Dry vegetable garden? How to protect plants against drought

The barrels are empty, no irrigation system or water connection, checking the rain radar in vain, global warming (read: dehydration)... It's that time again, we have a dry vegetable garden. In my village, only 23.2 mm of rain fell in the last two months, April and May. In 2016, that was 85.7 mm. The years before were similar. After all the complaining and grumbling about too little rain, I started looking for other solutions. Solutions we can actually influence—the climate unfortunately doesn't listen to us. There are regions in the world that are even drier than ours, and yet they practice agriculture there too. I have collected the following tips.

Dry farming is a strategy for agriculture and horticulture where rain and groundwater are scarce. By definition, dry farming is growing vegetables without irrigation in a climate that has only 50 mm or less rainfall per year. That is never the case for us, but the techniques used can help us during the drier months.

Vegetables and other crops need water for germination, growth, and fruit production. Plants also absorb nutrients through water. We speak of drought when plants fail to absorb water. That is not the same as dry conditions. If you live in a dry region or if the rain taps stay shut in your area, you can still enjoy a productive vegetable garden. Dry farming is not gardening without water; it is growing crops with limited amounts of water and making the most of very little.

Determine a few goals before you start the vegetable garden season if you want to grow vegetables in dry conditions.

• Catch every drop of rain you possibly can.
• Choose crops or varieties that survive in dry conditions.
• Ensure the soil is not left exposed; otherwise, moisture evaporates immediately. Invest in mulch material.
• Avoid evaporation of the water that is abundantly present after the winter months.

Here are some simple, practical examples to achieve your dry garden goals mentioned above.

• Add organic matter to your garden. Well-rotted compost or manure. The more, the better. Add at least 1 cm of well-rotted compost or manure twice a year: once in early spring and once in autumn. With 1 big bag of 1 cubic meter (1000 liters or about 15 bags of 60 liters) of compost, you can cover a 50 m² garden twice with a 1 cm layer. Buy good, weed-free compost. Compost from waste processing companies is often full of seeds. You know what happens when weeds germinate ... they take water from the soil.
• Apply a layer of mulch around your crops. It keeps moisture in the soil and acts as an insulator. The temperature fluctuations in your vegetable garden's "restaurant" (where your plants feed) will remain pleasantly constant. You can mulch with well-rotted (weed-free) compost, straw (without grain heads, as those germinate too), leaves, grass, newspaper, cardboard, etc. If you use compost, be careful not to apply it right against the plant stems, as your stems could rot. Mulch will also protect your vegetable garden soil from dry wind and the scorching sun.
• Keep your garden weed-free. Weeds compete with your vegetables for soil water, nutrients, and light. Remove weeds by hand when they are 5 to 8 cm tall and before they take away too much water, light, and food from your vegetables. You can also hoe. This involves working the top layer of the soil to expose weed roots, causing them to die. Dead weeds are also a form of mulch; you can certainly leave them there. Never allow weeds to seed themselves and multiply. Your back will thank you.

Work your garden surface regularly

• Work your vegetable garden soil at the surface; loose soil absorbs moisture faster than caked or compacted soil. If you use mulch, you kill two birds with one stone. Well-tilled soil absorbs up to 70% of water during rainfall. Also, till 5 to 8 cm deep after every period of rain.
• Till your vegetable garden soil every year with a broadfork. This loosens the top 25 cm of your soil well, allowing more moisture to be stored deep in the ground until your plants need it. In loose soil, you give vegetables the chance to develop a deeper root system and absorb moisture more easily. Never till your soil if it is too wet or too dry; a good time is in the autumn. Weeds won't grow back quickly then because temperatures are dropping. You can then apply your layer of compost (see above).
• We all want to get as many vegetables as possible out of our garden. But with sandy soil that dries out quickly or if little water is available, it is good to space your sowing and planting slightly further apart. Multiply the planting and sowing distances from the crop guides on our site by 1.5, and you will harvest more in a dry vegetable garden than if you don't. With fewer plants, water also stays in the soil longer, which is good news for the vegetables you will harvest. What good are 100 baby-finger-sized carrots when you could harvest 50 nice, thick ones?
• Plant early varieties or choose an early crop. Early in the year, there is more moisture in the soil. For example, plant more early potatoes than late potatoes. Or choose a "widow's crop" cauliflower. Sow indoors where you have better access to water. In our videos about How to sow with Buzzy Seeds and Horti Tops, I often get the comment: "I sow those directly." With all due respect, but I can sow very little in my sandbox at the moment. Unless I stand next to it with a watering can (I'm exaggerating).
• Grow mini or dwarf varieties. Like 'Tiny Tim' tomatoes in pots, the 'Iznik' snack cucumber, or 'Parijse Markt' carrots. Fewer large vegetables also means smaller leaves, smaller fruits, and therefore less water consumption. Often, a large cucumber just ends up drying out in the fridge, especially if you have a small family. Harvest your vegetables earlier. I harvest my broccoli when they are the size of a large orange. You get more flavor, and when there is too little moisture, they tend to bolt prematurely anyway.

Amsterdamse bak is an early variety and can therefore be harvested quickly.

• When sowing, thin out a bit earlier in your dry vegetable garden. Under ideal conditions, you would thin out onions, leaf lettuce, or carrots when you can already eat them (as spring onions, baby lettuce, or young carrots), but in a dry vegetable garden, it's better to do it earlier. Let the strongest seedlings grow on very quickly; consider it weeding, where you prevent other plants from stealing water from your vegetables.
• Do not harvest too late, but at the peak of the vegetable or even slightly before. This way, the plant doesn't keep taking up water while the taste and texture diminish. Save some water for a subsequent crop.
• Use a drip irrigation system if available; it works very well and gives your plants water gradually. Cover your drip system with straw to prevent evaporation. Do use a timer and adjust the flow rate according to the needs of your vegetable garden.
• It is better to water thoroughly once than a little bit every day. Plant roots follow the water. Water your dry vegetable garden deeply with a fine spray nozzle so the water seeps down deep and doesn't run off your lightly tilled soil. Water the base of your plants in the morning. If you are worried about getting the stems or leaves wet, do it in the evening; that gives your plants enough time to dry off before night falls. And it prevents them from scorching in the intense sun.
• Collect as much water as possible. Use it at the garden shed or the chicken coop and make compost tea. You can make compost tea by mixing equal parts water and old, well-rotted compost. Compost tea is a substance rich in nutrients and is absorbed immediately by the plants, unlike organic fertilizer pellets. Remember, plants drink their food.
• Protect your dry vegetable garden with a natural windbreak so your garden dries out less quickly. This could be a hedge or a fence. You can also use sunflowers or Jerusalem artichokes. Some people also use weed control fabric.
• For people with a small vegetable garden, this isn't an option, but leaving your soil fallow for a year without crops can bring your water table back up to level. This is also a technique used in dry gardening in combination with mulch.

There you go, instead of complaining too much about the lack of rain, I used my time to find information and tips about gardening in a dry vegetable garden. That way, I will be better prepared for next year. 

Protect your vegetable garden against drought by covering the soil with mulch, adding organic matter such as compost, and collecting rainwater. Also keep weeds under control so your vegetables have less competition for the available water.

It is better to give enough water once than a little bit every day. By watering deeply, you encourage plants to root deeper. This allows them to better access the moisture present deeper in the soil. 

The morning is a good time to water. Preferably, water at the base of the plants so that it reaches the roots directly and as little as possible is lost.

Yes. A layer of mulch helps retain moisture in the soil for longer and protects the ground from sun and dry wind. For example, you can use straw, leaves, grass, compost, or cardboard.

If water is limited, preferably choose early varieties and smaller or dwarf varieties. By growing and harvesting earlier, crops can take advantage of the moisture present in the soil earlier in the season.

Yes. Drip irrigation provides water to your plants gradually and can therefore be very suitable during dry periods. By covering the soil around the system with straw, for example, you can further limit evaporation.

Regularly add organic material such as compost and ensure loose, healthy soil. A well-structured soil can absorb and retain water better, while allowing plants to root deeply more easily.