large gardens need more water, so use a smaller, more intensive plot. Use wide rows and cut down on walkways. Staking and pruning tomatoes increases sunscald potential and requires more water. If you use raised beds, recommended for soggy garden lands, add moisture-retaining - material and mulch walkways heavily. Unless you have ample water to irrigate between beds, it might be a good idea to grow on flat land or in the furrow. Trellising, while a space saver, encourages unnecessary water loss (transpiration) in most plants. Instead of conventional single rows, grow in wide rows, which produce more crops and reduce watering. Plants grown closely form a screen of vegetation that shades the soil. Reduced sunshine on plants and soil reduces transpiration, so grow in partial shade, a help in drought. Interplant vegetables with perennial shrubs and flowers around the house to save space and for shade.

Sources:

Fine Gardening Editors Gardening in Small Spaces: Creative Ideas from America's Best Gardeners (Fine Gardening Design Guides) 2002

Kingsbury, Noel Natural Gardening in Small Spaces 2006

Ruppenthal, R.J. Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting 2008