Making Irrigation Possible in Drought

When do you prepare for the worst? While it's still the best!  I'm not simply accepting the doom and gloom.

Look, we've been bombarded for over a year now with the very real prospects of financial collapse, scarcity of all sorts, and doubling of food prices (and the rest). War continues and now, we are facing a bigger drought than we have seen for a long while. Sure, it's true. Designed that way. Some things we can change, some we can't. I'm focusing on what we CAN do. Anyone with me? 

We can't change the direction or intensity of the ocean currents and their effects, but we can get doing and start putting systems in place to counter some of the negatives that come with it. So, I suggest you sort your irrigation now to grow a lush garden even in a drought.

Here are 3 ways to manage your garden water.

We have rain now in the UK. So when it's raining we catch and store it.

Use Water butts, buckets, pots, pools, pond and anything that will hold water. Save your grey water (from dish sink, shower or bath, washing machine) as long as you use eco detergents. Please remember that you cannot store the grey water. Use it cooled immediately. 

In the garden, wood is amazing at being a sponge so use hugelculture principles in building beds. The wood holds onto water keeping the soil above moist. 

Woodchips are great for covering the ground but remember, fresh on the paths and at least a year old on the beds. Fresh will remove nitrates from the soil but in a year's time, they will begin to release nitrates. Solution...bucket, urine, dilute, drench the wood cover! simple. 

On the beds and between plants, mulch is the tool to prevent evaporation and keep the soil moist and cool.  Good mulches include straw (can't get that now), hay, lawn clippings, shredded and saoked paper, leaves. All of these work well but make ideal hiding places for slugs and can also exclude water from reaching the ground underneath.  These are more suitable for bushes, shrubs and trees, an other well established plants. 

For your annual fruit and veg in beds, I suggest only compost. less slugs...I said less, not none. Also, think loads of plants inter-cropped. Plant letucces between your carrots or beetroot. Companion plant verieties so they occupy different root levels and top height but leave less open soil between plants. 

Use shading too. From plants, trees, construction netting or shade cloth. 

Cover it, cover it, cover it.

Watering while there are hosepipe bans (it's inevitable). 

There are always hopepipe bans. As mentioned before, you could use your grey water but hoepfully you will have harvested and stored enough rain water and put in place plenty of mulch and ground cover to last a season. 

When watering without a hose, a large watering can will be much heavier but you'll be getting plenty of exercise. If you are specific in watering only at the roots and use ollas and ground cover, you'll be carrying less cans. 

Water only the most important plants. Pour the water into your homemade bottle ollas, (see my YouTube Channel and look for any drought or irrigation videos). 

Around your perennials, use builder's sand about 3 inches deep as a mulch if you have some. Have you ever run your toes or feet into the hot sand at the beach and felt how cool it is just a couple of inches under? Same principle. It keeps the soil moist and cool. It can be expensive so keep it for the potted plants. Use stones and sea shells if you have them around your plants in pots.

More ideas: 

Water early in the morning. Night watering only invites the slugs and snails but do leave some water out for the hedgehogs, toads and frogs who will help clear away those slimy bugs for you.

Try to plant drought tolorant plants and perennial vegetables. Be adventurous!

With your water harvesting, storing and usage plan in place, you can confidently go ahead and plant your garden for greater resilience no matter the weather. Happy gardening and resilience building folks! 

I'd love to hear how you irrigate and keep your garden safe from droughts. I look forward to hearing form you.