Low Water Vegetable Gardening

Read on to learn about low-water inputs for a dry garden and how you can still grow food with a low-water vegetable garden.

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What is a low water vegetable garden?

Gardens need water to grow but do they need as much as we give them? Drier summers and droughts are becoming more common for many gardeners. Reducing water can mean that you can also reduce the fertilizer you use as well as reducing weeds. In this sort of gardening, we want to leverage the water that is already in the ground and get our plant roots to go down into the soil in search of the water that is already there.

Start low water vegetable gardening

So how can we store more water from winter or the rainy seasons to use it better in our gardens? Well, water catchment and storage is one way, but another is to improve the soil to make the capacity for holding onto water much better. So let’s talk about how you can use less water in your garden!

Step 1

We want deep soils with lots of humus in there that help to conserve moisture. We can help build deep soils year after year in our gardens by adding well-rotted compost and disturbing the soil less so using no-till or no-dig methods help to improve overall soil health as well as increase the amount of water the soil can hold.

Flat ground loses less water to drainage than a slope. Building terraces, swales or even hügelkultur beds can help retain more water in an area. Plan those structures carefully on a slope so things don’t all come sliding down.

In-ground or sunken garden beds or waffle gardens are also a technique that can help capture dew and help your plants get more water that is already available. Sunken beds retain water better than raised beds that dry out much faster.

Step 2

By not tilling the garden beds we can reduce water loss from the topsoil. We want to make sure that the soil is covered in our garden though so mulch is going to be your new bestie in the garden.

Step 3

Windbreaks can reduce evaporation from your plants so they are making use of the water they have available. Windbreaks can be edible hedges or planting taller plants to act as a buffer. Hazel and Jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes are common windbreaks but you can also use screens or fencing as a windbreak to reduce the impact of prevailing winds in your garden.

Step 4

We can help improve the soil structure before planting our veggies by using cover crops. Some that we sow in summer and leave in over winter like the field radish or tiller radish help to open up the soil. Cold winters will kill the plants and leave behind plant matter that will be providing nutrients and humus into the soil.

Other cover crops like rye have long roots that can help make channels for worms and other soil life to bring humus and compost deeper into the soil and will make it easier for your plant roots to grow even deeper.

Step 5

Let’s talk plant timings. We want to be planting when there is moisture in the ground. So earlier in the season, the water levels in the soil are much higher. Your plants have easy access to water in the soil. Through the course of the year, that water level is getting lower or deeper into the soil so your plants need to send their roots deeper to find the water. This is why bottom watering your seedlings can help your plants search for water, even as baby plants in your seed starting area indoors.

Step 6

Plant spacing is different in low water vegetable gardening. You want more space around your plants to reduce competition for the water in the soil so your plants have a better chance of surviving and being productive. Start with the wider spacing that is suggested on the seed packet if you are wanting to try this in your garden.

What plants grow well in low water vegetable gardening?

Let’s talk about the plants because there are some crops that can grow with low or no water inputs. I did tomatoes, potatoes, and summer squash using low water last year but melons, drying beans, and corn can also work well depending on your region.

Tepary beans are drought-tolerant beans that will do well under these low water conditions. A look through any online seed supplier and searching for drought-tolerant varieties is a good place to start but don’t be disheartened if you want to try this without buying new varieties of seeds.

Low water input for your garden isn’t going to give you a high yield but this can be a great step into seed saving. Your plants that are growing well can be good candidates for seed saving to grow your garden from the following year. Each time you save your seeds and grow your plants from them you are adapting your plants and your garden to lower inputs.

Dig In and Learn More

If this post has started ideas for your garden, be sure to check out these related posts and helpful books that have inspired my homestead garden:

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