As I sit down to write, sheets of heavy rain pounding the windows make it hard to think about drought.
Whether or not the current La Nina weather pattern means the third winter in a row of lower-than-average rainfall, most gardeners already see drought as a local condition rather than an event. Drought and the risk of wildfires remain in our future and demand response.
In ways large and not so large, we will need to rethink some traditional planting and maintenance practices.
Really, when it’s raining is the perfect time to think about drought by planning ahead for the inevitable return to dry conditions, and by undertaking big projects such as rain gardens and rainwater catchments while the rain is there to catch.
“We get more water than we need, even in a drought year,” Ken Taylor, chair of the Grass Roots Institute Water Coalition, says. “It’s about how we manage that water that makes a difference.”
Taylor proposes that we redirect rainwater runoff to storage and rain gardens, allowing it to sink into the soil and recharge our groundwater. Rainwater gardens use swales and mulch basins that filter and slow water flow, routing the water to valuable trees and plantings.
Small changes in our day-to-day gardening routines will also have a big impact. Here are four gardening practices I’ve adopted to keep my garden thriving. I present them here from minor to major in terms of relative effort but not in terms of importance because, for your garden, the first is the most important and the place to start.
Mulch, mulch, mulch and learn how to do it effectively. A minimum 3-inch layer of mulch, and for some plants more, keeps the soil from overheating and holds in its moisture. Up to 6 inches may be needed for food-bearing trees. The appropriate mulch material will vary by the type of bed; options include wood chips, commercial fir mulch, topsoil, compost of greater or lesser heat, or clippings from your plant trimmings.
What’s most important is to not engulf the stem with mulch, leaving breathing space and room for water to reach the plant roots.
Plant tight and like plants with like plants. Take great care when planting your beds, whether shrubs, flowers, or vegetables, to ensure that plants with like needs are grouped together. This is vital to conserving water while maintaining healthy plants.
Planting closely, sometimes called green mulch, is also critical says Master Gardener Johanna Brekke-Brownell.
“Planting closely allows your plants to shade the soil,” Brekke-Brownell says, “discouraging weeds and slowing condensation, while their root systems prevent erosion and hold water for each other.”
Water wisely. To conserve water use drip irrigation, unless you water by hand. I water carefully by hand, a practice of Biointensive gardening. I have beds and plants spread over a half-acre of garden and hand watering keeps me attentive to the condition of all the plants.
Some are long-established Mediterranean and Australian plants that attract pollinators, that I have let nature alone water for several years, carefully observing their condition and renewing their mulch. I also leave native plants in their second summer largely to themselves, although I water some during very high heat.
I regularly water seedlings, growing vegetables and other young plantings, including native plants. I water plants carefully, as needed, making sure to water the soil, not the plant. I’ve built three large, square, vegetable beds to take advantage of ollas. Ollas are low-fired ceramic vessels that have been used for over 4,000 years to irrigate crops. With most of the jug buried in the soil, the water it holds slowly seeps into the bed. Ollas save water and keep veggies evenly watered.
If your garden is in a fog zone, orient your beds so tall plants that grow on supports (think beans and peas) serve as a fog catcher for themselves and low-growing plants below that complement them, shading the soil and keeping it moist.
Postpone your garden clean-up until spring. Postponing your season-end clean-up into the early spring protects hibernating wildlife and ensures food for pollinators and other overwintering insects, and the birds that depend on eating them.
Standing perennial cover protects your soil from erosion and will encourage and protect critters that may not visit otherwise, adding natural beauty to your winter.
The dried husks of your plants capture and hold water for birds, frogs, and pollinators, and sustain soil microbes which slowly consume leaves and mulch, improving the soil’s capacity to hold water, making the garden healthier and more drought resistant for the summer to come.
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Author: Cornelia Reynolds