Drought Garden

[jansman]

Looking at my garden,it is doing ok under the weather - related circumstances.However,It is very sandy soil,and holds little moisture.The perennials and fruit trees are holding up,but some things have suffered badly.

So next year I am simplifying it,and using plants that have endured the heat.I grow a spaghetti marrow,which has done well with little attention.Of all the beans I grow,the Blue Lake French climbers have done best. Spuds have done ok too,( I do get some muck in there!) The greenhouse crops are great.Sure,they take some attention,but I dont overdo it.I dont have the time,and my back problem is ongoing and prohibits too much gardening.I shall be sticking with my Cayenne peppers,Gardeners Delight toms,Marmande toms.They are all reliable.The spinach beet has done well too.The sweetcorn is thriving ,and I watered it a couple of times when I planted it.I have White Rot in my ground,so I cannot grow an onion that will keep.However,the Japanese onions ,overwintered,do not contract the rot.I shall put in Spring Cabbage,as that will avoid pests.

And that is it.Another consideration is that in a grid down situation,water and time will be in short supply.

[daylen]

I was listening to a very interesting article on Radio 4 the other day that said we need to water our gardens differently as the temperature rises.

They mentioned that people in Cyprus (I think) watered the ground massively before planting. This water drained deep into the soil and encouraged the newly planted roots to grow deep.

It was suggested that our current method of watering often just encouraged the roots to stay shallow. As this soil dries out first, it means these plants can't cope with dry spells well.

In contrast, even quite thirsty plants in Cyprus could cope with prolonged periods of dry weather due to their deep roots.

Has anyone else heard of this? It sounds like it might be worth trying, although I'm not sure doing this with a clay soil would work too well.

[jansman]

Funnily enough it was on Gardeners Question Time 30 +years ago that one presenter recommended watering plants in over a day or two, and then letting them fend for themselves. Pots are a different matter of course.

I grow climbing beans for drying mainly, and the Blue Lake have proven themselves. However, I shall dig trenches and fill with newspaper and compostable waste this Winter - the old fashioned way. I shall dig stations for the Winter Squash too.

Mind you, I’ll bet that next Summer will be like a non- stop music festival, so I’ll have me wellies handy.

[moominmama]

i do not want to seem a bit strange, but can i put a word in for soil health, and compost! although we have a very small garden we have three compost bins, and space allowing are very productive which i put down to good soil health.

[jansman]

Couldn’t agree more.

[featherstick]

Watering style is critical. Too many people put a sprinkler on at midday, wasting a valuable resource. Watering should be done late evening or early morning, with a good soaking, preferably from a can, every few days. The timing allows the water to penetrate, and the soaking encourages roots to grow down. For row crops, trenches can be formed to capture the water along the length of the row. For individual crops, a mini-dam or a pot set in the ground beside the plant will help water use.

Mulches are incredibly effective in conserving water - paper, straw, mypex or whatever.

Soil health and compost are also extremely important as moominmama says. Dig it in!

I also grow on thin, silty soil on chalk. I've found that a layer of torn-up newspaper at the bottom of a trench or row is helpful in conserving water and keeping it available for plants for longer. The best peas I've grown were on a trench dug in autumn, lined with newpaper, and then filled with kitchen compost over the winter. Very successful.

[Arwen Thebard]

Ditto the composting comments.

Had some success with our hotbins this year.

https://www.hotbincomposting.com/

[featherstick]

Interesting on the hotbin. Does it require you to buy lots of inputs continually such as the starter and the bulking agent?

FWIW, I use "gentlemen's liquid" as a starter, and the Evening Standard as a bulking agent, which is extraordinarily satisfying.

[Arwen Thebard]

Nope, we just let nature take its course. We found keeping the balance between green and brown inputs takes a bit of getting used to. Other than that, great compost in super quick time and almost no food waste going into the rubbish bins. Ours was even subsidised by a local green group / council / grant

(Poss too much home brew in my system to use as a starter, likely to kill everything off )

[PreppingPingu]

The other thing is to plant cut off 1 and 2 litre drinks bottles in next to things such as courgettes. When I water, I pour into the bottle where it delivers it deep down, as well as on top of the soil. I am going to try next year some bottle with just small holes in them for a trickle feed and others as a larger open feed into the ground.