Drought Tolerant Vegetable Garden Tips

 

Drought tolerant vegetable garden tips are important for many people who have little or no rain during their gardening season. There are tips that can allow you to grow vegetable in your garden even when there is a drought. This article will provide you with several tips for drought tolerant vegetable gardens.

1. When growing a drought tolerant vegetable garden it is important to know what vegetables can handle the drought. Some popular vegetables that can live in dry conditions are New Zealand Spinach, jalapenos, pole and snap beans, mustard greens, eggplant, okra, chickpeas, and cowpeas. There are also certain types of zucchini, squash, and tomatoes that are drought tolerant as well. It is important to remember that cool weather crops need a lot of water, and summer crops can handle drought much better than cool weather crops.

2. Watering your garden is necessary to having a healthy garden, but a drought may really diminish the amount of water available for your garden. Watering your garden in the evening will greatly increase the amount of water that is actually used by your plants. When you water your vegetable garden early in the day the water may evaporate quickly instead of being taken in by your plants. Watering in the evening will maximize the amount of water your vegetable garden has to use.

3. Mulch and compost is your best friend when you are creating a drought tolerant vegetable garden. Adding compost to your soil will increase the soils ability to hold in moisture. It will also greatly benefit your plants for the obvious reasons. Mulching your garden is another important way to keep moisture in the dirt instead of letting it evaporate. Mulching will also keep weeds out of your garden which will save water for the plants you really want to get watered.

4. Plant vegetables close together in your drought tolerant vegetable garden in order to maximize on space and water usage. Creating a covered are by close cropping is a great way to keep moisture in the dirt instead of letting it evaporate back into the air. Close cropping is also a great way to increase the production of your plants by using companion planting.

5. The way you water your garden is also important when you have a drought tolerant garden. Watering once every few days heavily will cause the roots of plants to dig deeper into the earth to receive water, and this will increase the drought tolerance of your vegetables.

Planting a drought tolerant vegetable garden can be tricky, but these tips will help make sure your drought tolerant vegetable garden is successful.