Xeric Vegetable Gardens

I suppose I could save additonal water if I use a drip irrigation system, which puts the water exactly where it's needed while reducing evaporation. That will take some planning, but it's probably worth it, even if I have to dig the spaghetti tubes up and move them every time I rotate my crops. The soil in my gardens is usually very easy to work and with all of that hay, it shouldn't take much digging. I might even put the spaghetti tubes on top of the soil and cover them up with hay, which will be even easier.

My neighbor rotates his crops every year. If I use the drip irrigation system I'll probably rotate mine every third or fourth year, which is all you really have to do with nutrient - consuming crops such as corn.

Planting xeric vegies is another step I'll take to reduce the amount of water I use each summer. Most garden catalogs will tell you if a vegetable is "drought resistant" or "drought tolerant," although most expect you to have enough water for whatever they sell. Seeds of Change is one of the few plant catalogs which uses Xeric water symbols for crop plants. Although I've yet to find any very xeric vegies, they do offer "half - a - water - drop" vegetables and melons. They even tell you which of these and which of the full water drop vegies are better in droughts. They're 100% percent certified organic and have nifty posters, too. You can order a catalog and get your seeds in time for spring planting through the following address:

Seeds of Change PO Box 15700 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87506-5700

And how about that question I asked at the top of the page: Can we grow vegetables in a xeric area? I think we can. From the looks of my neighbors summer garden we should be able to do quite well all year around with plants growing in the appropriate season.

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