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Drought
"Billy" wrote in message
FarmI, and any other farmers who live in drought stricken areas, I would appreciate hearing on how you are coping and what plants are performing best for you. Sorry Billy, haven't been reading for a few days so didn't see your question - too bloody hot here to do anything but loll around contemplating one's navel. Yes, I've "googled" drought resistant vegetables and found some good sites like http://extension.oregonstate.edu/new...toryType=garde I assume you are interested only in veg so will talk about that (if flowers, use plants from South Africa or Aus) and probably wont' get to cover all the things I do but here's a few thoughts: Mulch and shade are very important! When you plant seedlings, use a fine mulch. I use chaff (alfalfa or wheaten chaff). As plants grow use bigger, less fine mulch (hay/straw). For corn and tomatoes, shove it on in buucket loads as both these plants put out new roots into the mulch. For spuds, mulch as the haulms grow. If the sun is really severe, then shade plants. I do this with either shade cloth, cuttings off Sacred Bamboo (I also use this if I have to plants when it's hot - the leaves fall off over time as the plant hardens up) and even a light bird netting - it seems to just give a bit of protection to make a more gentle microclimate. I often plant things in semi shade - like lettuces or herbs so that they get afternoon shade but morning sun. I also use upturned plastic pots with huge cuts in the side over things If I notice that the sun is causing then to shrivel. I have one bed that has wire all roudn it so I can drape an old floor leangth curtain over if need be. Old sheets are also useful for this. Don't waste water. Plant things into a depression so that if you have to hand water, the water stays around the roots and percolates down. Mulch depression. Evening watering if you can. As soon as you notice something needs water give it some - dont' wait 'cos an hour or two later can be too late. We're often moving hoses around long after dark which makes fun when you have the sort of venomous snakes that we do and that are supposedly nocturnal - we go through lots of torch (flashlight) batteries. Plant early and late if weather allows. In our early spring it's sometimes too cold and in our mid summer it's too hot to plant so I plant after the local gardening calendar says I should and hope that the seeds/seedlings/plants survive. One example, this year Broad (Fava) Bean seeds went in about 2 months later than was supposed to be their last Spring planting time. Not a huge crop harvested but still enough to be wortth the time and the space and the small outlay. Himself has always cliamed to hate all forms of beans, but I convinced him to actually taste one Broad Bean and he loved it so much that I then had to share the crop with him. Guess I'll have to plant a greater number next year to allow for a new addict. Some forms of planting can also be counter intuitive. Some things I plant very close together and somethings I plant further apart. Close - trees, lettuce, herbs, spuds, corn. Further apart - Rhubarb, Asparagus, Artichokes, tomatoes. Wind - stop it if you can. We get hugely hot westerlies and they can fry things to a crisp in a few hours. Over the years I've put up an 8 ft shade cloth fence with a windbreak on the windward side of it using acacias and small native shrubs. On the veg garden side of it, I've planted things like figs and apple trees and Prune trees. On the east of the veg garden I have a low hedge of Photinia Red Robin (or somesush name) with artichokes in a row inside that and flowers such as Agapanthas on the far (lawn ) side of the Photinia hedge. Depends on how hot it gets where you are Billy. Here it gets over the ton and can stay that way for a week of so. That isn't too bad if it comes on gradually, but lately it seems to be cold then a couple of days later it's stinking hot. That, I think is more of a problem that ongoing heat (except if therre is hto winds along with the heat). Hope some of that helps. More might occur to me as responses twig my memory. |
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