Drought-Proofing a Backyard Garden

With today's unpredictable weather patterns and concerns about climate change, many areas are undergoing extended droughts that can threaten a backyard garden. Luckily, there are ways to design your garden so that it is drought-resistant and can survive in times of low water availability. Here are a few tips on drought-proofing a backyard garden.

Drought-proof your backyard garden: Choose the right plants

Consider your area's normal yearly rainfall when choosing which plants to include in your backyard garden. Planning ahead by using drought-resistant plants will help minimize the damage if a drought does occur. Of course, droughts can happen even in areas that normally get plenty of rain. All it takes is one or two dry seasons to destroy your backyard garden if you do not take some drought-proofing measures.

Drought-proof your backyard garden: Protect the soil

After you have chosen the right types of drought-resistant plants for your garden, you should cover them with mulch to help the soil retain precious moisture. You can use organic mulches like chopped-up leaves, compost, or small pieces of bark. Synthetic mulches like plastic sheeting, gravel, or crushed rock will also help prevent moisture from evaporating out of the garden's soil. Organic mulches may be a better choice for drought-proofing a garden in hot climates because it also helps keep the soil temperature down.

Drought-proof your backyard garden: Using organic matter

Adding organic matter into the garden soil itself can make the soil more absorbent and reduce its need for frequent watering. If your soil is naturally dry or sandy, mixing in some organic matter like manure or compost may be the only way you can adequately drought-proof the area. The best way to drought-proof your garden soil is to prepare your planting beds this way before growing any crops. If you have already planted your crops for the season, add some compost or decayed leaf matter on top of the dirt, packed around the plants stem area. The organic matter used to drought-proof your garden will erode over time, so re-do your planting beds between growing seasons to get the best results.

Drought-proof your backyard garden: Water efficiently

Strive for maximum efficiency in your watering setup. This will reduce the garden's overall watering needs and make your plants more likely to survive times of scarce water availability. Group your backyard garden's plants together based on their watering requirements. This makes it easier to water everything in one planted bed at once and skip the other areas that do not need more water yet. In case of a severe drought where water is rationed by the city, you can decide which crops can go without and allocate your limited allotment of water where it is needed most.