Gardening is so great because it's fun to learn and so exciting to grow your own food. It's both relaxing and a lot of hard work. It also teaches us a lot about respecting the natural world and how we can do our part to help the plant. A big part of that is being water-wise, especially as a seed producer here in the Southwestern part of the United States. I want to share some tips & info about gardening in a semi-arid environment and during drought seasons.
0:35 Intro & Water Capture Systems
There's so much to talk about when it comes to this topic, but I'm going to focus on a few key areas. Let's start with talking about saving money on your water bill by utilizing a rain capture system. I have a couple of other videos that talk more about my system here too:
1. • Going Off-Grid by Harv...
2. • IT'S RAINING! 4 Things...
I'm standing next to one of our rain barrels, and we have several cisterns around the property. Even though we haven't had rain in months, there's still some water in here. Rainwater (although recent studies show it's getting poisoned) is excellent for your plants because it hasn't been treated. So we capture free water off of the roof AND it's better quality than what comes out of the hose.
San Diego usually only gets about 10 inches of rain per year. So does this even make sense for gardeners here? It absolutely does for us, and it just might for you too. Our roof is about 1,200 square feet. That means this 800-gallon tank can fill up in minutes!
4:45 Mulch
You've heard me say it before, and I will say it again. Use mulch in your garden! I've used truckloads and truckloads of it, and I will keep using it.
It protects your soil from the sun and wind. It also holds in moisture and moderates temperatures which is key to having healthy soil that's full of life. Plus, it helps suppress weeds and makes them easier to pull.
When we moved to this property, it just had dirt. It was dead and dry. By adding moisture, plants, and mulch, our soil quality has completely transformed. I've talked about this a lot, so I won't say too much more about it. I think you get the point :)
7:56 Reduce Evaporation
This is something that mulch helps with a lot, but you can further help reduce evaporation from both the soil as well as your plants with shade cloth.
Shade cloth comes rated in different percentages of how much sunlight gets filtered out. That's what makes it very different from just putting your plants under a patio or under awning cloth. Knowing how to use it, though, is just as important.
First, you don't want to use shade cloth that's more than 40 or 50%. Reducing the UV rays by too much is going to starve your plants of the sunlight that they need to photosynthesize and grow. You'll end up with stunted plants.
We use shade cloth during the hottest parts of the year and for plants that are more sensitive to wilting or things like sun-scald. We also use it for protecting seedlings!
10:33 Irrigation
Going back to the topic of water, irrigation is essential for all gardeners, especially in hotter climates. I've tried hand watering parts of my garden before, and it takes hours every week, I would sometimes miss a day, or I would remember in the hottest part of the day.
Investing in infrastructure like irrigation is going to save you tons of time in the long run. It allows you to set up and easily control how much water the different parts of your garden are getting, what time you water, what days, and for how long.
There are a lot of systems to choose from and ways to set it up for your garden. I recommend some kind of drip system so you get water right at the soil level and near your plants. We water early in the morning, and we water only where plants are growing (otherwise, weeds will start to take over).
14:46 Recap
Gardening in a drought is totally possible. Make the most of natural resources by capturing rain water, mulching, using shade cloth, and irrigating.
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