Drought-Tolerant GardensWhat benefits does your garden provide?

Sustainable Gardening Functional Landscaping Edible plants, herbs Wildlife habitats, restoring native plants Use shade trees to reduce air conditioning use Chemical-free Insect Pest Management (cultivating natural predators) On-site composting Cultivate a rich web of soil microorganisms

(helps sequester carbon) Plant choices that match our climate Preserve biodiversity; choose Safe Seeds Capture and infiltrate rainwater Treat the garden as a whole ecosystem

For a low-water vegetable garden1. Build great soil, rich with live soil organisms - the earthworms and all their microscopic friends. Think about what

the worms would like, and you'll have great soil. Mix in compost, to feed your worms & their friends. Cover with mulch, to shelter your wriggly friends. Walk on the pathways, never on the growing beds, so that your worms have air pockets in the soil. Great soil absorbs all the water you give it, with no runoff waste, and holds water longer, for much slower evaporation. Meanwhile, the cutting edge of soil science is discovering that great soil, well-managed and rich with microorganisms, is the cheapest and hugest carbon sink we have, with enormous power to slow down global warming. Learn more in "The Secrets of Soil Building" ebook available at www.Change-Making.com/shop

Environmental Change-Makerswww.EnviroChangeMakers.org Joanne's blog: www.Change-Making.com

A drought-tolerant edible garden can feed you and your family, perhaps with extra to share with your neighbors and the food pantry too. A drought-tolerant edible garden boosts the nutrition in your food, provides you with exercise and fresh air, helps reduce your food miles, and can sequester carbon (which helps to reduce global warming).

A drought-tolerant California Natives garden can be a beautiful haven for bees, pollinators, butterflies, beneficial insects, birds, and urban wildlife.

sustainable

^

Gravel + suck-ulents sustainability.

2. Design with water in mind. For every gallon that comes to your property -- via municipal pipes or rainfall figure out how to keep it on your property and use it. Re-think the surface of your landscape: use grading and sunken beds to encourage water to sink in instead of running off. Rather than sending rainwater to storm drains, capture it and channel it to infiltration pits or tanks. Quit discarding lightly used water (graywater), and soak it into your landscape instead. Make a garden sink to wash vegetables, and shift how you use the kitchen sink. Design vertical structures, such as vines on trellises, both to maximize growing space and to utilize the shade spots they create.

3. Match your plant selections to the water reality we have. Leave tropical plants to tropical geographies. For every vegetable plant species, generations of seedsavers have created varieties which are more tolerant of heat and drought; we should be using these varieties exclusively. Match your plant selections to the season: cool season plants in cool season, and warm with warm. Use hydroscaping, sorting plants in your garden by water needs; for your few water-needy plants, put them together in a shady spot.

4. Learn wiser watering techniques. Water your soil, not your plants, to save water and prevent diseases. Test the soil (the one-finger test) before you water anything, so as not to overwater. Apply water long and slow and deep. Hand-watering is best for vegetables so you can observe what is happening with each plant. Consider low-tech, like ollas and bucket-drip. If you absolutely must use tech irrigation, get a weather-sensing controller. Never water sidewalks and asphalt; they wont grow.

Vegetables and food plants that thrive in low or ultra-low water conditions in Southern California

Amaranth African basil (Ocimum kilimandscharicum) Arugula sylvetta the small-leafed, intensely-flavored perennial

arugula Arugula (W) Chicory (W) Grapes Cowpea / blackeyed pea especially the varieties developed by

Native Americans in the desert southwest Cumin Fennel perennial in our area. Produces fennel seed under

severe drought conditions. Bulbing varieties needs some irrigation to form the succulent stems we call fennel bulbs

Garbanzo beans need water supply turned off once the pods form

Italian dandelion/Catalogna chicory (Cichorium intybus) (W)

Lentils need water turned off once the pods formMexican oregano (Lippia graveolens)Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida)Molokheiya / Egyptian spinach (Corchorus olitorius), a mild-flavored green with coarse woody stems which tolerates searingheat quite wellNopales (Opuntia species) both the paddles and the fruit of this large cactus are edible Par cel herb leaf celery (W)PomegranatesQuelites are a form of Lambs quarters used as greens Quinoa source of the high-protein grain that is gaining in popularity, the young leaves are edible as a potherbSpanish mint / Cuban oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus)Tomatillos, especially varieties from the desert SouthwestWatermelons, especially varieties from the desert Southwest

Heirloom varieties (of familiar vegetable plants) that were developed for drought-tolerant conditions. For instance there are squash, bean, melon, and corn varieties that were developed by Native Americans in the desert Southwest. There are drought-tolerant rice varieties developed over generations in India.

Mediterranean herbs such as oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme all perennials in our area Certain medicinal herbs, like aloe vera, lavender, calendula, California poppy, feverfew, horehound, ma huang (Ephedra

sinica); white sage (Salvia apiana), yarrow.

Low-to-moderate water needs Artichokes (W) since they flourish in our winter, and die

back in summer, they can tolerate summer dryness Bay leaf (Italian Laurus nobilis or California Umbellularia

californica) Chili peppers the hot kinds tolerate drought conditions

better than the sweet/bell kinds (F) Citrus (lemons, oranges, tangerines, limes, grapefruit,

kumquats) most want to dry out between waterings Fava beans (W)

Figs (F)Feijoa / pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) (F)Jujube / Chinese date (Zizyphus jujube)Saffron crocus (Crocus sativus)Strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum)SunflowersSome tomatoes some of the wilder varieties of cherry and current tomatoes are remarkably drought-tolerant

Environmental Change-Makerswww.EnviroChangeMakers.org Joanne's blog: www.Change-Making.com

(F) = plant itself does fine in drought conditions, however irrigation improves fruit

(W) highly drought-tolerant during Southern Californias winters, when cooler temperatures mean slower moisture evaporation

Sustainable GardeningFor a low-water vegetable gardenVegetables and food plants that thrive in low or ultra-low water conditions in Southern CaliforniaLow-to-moderate water needs