Drought (the new normal?)
This summer Connecticut faced drought conditions which had an inevitable impact on our gardens and on us gardeners who have to change our habits to coup with climate extremes. With little rain over a long period of time, I lost some expected recently added plants that were not yet situated and resilient enough to survive, old reliable native perennials I inherited in my garden disappeared, and edibles bolted or stagnated confused by nature’s signals. More than one organic veggie grower I know expressed the stress and sadness over the loss of crops and the extra labor that weather extremes put on their efforts. Meanwhile, one of my clients put it plainly that, given the state of many of our wells, there’s just no water to water with! So what do we do? Drought and other weather extremes may be our new normal in the face of climate change and we have to find ways to adjust both our habits and our gardens to cope.
Here are a few strategies you can begin today and add for tomorrow to help your garden through drought.
1.
Get new plants out of pots and into the ground where they dry out less quickly. Find a shady spot for anything that can’t be planted right away and consider in ground seed starting beds to cut back on what you have in trays and plugs.
2.
Mulch! At least an inch of wood chips, leaves or compost will not only feed the plant as it breaks down but help to hold in moisture and worm activity will break compaction and allow waterings to be more productive.
3.
Water at the base of plants not on the leaves and water with repetition. Do you ever notice water running off across the surface of the soil rather than sinking in to your plants roots? Give a small initial watering to wet the root area of soil and make it permeable, then come back and water thoroughly. It may sound crazy, but if a storm is predicted I often do a mini water first so actual rain is more productive. A drip irrigation system (rather than a sprinkler) can be installed to do this work.
4.
Add a rain barrel. As the water in our wells is getting lower a rain barrel is a fabulous resource to make the most of each rain storm. Position these close to the garden in an area of large roof run off, then even small rains that might only sprinkle the garden can be efficient resources.
5.
Divide your garden into zone an rotate watering. Our well can handle some watering each day but cannot handle me watering everything at once- it runs dry! If I water one area each day on a rotation it ensures nothing goes without for too long while giving the water in the well a chance to regenerate.
6.
Time of day matters! Try watering early in the morning or in the evening while avoiding the hottest part of the day. This will help you avoid loss to evaporation.
7.
Plant more! Sounds crazy right! When plants are planted close together, they shade neighbors reducing competition from weeds and loss of moisture on the surface.
8.
Plan for the future with drought tolerant perennials, or choosing bush varieties of veggies that don’t need to transport moisture up long vines.
9.
Strip off leaves and harvest at once- this is a veggie growing tip! Plants like tomatoes use a lot of water to sustain foliage. Once green fruit is full sized cut back leaves to reduce evaporation and keep water going to the fruit.
10.
Plants are not offended by grey water. Look for easy to reuse water sources in your home. We get a gallon a day from a dehumidifier and collect a bucket in the shower just waiting for the water to warm. And if you are putting in a new garden consider making it a “rain garden” that accesses storm run off.
