How to Grow It with Less Irrigation: A-Z
First, a Word About Varieties
As recently as the 1930s, most American country folk still did not
have running water. With water being hand-pumped and carried in
buckets, and precious, their vegetable gardens had to be grown with
a minimum of irrigation. In the otherwise well-watered East, one
could routinely expect several consecutive weeks every summer
without rain. In some drought years a hot, rainless month or longer
could go by. So vegetable varieties were bred to grow through dry
spells without loss, and traditional American vegetable gardens were
designed to help them do so.
I began gardening in the early 1970s, just as the raised-bed method
was being popularized. The latest books and magazine articles all
agreed that raising vegetables in widely separated single rows was a
foolish imitation of commercial farming, that commercial vegetables
were arranged that way for ease of mechanical cultivation. Closely
planted raised beds requiring hand cultivation were alleged to be
far more productive and far more efficient users of irrigation
because water wasn't evaporating from bare soil.
I think this is more likely to be the truth: Old-fashioned gardens
used low plant densities to survive inevitable spells of
rainlessness. Looked at this way, widely separated vegetables in
widely separated rows may be considered the more efficient users of
water because they consume soil moisture that nature freely puts
there. Only after, and if, these reserves are significantly depleted
does the gardener have to irrigate. The end result is surprisingly
more abundant than a modern gardener educated on intensive,
raised-bed propaganda would think.
Finding varieties still adapted to water-wise gardening is becoming
difficult. Most American vegetables are now bred for
irrigation-dependent California. Like raised-bed gardeners,
vegetable farmers have discovered that they can make a bigger profit
by growing smaller, quick-maturing plants in high-density spacings.
Most modern vegetables have been bred to suit this method. Many new
varieties can't forage and have become smaller, more determinate,
and faster to mature. Actually, the larger, more sprawling heirloom
varieties of the past were not a great deal less productive overall,
but only a little later to begin yielding.
Fortunately, enough of the old sorts still exist that a selective
and varietally aware home gardener can make do. Since I've become
water-wiser, I'm interested in finding and conserving heirlooms that
once supported large numbers of healthy Americans in relative
self-sufficiency. My earlier book, being a guide to what passes for
ordinary vegetable gardening these days, assumed the availability of
plenty of water. The varieties I recommended in [i]Growing
Vegetables West of the Cascades[i] were largely modern ones, and the
seed companies I praised most highly focused on top-quality
commercial varieties. But, looking at gardening through the filter
of limited irrigation, other, less modern varieties are often far
better adapted and other seed companies sometimes more likely
sources.
Seed Company Directory*
Abundant Life See Foundation: P.O. Box 772, Port Townsend, WA 98368
_(ABL)_
Johnny's Selected Seeds: Foss Hill Road, Albion, Maine 04910 _(JSS)_
Peace Seeds: 2345 SE Thompson Street, Corvallis, OR 97333 _(PEA)_
Ronninger's Seed Potatoes: P.O. Box 1838, Orting, WA 98360 _(RSP)_
Stokes Seeds Inc. Box 548, Buffalo, NY 14240 _(STK)_
Territorial Seed Company: P.O. Box 20, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
_(TSC)_
*Throughout the growing directions that follow in this chapter, the
reader will be referred to a specific company only for varieties
that are not widely available.
I have again come to appreciate the older style of
vegetable--sprawling, large framed, later maturing, longer yielding,
vigorously rooting. However, many of these old-timers have not seen
the attentions of a professional plant breeder for many years and
throw a fair percentage of bizarre, misshapen, nonproductive plants.
These "off types" can be compensated for by growing a somewhat
larger garden and allowing for some waste. Dr. Alan Kapuler, who
runs Peace Seeds, has brilliantly pointed out to me why heirloom
varieties are likely to be more nutritious. Propagated by centuries
of isolated homesteaders, heirlooms that survived did so because
these superior varieties helped the gardeners' better-nourished
babies pass through the gauntlet of childhood illnesses.
Plant Spacing: The Key to Water-Wise Gardening
Reduced plant density is the essence of dry gardening. The
recommended spacings in this section are those I have found workable
at Elkton, Oregon. My dry garden is generally laid out in single
rows, the row centers 4 feet apart. Some larger crops, like
potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and cucurbits (squash, cucumbers, and
melons) are allocated more elbow room. Those few requiring intensive
irrigation are grown on a raised bed, tightly spaced. I cannot
prescribe what would be the perfect, most efficient spacing for your
garden. Are your temperatures lower than mine and evaporation less?
Or is your weather hotter? Does your soil hold more, than less than,
or just as much available moisture as mine? Is it as deep and open
and moisture retentive?
To help you compare your site with mine, I give you the following
data. My homestead is only 25 miles inland and is always several
degrees cooler in summer than the Willamette Valley. Washingtonians
and British Columbians have cooler days and a greater likelihood of
significant summertime rain and so may plant a little closer
together. Inland gardeners farther south or in the Willamette Valley
may want to spread their plants out a little farther.
Living on 16 acres, I have virtually unlimited space to garden in.
The focus of my recent research has been to eliminate irrigation as
much as possible while maintaining food quality. Those with thinner
soil who are going to depend more on fertigation may plant closer,
how close depending on the amount of water available. More
irrigation will also give higher per-square-foot yields.
_Whatever your combination of conditions, your results can only be
determined by trial._ I'd suggest you become water-wise by testing a
range of spacings.
When to Plant
If you've already been growing an irrigated year-round garden, this
book's suggested planting dates may surprise you. And as with
spacing, sowing dates must also be wisely adjusted to your location.
The planting dates in this chapter are what I follow in my own
garden. It is impractical to include specific dates for all the
microclimatic areas of the maritime Northwest and for every
vegetable species. Readers are asked to make adjustments by
understanding their weather relative to mine.
Gardeners to the north of me and at higher elevations should make
their spring sowings a week or two later than the dates I use. In
the Garden Valley of Roseburg and south along I-5, start spring
plantings a week or two earlier. Along the southern Oregon coast and
in northern California, start three or four weeks sooner than I do.
Fall comes earlier to the north of me and to higher-elevation
gardens; end-of-season growth rates there also slow more profoundly
than they do at Elkton. Summers are cooler along the coast; that has
the same effect of slowing late-summer growth. Items started after
midsummer should be given one or two extra growing weeks by coastal,
high-elevation, and northern gardeners. Gardeners to the south
should sow their late crops a week or two later than I do; along the
south Oregon coast and in northern California, two to four weeks
later than I do.
Arugula (Rocket)
The tender, peppery little leaves make winter salads much more
interesting.
_Sowing date:_ I delay sowing until late August or early September
so my crowded patch of arugula lasts all winter and doesn't make
seed until March. Pregerminated seeds emerge fast and strong.
Sprouted in early October, arugula still may reach eating size in
midwinter.
_Spacing:_ Thinly seed a row into any vacant niche. The seedlings
will be insignificantly small until late summer.
_Irrigation:_ If the seedlings suffer a bit from moisture stress
they'll catch up rapidly when the fall rains begin.
_Varieties:_ None.
Beans of All Sorts
Heirloom pole beans once climbed over considerable competition while
vigorously struggling for water, nutrition, and light. Modern bush
varieties tend to have puny root systems.
_Sowing date:_ Mid-April is the usual time on the Umpqua, elsewhere,
sow after the danger of frost is over and soil stays over 60[de]F.
If the earth is getting dry by this date, soak the seed overnight
before sowing and furrow down to moist soil. However, do not cover
the seeds more than 2 inches.
_Spacing:_ Twelve to 16 inches apart at final thinning. Allow about
2[f]1/2 to 3 feet on either side of the trellis to avoid root
competition from other plants.
_Irrigation:_ If part of the garden is sprinkler irrigated, space
beans a little tighter and locate the bean trellis toward the outer
reach of the sprinkler's throw. Due to its height, the trellis tends
to intercept quite a bit of water and dumps it at the base. You can
also use the bucket-drip method and fertigate the beans, giving
about 25 gallons per 10 row-feet once or twice during the summer.
Pole beans can make a meaningful yield without any irrigation; under
severe moisture stress they will survive, but bear little.
_Varieties:_ Any of the pole types seem to do fine. Runner beans
seem to prefer cooler locations but are every bit as drought
tolerant as ordinary snap beans. My current favorites are Kentucky
Wonder White Seeded, Fortrex (TSC, JSS), and Musica (TSC).
The older heirloom dry beans were mostly pole types. They are
reasonably productive if allowed to sprawl on the ground without
support. Their unirrigated seed yield is lower, but the seed is
still plump, tastes great, and sprouts well. Compared to unirrigated
Black Coco (TSC), which is my most productive and best-tasting bush
cultivar, Kentucky Wonder Brown Seeded (sometimes called Old
Homestead) (STK, PEA, ABL) yields about 50 percent more seed and
keeps on growing for weeks after Coco has quit. Do not bother to
fertigate untrellised pole beans grown for dry seed. With the threat
of September moisture always looming over dry bean plots, we need to
encourage vines to quit setting and dry down. Peace Seeds and
Abundant Life offer long lists of heirloom vining dry bean
varieties.
Serious self-sufficiency buffs seeking to produced their own legume
supply should also consider the fava, garbanzo bean, and Alaska pea.
Many favas can be overwintered: sow in October, sprout on fall
rains, grow over the winter, and dry down in June with the soil.
Garbanzos are grown like mildly frost-tolerant peas. Alaska peas are
the type used for pea soup. They're spring sown and grown like
ordinary shelling peas. Avoid overhead irrigation while seeds are
drying down.
Beets
Beets will root far deeper and wider than most people realize--in
uncompacted, nonacid soils. Double or triple dig the subsoil
directly below the seed row.
_Sowing date:_ Early April at Elkton, late March farther south, and
as late as April 30 in British Columbia. Beet seed germinates easily
in moist, cool soil. A single sowing may be harvested from June
through early March the next year. If properly thinned, good
varieties remain tender.
_Spacing:_ A single row will gradually exhaust subsoil moisture from
an area 4 feet wide. When the seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin
carefully to about 1 inch apart. When the edible part is radish
size, thin to 2 inches apart and eat the thinings, tops and all.
When they've grown to golfball size, thin to 4 inches apart, thin
again. When they reach the size of large lemons, thin to 1 foot
apart. Given this much room and deep, open soil, the beets will
continue to grow through the entire summer. Hill up some soil over
the huge roots early in November to protect them from freezing.
_Irrigation:_ Probably not necessary with over 4 feet of deep, open
soil.
_Varieties:_ I've done best with Early Wonder Tall Top; when large,
it develops a thick, protective skin and retains excellent eating
quality. Winterkeepers, normally sown in midsummer with irrigation,
tend to bolt prematurely when sown in April.
Broccoli: Italian Style
Italian-style broccoli needs abundant moisture to be tender and make
large flowers. Given enough elbow room, many varieties can endure
long periods of moisture stress, but the smaller, woody,
slow-developing florets won't be great eating. Without any
irrigation, spring-sown broccoli may still be enjoyed in early
summer and Purple Sprouting in March/April after overwintering.
_Sowing date:_Without any irrigation at all, mid-March through early
April. With fertigation, also mid-April through mid-May. This later
sowing will allow cutting through summer.
_Spacing:_ Brocoli tastes better when big plants grow big, sweet
heads. Allow a 4-foot-wide row. Space early sowings about 3 feet
apart in the row; later sowings slated to mature during summer's
heat can use 4 feet. On a fist-sized spot compacted to restore
capillarity, sow a little pinch of seed atop a well-and deeply
fertilized, double-dug patch of earth. Thin gradually to the best
single plant by the time three or four true leaves have developed.
_Irrigation:_ After mid-June, 4 to 5 gallons of drip bucket liquid
fertilizer every two to three weeks makes an enormous difference.
You'll be surprised at the size of the heads and the quality of side
shoots. A fertigated May sowing will be exhausted by October. Take a
chance: a heavy side-dressing of strong compost or complete organic
fertilizer when the rains return may trigger a massive spurt of new,
larger heads from buds located below the soil's surface.
_Varieties:_ Many hybrids have weak roots. I'd avoid anything that
was "held up on a tall stalk" for mechanical harvest or was
"compact" or that "didn't have many side-shoots". Go for larger
size. Territorial's hybrid blend yields big heads for over a month
followed by abundant side shoots. Old, open-pollinated types like
Italian Sprouting Calabrese, DeCicco, or Waltham 29 are highly
variable, bushy, with rather coarse, large-beaded flowers,
second-rate flavor and many, many side shoots. Irrigating gardeners
who can start new plants every four weeks from May through July may
prefer hybrids. Dry gardeners who will want to cut side shoots for
as long as possible during summer from large, well-established
plants may prefer crude, open-pollinated varieties. Try both.
Broccoli: Purple Sprouting and Other Overwintering Types
_Spacing:_ Grow like broccoli, 3 to 4 feet apart.
_Sowing date:_ It is easiest to sow in April or early May, minimally
fertigate a somewhat gnarly plant through the summer, push it for
size in fall and winter, and then harvest it next March. With too
early a start in spring, some premature flowering may occur in
autumn; still, massive blooming will resume again in spring.
Overwintering green Italian types such as ML423 (TSC) will flower in
fall if sown before late June. These sorts are better started in a
nursery bed around August 1 and like overwintered cauliflower,
transplanted about 2 feet apart when fall rains return, then, pushed
for growth with extra fertilizer in fall and winter.
With nearly a whole year to grow before blooming, Purple Sprouting
eventually reaches 4 to 5 feet in height and 3 to 4 feet in
diameter, and yields hugely.
_Irrigation:_ It is not essential to heavily fertigate Purple
Sprouting, though you may G-R-O-W enormous plants for their beauty.
Quality or quantity of spring harvest won't drop one bit if the
plants become a little stunted and gnarly in summer, as long as you
fertilize late in September to spur rapid growth during fall and
winter.
Root System Vigor in the Cabbage Family
Wild cabbage is a weed and grows like one, able to successfully
compete for water against grasses and other herbs. Remove all
competition with a hoe, and allow this weed to totally control all
the moisture and nutrients in all the earth its roots can occupy,
and it grows hugely and lushly. Just for fun, I once G-R-E-W one,
with tillage, hoeing, and spring fertilization but no irrigation; it
ended up 5 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter.
As this highly moldable family is inbred and shaped into more and
more exaggerated forms, it weakens and loses the ability to forage.
Kale retains the most wild aggressiveness, Chinese cabbage perhaps
the least. Here, in approximately correct order, is shown the
declining root vigor and general adaptation to moisture stress of
cabbage family vegetables. The table shows the most vigorous at the
top, declining as it goes down.
Adapted to dry gardening Not vigorous enough
Kale Italian broccoli (some varieties)
Brussels sprouts (late types) Cabbage (regular market types)
Late savoy cabbage Brussels sprouts (early types)
Giant "field-type" kohlrabi Small "market-garden" kohlrabi
Mid-season savoy cabbage Cauliflower (regular, annual)
Rutabaga Turnips and radishes
Italian Broccoli (some varieties) Chinese cabbage
Brussels Sprouts
_Sowing date:_ If the plants are a foot tall before the soil starts
drying down, their roots will be over a foot deep; the plants will
then grow hugely with a bit of fertigation. At Elkton I dry garden
Brussels sprouts by sowing late April to early May. Started this
soon, even late-maturing varieties may begin forming sprouts by
September. Though premature bottom sprouts will "blow up" and become
aphid damaged, more, higher-quality sprouts will continue to form
farther up the stalk during autumn and winter.
_Spacing:_ Make each spot about 4 feet apart.
_Irrigation:_ Without any added moisture, the plants will become
stunted but will survive all summer. Side-dressing manure or
fertilizer late in September (or sooner if the rains come sooner)
will provoke very rapid autumn growth and a surprisingly large yield
from plants that looked stress out in August. If increasingly larger
amounts of fertigation can be provided every two to three weeks, the
lush Brussels sprouts plants can become 4 feet in diameter and 4
feet tall by October and yield enormously.
_Varieties:_ Use late European hybrid types. At Elkton, where
winters are a little milder than in the Willamette, Lunet (TSC) has
the finest eating qualities. Were I farther north I'd grow hardier
types like Stabolite (TSC) or Fortress (TSC). Early types are not
suitable to growing with insufficient irrigation or frequent
spraying to fight off aphids.
Cabbage
Forget those delicate, green supermarket cabbages unless you have
unlimited amounts of water. But easiest-to-grow savoy types will do
surprisingly well with surprisingly little support. Besides, savoys
are the best salad material.
_Sowing date:_ I suggest three sowing times: the first, a succession
of early, midseason, and late savoys made in mid-March for harvest
during summer; the second, late and very late varieties started late
April to early May for harvest during fall and winter; the last, a
nursery bed of overwintered sorts sown late in August.
_Spacing:_ Early-maturing savoy varieties are naturally smaller and
may not experience much hot weather before heading up--these may be
separated by about 30 inches. The later ones are large plants and
should be given 4 feet of space or 16 square feet of growing room.
Sow and grow them like broccoli. Transplant overwintered cabbages
from nursery beds late in October, spaced about 3 feet apart; these
thrive where the squash grew.
_Irrigation:_ The more fertigation you can supply, the larger and
more luxuriant the plants and the bigger the heads. But even small,
somewhat moisture-stressed savoys make very edible heads. In terms
of increased yield for water expended, it is well worth it to
provide late varieties with a few gallons of fertigation about
mid-June, and a bucketful in mid-July and mid-August.
_Varieties:_ Japanese hybrid savoys make tender eating but may not
withstand winter. European savoys are hardier, coarser,
thicker-leaved, and harder chewing. For the first sowing I suggest a
succession of Japanese varieties including Salarite or Savoy
Princess for earlies; Savoy Queen, King, or Savoy Ace for midsummer;
and Savonarch (TSC) for late August/early September harvests.
They're all great varieties. For the second sowing I grow Savonarch
(TSC) for September[-]November cutting and a very late European
hybrid type like Wivoy (TSC) for winter. Small-framed January King
lacks sufficient root vigor. Springtime (TSC) and FEM218 (TSC) are
the only overwintered cabbages available.
Carrots
Dry-gardening carrots requires patiently waiting until the weather
stabilizes before tilling and sowing. To avoid even a little bit of
soil compaction, I try to sprout the seed without irrigation but
always fear that hot weather will frustrate my efforts. So I till
and plant too soon. And then heavy rain comes and compacts my
perfectly fluffed-up soil. But the looser and finer the earth
remains during their first six growing weeks, the more perfectly the
roots will develop.
_Sowing date:_ April at Elkton.
_Spacing:_ Allocate 4 feet of width to a single row of carrot seed.
When the seedlings are about 2 inches tall, thin to 1 inch apart.
Then thin every other carrot when the roots are [f]3/8 to [f]1/2
inch in diameter and eat the thinnings. A few weeks later, when the
carrots are about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter, make a final thinning
to 1 foot apart.
_Irrigation:_ Not necessary. Foliar feeding every few weeks will
make much larger roots. Without any help they should grow to several
pounds each.
_Varieties:_ Choosing the right variety is very important. Nantes
and other delicate, juicy types lack enough fiber to hold together
when they get very large. These split prematurely. I've had my best
results with Danvers types. I'd also try Royal Chantenay (PEA),
Fakkel Mix (TSC), Stokes "Processor" types, and Topweight (ABL). Be
prepared to experiment with variety. The roots will not be quite as
tender as heavily watered Nantes types but are a lot better than
you'd think. Huge carrots are excellent in soups and we cheerfully
grate them into salads. Something about accumulating sunshine all
summer makes the roots incredibly sweet.
Cauliflower
Ordinary varieties cannot forage for moisture. Worse, moisture
stress at any time during the growth cycle prevents proper formation
of curds. The only important cauliflowers suitable for dry gardening
are overwintered types. I call them important because they're easy
to grow and they'll feed the family during April and early May, when
other garden fare is very scarce.
_Sowing date:_ To acquire enough size to survive cold weather,
overwintered cauliflower must be started on a nursery bed during the
difficult heat of early August. Except south of Yoncalla, delaying
sowing until September makes very small seedlings that may not be
hardy enough and likely won't yield much in April unless winter is
very mild, encouraging unusual growth.
_Spacing:_ In October, transplant about 2 feet apart in rows 3 to 4
feet apart.
_Irrigation:_ If you have more water available, fertilize and till
up some dusty, dry soil, wet down the row, direct-seed like broccoli
(but closer together), and periodically irrigate until fall. If you
only moisten a narrow band of soil close to the seedlings it won't
take much water. Cauliflower grows especially well in the row that
held bush peas.
_Varieties:_ The best are the very pricy Armado series sold by
Territorial.
Chard
This vegetable is basically a beet with succulent leaves and thick
stalks instead of edible, sweet roots. It is just as drought
tolerant as a beet, and in dry gardening, chard is sown, spaced, and
grown just like a beet. But if you want voluminous leaf production
during summer, you may want to fertigate it occasionally.
_Varieties:_ The red chards are not suitable for starting early in
the season; they have a strong tendency to bolt prematurely if sown
during that part of the year when daylength is increasing.
Corn
Broadcast complete organic fertilizer or strong compost shallowly
over the corn patch till midwinter, or as early in spring as the
earth can be worked without making too many clods. Corn will
germinate in pretty rough soil. High levels of nutrients in the
subsoil are more important than a fine seedbed.
_Sowing date:_ About the time frost danger ends. Being large seed,
corn can be set deep, where soil moisture still exists even after
conditions have warmed up. Germination without irrigation should be
no problem.
_Spacing_: The farther south, the farther apart. Entirely without
irrigation, I've had fine results spacing individual corn plants 3
feet apart in rows 3 feet apart, or 9 square feet per each plant.
Were I around Puget Sound or in B.C. I'd try 2 feet apart in rows 30
inches apart. Gary Nabhan describes Papago gardeners in Arizona
growing individual cornstalks 10 feet apart. Grown on wide spacings,
corn tends to tiller (put up multiple stalks, each making one or two
ears). For most urban and suburban gardeners, space is too valuable
to allocate 9 square feet for producing one or at best three or four
ears.
_Irrigation:_ With normal sprinkler irrigation, corn may be spaced 8
inches apart in rows 30 inches apart, still yielding one or two ears
per stalk.
_Varieties:_ Were I a devoted sweetcorn eater without enough
irrigation, I'd be buying a few dozen freshly picked ears from the
back of a pickup truck parked on a corner during local harvest
season. Were I a devoted corn grower without any irrigation, I'd be
experimenting with various types of field corn instead of sweet
corn. Were I a self-sufficiency buff trying earnestly to produce
all my own cereal, I'd accept that the maritime Northwest is a
region where survivalists will eat wheat, rye, millet, and other
small grains.
Many varieties of field corn are nearly as sweet as ordinary sweet
corn, but grain varieties become starchy and tough within hours of
harvest. Eaten promptly, "pig" corn is every bit as tasty as
Jubilee. I've had the best dry-garden results with Northstine Dent
(JSS) and Garland Flint (JSS). Hookers Sweet Indian (TSC) has a weak
root system.
Successfully Starting Cucurbits From Seed
With cucurbits, germination depends on high-enough soil temperature
and not too much moisture. Squash are the most chill and moisture
tolerant, melons the least. Here's a failure-proof and simple
technique that ensures you'll plant at exactly the right time.
Cucumbers, squash, and melons are traditionally sown atop a deeply
dug, fertilized spot that usually looks like a little mound after it
is worked and is commonly called a hill. About two weeks before the
last anticipated frost date in your area, plant five or six squash
seeds about 2 inches deep in a clump in the very center of that
hill. Then, a week later, plant another clump at 12 o'clock. In
another week, plant another clump at 3 o'clock, and continue doing
this until one of the sowings sprouts. Probably the first try won't
come up, but the hill will certainly germinate several clumps of
seedlings. If weather conditions turn poor, a later-to-sprout group
may outgrow those that came up earlier. Thin gradually to the best
single plant by the time the vines are running.
When the first squash seeds appear it is time to begin sowing
cucumbers, starting a new batch each week until one emerges. When
the cucumbers first germinate, it's time to try melons.
Approaching cucurbits this way ensures that you'll get the earliest
possible germination while being protected against the probability
that cold, damp weather will prevent germination or permanently
spoil the growth prospects of the earlier seedlings.
Cucumbers
_Sowing date:_ About May 5 to 15 at Elkton.
_Spacing:_ Most varieties usually run five about 3 feet from the
hill. Space the hills about 5 to 6 feet apart in all directions.
_Irrigation:_ Like melons. Regular and increasing amounts of
fertigation will increase the yield several hundred percent.
_Varieties:_ I've had very good results dry-gardening Amira II
(TSC), even without any fertigation at all. It is a Middle
Eastern[-]style variety that makes pickler-size thin-skinned cukes
that need no peeling and have terrific flavor. The burpless or
Japanese sorts don't seem to adapt well to drought. Most slicers
dry-garden excellently. Apple or Lemon are similar novelty heirlooms
that make very extensive vines with aggressive roots and should be
given a foot or two more elbow room. I'd avoid any variety touted as
being for pot or patio, compact, or short-vined, because of a likely
linkage between its vine structure and root system.
Eggplant
Grown without regular sprinkler irrigation, eggplant seems to get
larger and yield sooner and more abundantly. I suspect this delicate
and fairly drought-resistant tropical species does not like having
its soil temperature lowered by frequent watering.
_Sowing date:_ Set out transplants at the usual time, about two
weeks after the tomatoes, after all frost danger has passed and
after nights have stably warmed up above 50 degree F.
_Spacing:_ Double dig and deeply fertilize the soil under each
transplant. Separate plants by about 3 feet in rows about 4 feet
apart.
_Irrigation:_ Will grow and produce a few fruit without any
watering, but a bucket of fertigation every three to four weeks
during summer may result in the most luxurious, hugest, and
heaviest-bearing eggplants you've ever grown.
_Varieties:_ I've noticed no special varietal differences in ability
to tolerate dryish soil. I've had good yields from the regionally
adapted varieties Dusky Hybrid, Short Tom, and Early One.
Endive
A biennial member of the chicory family, endive quickly puts down a
deep taproot and is naturally able to grow through prolonged
drought. Because endive remains bitter until cold weather, it
doesn't matter if it grows slowly through summer, just so long as
rapid leaf production resumes in autumn.
_Sowing date:_ On irrigated raised beds endive is sown around August
1 and heads by mid-October. The problem with dry-gardened endive is
that if it is spring sown during days of increasing daylength when
germination of shallow-sown small seed is a snap, it will bolt
prematurely. The crucial moment seems to be about June 1. April/May
sowings bolt in July/August,: after June 1, bolting won't happen
until the next spring, but germination won't happen without
watering. One solution is soaking the seeds overnight, rinsing them
frequently until they begin to sprout, and fluid drilling them.
_Spacing:_ The heads become huge when started in June. Sow in rows 4
feet apart and thin gradually until the rosettes are 3 inches in
diameter, then thin to 18 inches apart.
_Irrigation:_ Without a drop of moisture the plants, even as tiny
seedlings, will grow steadily but slowly all summer, as long as no
other crop is invading their root zone. The only time I had trouble
was when the endive row was too close to an aggressive row of yellow
crookneck squash. About August, the squash roots began invading the
endive's territory and the endive got wilty.
A light side-dressing of complete organic fertilizer or compost in
late September will grow the hugest plants imaginable.
_Varieties:_ Curly types seem more tolerant to rain and frost during
winter than broad-leaf Batavian varieties. I prefer President (TSC).
Herbs
Most perennial and biennial herbs are actually weeds and wild
hillside shrubs from Mediterranean climates similar to that of
Southern California. They are adapted to growing on winter rainfall
and surviving seven to nine months without rainfall every summer. In
our climate, merely giving them a little more elbow room than
usually offered, thorough weeding, and side-dressing the herb garden
with a little compost in fall is enough coddling. Annuals such as
dill and cilantro are also very drought tolerant. Basil, however,
needs considerable moisture.
Kale
Depending on the garden for a significant portion of my annual
caloric intake has gradually refined my eating habits. Years ago I
learned to like cabbage salads as much as lettuce. Since lettuce
freezes out many winters (19-21 degree F), this adjustment has proved
very useful. Gradually I began to appreciate kale, too, and now
value it as a salad green far more than cabbage. This personal
adaptation has proved very pro-survival, because even savoy cabbages
do not grow as readily or yield nearly as much as kale. And kale is
a tad more cold hardy than even savoy cabbage.
You may be surprised to learn that kale produces more complete
protein per area occupied per time involved than any legume,
including alfalfa. If it is steamed with potatoes and then mashed,
the two vegetables complement and flavor each other. Our region
could probably subsist quite a bit more healthfully than at present
on potatoes and kale. The key to enjoying kale as a salad component
is varietal choice, preparation, and using the right parts of the
plant. Read on.
_Sowing date:_ With irrigation, fast-growing kale is usually started
in midsummer for use in fall and winter. But kale is absolutely
biennial--started in March or April, it will not bolt until the next
spring. The water-wise gardener can conveniently sow kale while
cool, moist soil simplifies germination. Starting this early also
produces a deep root system before the soil dries much, and a much
taller, very useful central stalk on oleracea types, while early
sown Siberian (Napa) varieties tend to form multiple rosettes by
autumn, also useful at harvest time.
_Spacing: _Grow like broccoli, spaced 4 feet apart.
_Irrigation:_ Without any water, the somewhat stunted plants will
survive the summer to begin rapid growth as soon as fall rains
resume. With the help of occasional fertigation they grow lushly and
are enormous by September. Either way, there still will be plenty of
kale during fall and winter.
_Harvest:_ Bundles of strong-flavored, tough, large leaves are sold
in supermarkets but are the worst-eating part of the plant. If
chopped finely enough, big raw leaves can be masticated and
tolerated by people with good teeth. However, the tiny leaves are
far tenderer and much milder. The more rosettes developed on
Siberian kales, the more little leaves there are to be picked. By
pinching off the central growing tip in October and then gradually
stripping off the large shading leaves, _oleracea_ varieties may be
encouraged to put out dozens of clusters of small, succulent leaves
at each leaf notch along the central stalk. The taller the stalk
grown during summer, the more of these little leaves there will be.
Only home gardeners can afford the time to hand pick small leaves.
_Varieties:_ I somewhat prefer the flavor of Red Russian to the
ubiquitous green Siberian, but Red Russian is very slightly less
cold hardy. Westland Winter (TSC) and Konserva (JSS) are tall
European oleracea varieties. Winterbor F1 (JSS, TSC) is also
excellent. The dwarf "Scotch" kales, blue or green, sold by many
American seed companies are less vigorous types that don't produce
nearly as many gourmet little leaves. Dwarfs in any species tend to
have dwarfed root systems.
Kohlrabi (Giant)
Spring-sown market kohlrabi are usually harvested before hot weather
makes them get woody. Irrigation is not required if they're given a
little extra elbow room. With ordinary varieties, try thinning to 5
inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart and harvest by thinning
alternate plants. Given this additional growing room, they may not
get woody until midsummer. On my irrigated, intensive bed I always
sow some more on August 1, to have tender bulbs in autumn.
Kohlrabi was once grown as European fodder crop; slow-growing
farmers, varieties grow huge like rutabagas. These field types have
been crossed with table types to make "giant" table varieties that
really suit dry gardening. What to do with a giant kohlrabi (or any
bulb getting overblown)? Peel, grate finely, add chopped onion,
dress with olive oil and black pepper, toss, and enjoy this old
Eastern European mainstay.
_Sowing date:_ Sow giant varieties during April, as late as possible
while still getting a foot-tall plant before really hot weather.
_Spacing:_ Thin to 3 feet apart in rows 4 feet apart.
_Irrigation:_ Not absolutely necessary on deep soil, but if they get
one or two thorough fertigations during summer their size may
double.
_Varieties:_ A few American seed companies, including Peace Seeds,
have a giant kohlrabi of some sort or other. The ones I've tested
tend to be woody, are crude, and throw many off-types, a high
percentage of weak plants, and/or poorly shaped roots. By the time
this book is in print, Territorial should list a unique Swiss
variety called Superschmeltz, which is uniformly huge and stays
tender into the next year.
Leeks
Unwatered spring-sown bulbing onions are impossible. Leek is the
only allium I know of that may grow steadily but slowly through
severe drought; the water-short gardener can depend on leeks for a
fall/winter onion supply.
_Sowing date:_ Start a row or several short rows about 12 inches
apart on a nursery bed in March or early April at the latest. Grow
thickly, irrigate during May/June, and fertilize well so the
competing seedlings get leggy.
_Spacing:_ By mid-to late June the seedlings should be slightly
spindly, pencil-thick, and scallion size. With a sharp shovel, dig
out the nursery row, carefully retaining 5 or 6 inches of soil below
the seedlings. With a strong jet of water, blast away the soil and,
while doing this, gently separate the tangled roots so that as
little damage is done as possible. Make sure the roots don't dry out
before transplanting. After separation, I temporarily wrap bundled
seedlings in wet newspaper.
Dig out a foot-deep trench the width of an ordinary shovel and
carefully place this earth next to the trench. Sprinkle in a heavy
dose of organic fertilizer or strong compost, and spade that in so
the soil is fluffy and fertile 2 feet down. Do not immediately
refill the trench with the soil that was dug out. With a shovel
handle, poke a row of 6-inch-deep holes along the bottom of the
trench. If the nursery bed has grown well there should be about 4
inches of stem on each seedling before the first leaf attaches. If
the weather is hot and sunny, snip off about one-third to one-half
the leaf area to reduce transplanting shock. Drop one leek seedling
into each hole up to the point that the first leaf attaches to the
stalk, and mud it in with a cup or two of liquid fertilizer. As the
leeks grow, gradually refill the trench and even hill up soil around
the growing plants. This makes the better-tasting white part of the
stem get as long as possible. Avoid getting soil into the center of
the leek where new leaves emerge, or you'll not get them clean after
harvest.
Spacing of the seedlings depends on the amount of irrigation. If
absolutely none at all, set them 12 inches apart in the center of a
row 4 feet wide. If unlimited water is available, give them 2 inches
of separation. Or adjust spacing to the water available. The plants
grow slowly through summer, but in autumn growth will accelerate,
especially if they are side-dressed at this time.
_Varieties:_ For dry gardening use the hardier, more vigorous winter
leeks. Durabel (TSC) has an especially mild, sweet flavor. Other
useful varieties include Giant Carentian (ABL), Alaska (STK), and
Winter Giant (PEA).
Lettuce
Spring-sown lettuce will go to large sizes, remaining sweet and
tender without irrigation if spaced 1 foot apart in a single row
with 2 feet of elbow room on each side. Lettuce cut after mid-June
usually gets bitter without regular, heavy irrigation. I reserve my
well-watered raised bed for this summer salad crop. Those very short
of water can start fall/winter lettuce in a shaded, irrigated
nursery bed mid-August through mid-September and transplant it out
after the fall rains return. Here is one situation in which
accelerating growth with cloches or cold frames would be very
helpful.
Water-Wise Cucurbits
The root systems of this family are far more extensive than most
people realize. Usually a taproot goes down several feet and then,
soil conditions permitting, thickly occupies a large area,
ultimately reaching down 5 to 8 feet. Shallow feeder roots also
extend laterally as far as or farther than the vines reach at their
greatest extent.
Dry gardeners can do several things to assist cucurbits. First, make
sure there is absolutely no competition in their root zone. This
means[i]one plant per hill, with the hills separated in all
directions a little farther than the greatest possible extent of the
variety's ultimate growth.[i] Common garden lore states that
squashes droop their leaves in midsummer heat and that this trait
cannot be avoided and does no harm. But if they've grown as
described above, on deep, open soil, capillarity and surface
moisture reserves ensure there usually will be no midday wilting,
even if there is no watering. Two plants per hill do compete and
make each other wilt.
Second, double dig and fertilize the entire lateral root zone.
Third, as much as possible, avoid walking where the vines will
ultimately reach to avoid compaction. Finally, [i]do not transplant
them.[i] This breaks the taproot and makes the plant more dependent
on lateral roots seeking moisture in the top 18 inches of soil.
Melons
_Sowing date:_ As soon as they'll germinate outdoors: at Elkton, May
15 to June 1. Thin to a single plant per hill when there are about
three true leaves and the vines are beginning to run.
_Spacing:_ Most varieties will grow a vine reaching about 8 feet in
diameter. Space the hills 8 feet apart in all directions.
_Irrigation:_ Fertigation every two to three weeks will increase the
yield by two or three times and may make the melons sweeter. Release
the water/fertilizer mix close to the center of the vine, where the
taproot can use it.
_Varieties:_ Adaptation to our cool climate is critical with melons;
use varieties sold by our regional seed companies. Yellow Doll
watermelons (TSC) are very early and seem the most productive under
the most droughty conditions. I've had reasonable results from most
otherwise regionally adapted cantaloupes and muskmelons. Last year a
new hybrid variety, Passport (TSC), proved several weeks earlier
than I'd ever experienced and was extraordinarily prolific and
tasty.
Onions/Scallions
The usual spring-sown, summer-grown bulb onions and scallions only
work with abundant irrigation. But the water-short, water-wise
gardener can still supply the kitchen with onions or onion
substitutes year-round. Leeks take care of November through early
April. Overwintered bulb onions handle the rest of the year.
Scallions may also be harvested during winter.
_Sowing date:_ Started too soon, overwintered or short-day bulbing
onions (and sweet scallions) will bolt and form seed instead of
bulbing. Started too late they'll be too small and possibly not
hardy enough to survive winter. About August 15 at Elkton I sow
thickly in a well-watered and very fertile nursery bed. If you have
more than one nursery row, separate them about by 12 inches. Those
who miss this window of opportunity can start transplants in early
October and cover with a cloche immediately after germination, to
accelerate seedling growth during fall and early winter.
Start scallions in a nursery just like overwintered onions, but
earlier so they're large enough for the table during winter, I sow
them about mid-July.
_Spacing:_ When seedlings are about pencil thick (December/January
for overwintering bulb onions), transplant them about 4 or 5 inches
apart in a single row with a couple of feet of elbow room on either
side. I've found I get the best growth and largest bulbs if they
follow potatoes. After the potatoes are dug in early October I
immediately fertilize the area heavily and till, preparing the onion
bed. Klamath Basin farmers usually grow a similar rotation: hay,
potatoes, onions.
Transplant scallions in October with the fall rains, about 1 inch
apart in rows at least 2 feet apart.
_Irrigation:_ Not necessary. However, side-dressing the transplants
will result in much larger bulbs or scallions. Scallions will bolt
in April; the bulbers go tops-down and begin drying down as the soil
naturally dries out.
_Varieties:_ I prefer the sweet and tender Lisbon (TSC) for
scallions. For overwintered bulb onions, grow very mild but poorly
keeping Walla Walla Sweet (JSS), Buffalo (TSC), a better keeper, or
whatever Territorial is selling at present.
Parsley
_Sowing date:_ March. Parsley seed takes two to three weeks to
germinate.
_Spacing:_ Thin to 12 inches apart in a single row 4 feet wide. Five
plants should overwhelm the average kitchen.
_Irrigation:_ Not necessary unless yield falls off during summer and
that is very unlikely. Parsley's very deep, foraging root system
resembles that of its relative, the carrot.
_Varieties:_ If you use parsley for greens, variety is not critical,
though the gourmet may note slight differences in flavor or amount
of leaf curl. Another type of parsley is grown for edible roots that
taste much like parsnip. These should have their soil prepared as
carefully as though growing carrots.
Peas
This early crop matures without irrigation. Both pole and bush
varieties are planted thickly in single rows about 4 feet apart. I
always overlook some pods, which go on to form mature seed. Without
overhead irrigation, this seed will sprout strongly next year.
Alaska (soup) peas grow the same way.
Peppers
Pepper plants on raised beds spaced the usually recommended 16 to 24
inches apart undergo intense root competition even before their
leaves form a canopy. With or without unlimited irrigation, the
plants will get much larger and bear more heavily with elbow room.
_Sowing date:_ Set out transplants at the usual time. Double dig a
few square feet of soil beneath each seedling, and make sure
fertilizer gets incorporated all the way down to 2 feet deep.
_Spacing:_ Three feet apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart.
_Irrigation:_ Without any irrigation only the most vigorous,
small-fruited varieties will set anything. For an abundant harvest,
fertigate every three or four weeks. For the biggest pepper plants
you ever grew, fertigate every two weeks.
_Varieties:_ The small-fruited types, both hot and sweet, have much
more aggressive root systems and generally adapt better to our
region's cool weather. I've had best results with Cayenne Long Slim,
Gypsie, Surefire, Hot Portugal, the "cherries" both sweet and hot,
Italian Sweet, and Petite Sirah.
Potatoes
Humans domesticated potatoes in the cool, arid high plateaus of the
Andes where annual rainfall averages 8 to 12 inches. The species
finds our dry summer quite comfortable. Potatoes produce more
calories per unit of land than any other temperate crop. Irrigated
potatoes yield more calories and two to three times as much watery
bulk and indigestible fiber as those grown without irrigation, but
the same variety dry gardened can contain about 30 percent more
protein, far more mineral nutrients, and taste better.
_Sowing date:_ I make two sowings. The first is a good-luck ritual
done religiously on March 17th--St. Patrick's Day. Rain or shine, in
untilled mud or finely worked and deeply fluffed earth, I still
plant 10 or 12 seed potatoes of an early variety. This provides for
summer.
The main sowing waits until frost is unlikely and I can dig the
potato rows at least 12 inches deep with a spading fork, working in
fertilizer as deeply as possible and ending up with a finely
pulverized 24-inch-wide bed. At Elkton, this is usually mid-to late
April. There is no rush to plant. Potato vines are not frost hardy.
If frosted they'll regrow, but being burned back to the ground
lowers the final yield.
_Spacing:_ I presprout my seeds by spreading them out in daylight at
room temperature for a few weeks, and then plant one whole,
sprouting, medium-size potato every 18 inches down the center of the
row. Barely cover the seed potato. At maturity there should be
2[f]1/2 to 3 feet of soil unoccupied with the roots of any other
crop on each side of the row. As the vines emerge, gradually scrape
soil up over them with a hoe. Let the vines grow about 4 inches,
then pull up about 2 inches of cover. Let another 4 inches grow,
then hill up another 2 inches. Continue doing this until the vines
begin blooming. At that point there should be a mound of loose,
fluffy soil about 12 to 16 inches high gradually filling with tubers
lushly covered with blooming vines.
_Irrigation:_ Not necessary. In fact, if large water droplets
compact the loose soil you scraped up, that may interfere with
maximum tuber enlargement. However, after the vines are a foot long
or so, foliar feeding every week or 10 days will increase the yield.
_Varieties:_ The water-wise gardener's main potato problem is
too-early maturity, and then premature sprouting in storage. Early
varieties like Yukon Gold--even popular midseason ones like Yellow
Finn--don't keep well unless they're planted late enough to brown
off in late September. That's no problem if they're irrigated. But
planted in late April, earlier varieties will shrivel by August.
Potatoes only keep well when very cool, dark, and moist--conditions
almost impossible to create on the homestead during summer. The best
August compromise is to leave mature potatoes undug, but soil
temperatures are in the 70s during August, and by early October,
when potatoes should be lifted and put into storage, they'll already
be sprouting. Sprouting in October is acceptable for the remainders
of my St. Pat's Day sowing that I am keeping over for seed next
spring. It is not ok for my main winter storage crop. Our climate
requires very late, slow-maturing varieties that can be sown early
but that don't brown off until September. Late types usually yield
more, too.
Most of the seed potato varieties found in garden centers are early
or midseason types chosen by farmers for yield without regard to
flavor or nutrition. One, Nooksack Cascadian, is a very late variety
grown commercially around Bellingham, Washington. Nooksack is pretty
good if you like white, all-purpose potatoes.
There are much better homegarden varieties available in Ronniger's
catalog, all arranged according to maturity. For the ultimate in
earlies I suggest Red Gold. For main harvests I'd try Indian Pit,
Carole, German Butterball, Siberian, or a few experimental row-feet
of any other late variety taking your fancy.
Rutabagas
Rutabagas have wonderfully aggressive root systems and are capable
of growing continuously through long, severe drought. But where I
live, the results aren't satisfactory. Here's what happens. If I
start rutabagas in early April and space them about 2 to 3 feet
apart in rows 4 feet apart, by October they're the size of
basketballs and look pretty good; unfortunately, I harvest a hollow
shell full of cabbage root maggots. Root maggots are at their peak
in early June. That's why I got interested in dry-gardening giant
kohlrabi.
In 1991 we had about 2 surprising inches of rain late in June, so as
a test I sowed rutabagas on July 1. They germinated without more
irrigation, but going into the hot summer as small plants with
limited root systems and no irrigation at all they became somewhat
stunted. By October 1 the tops were still small and a little gnarly;
big roots had not yet formed. Then the rains came and the rutabagas
began growing rapidly. By November there was a pretty nice crop of
medium-size good-eating roots.
I suspect that farther north, where evaporation is not so severe and
midsummer rains are slightly more common, if a little irrigation
were used to start rutabagas about July 1, a decent unwatered crop
might be had most years. And I am certain that if sown at the normal
time (July 15) and grown with minimal irrigation but well spaced
out, they'll produce acceptably.
_Varieties:_ Stokes Altasweet (STK, TSC) has the best flavor.
Sorrel
This weed-like, drought-tolerant salad green is little known and
underappreciated. In summer the leaves get tough and strong
flavored; if other greens are available, sorrel will probably be
unpicked. That's ok. During fall, winter, and spring, sorrel's
lemony taste and delicate, tender texture balance tougher savoy
cabbage and kale and turn those crude vegetables into very
acceptable salads. Serious salad-eating families might want the
production of 5 to 10 row-feet.
_Sowing date:_ The first year you grow sorrel, sow mid-March to
mid-April. The tiny seed must be placed shallowly, and it sprouts
much more readily when the soil stays moist. Plant a single furrow
centered in a row 4 feet wide.
_Spacing: _As the seedlings grow, thin gradually. When the leaves
are about the size of ordinary spinach, individual plants should be
about 6 inches apart.
_Irrigation:_ Not necessary in summer--you won't eat it anyway. If
production lags in fall, winter, or spring, side-dress the sorrel
patch with a little compost or organic fertilizer.
_Maintenance:_ Sorrel is perennial. If an unusually harsh winter
freeze kills off the leaves it will probably come back from root
crowns in early spring. You'll welcome it after losing the rest of
your winter crops. In spring of the second and succeeding years
sorrel will make seed. Seed making saps the plant's energy, and the
seeds may naturalize into an unwanted weed around the garden. So,
before any seed forms, cut all the leaves and seed stalks close to
the ground; use the trimmings as a convenient mulch along the row.
If you move the garden or want to relocate the patch, do not start
sorrel again from seed. In any season dig up a few plants, divide
the root masses, trim off most of the leaves to reduce transplanting
shock, and transplant 1 foot apart. Occasional unique plants may be
more reluctant to make seed stalks than most others. Since seed
stalks produce few edible leaves and the leaves on them are very
harsh flavored, making seed is an undesirable trait. So I propagate
only seed-shy plants by root cuttings.
Spinach
Spring spinach is remarkably more drought tolerant than it would
appear from its delicate structure and the succulence of its leaves.
A bolt-resistant, long-day variety bred for summer harvest sown in
late April may still yield pickable leaves in late June or even
early July without any watering at all, if thinned to 12 inches
apart in rows 3 feet apart.
Squash, Winter and Summer
_Sowing date:_ Having warm-enough soil is everything. At Elkton I
first attempt squash about April 15. In the Willamette, May 1 is
usual. Farther north, squash may not come up until June 1. Dry
gardeners should not transplant squash; the taproot must not be
broken.
_Spacing:_ The amount of room to give each plant depends on the
potential of a specific variety's maximum root development. Most
vining winter squash can completely occupy a 10-foot-diameter
circle. Sprawly heirloom summer squash varieties can desiccate an
8-or 9-foot-diameter circle. Thin each hill to one plant, not two or
more as is recommended in the average garden book. There must be no
competition for water.
_Irrigation:_ With winter storage types, an unirrigated vine may
yield 15 pounds of squash after occupying a 10-foot-diameter circle
for an entire growing season. However, starting about July 1, if you
support that vine by supplying liquid fertilizer every two to three
weeks you may harvest 60 pounds of squash from the same area. The
first fertigation may only need 2 gallons. Then mid-July give 4;
about August 1, 8; August 15, feed 15 gallons. After that date,
solar intensity and temperatures decline, growth rate slows, and
water use also decreases. On September 1 I'd add about 8 gallons and
about 5 more on September 15 if it hadn't yet rained significantly.
Total water: 42 gallons. Total increase in yield: 45 pounds. I'd say
that's a good return on water invested.
_Varieties:_ For winter squash, all the vining winter varieties in
the C. maxima or C. pepo family seem acceptably adapted to dry
gardening. These include Buttercup, Hubbard, Delicious, Sweet Meat,
Delicata, Spaghetti, and Acorn. I wouldn't trust any of the newer
compact bush winter varieties so popular on raised beds. Despite
their reputation for drought tolerance C. mixta varieties (or cushaw
squash) were believed to be strictly hot desert or humid-tropical
varieties, unable to mature in our cool climate. However, Pepita
(PEA) is a mixta that is early enough and seems entirely unbothered
by a complete lack of irrigation. The enormous vine sets numerous
good keepers with mild-tasting, light yellow flesh.
Obviously, the compact bush summer squash varieties so popular these
days are not good candidates for withstanding long periods without
irrigation. The old heirlooms like Black Zucchini (ABL) (not Black
Beauty!) and warty Yellow Crookneck grow enormous, high-yielding
plants whose extent nearly rivals that of the largest winter squash.
They also grow a dense leaf cover, making the fruit a little harder
to find. These are the only American heirlooms still readily
available. Black Zucchini has become very raggedy; anyone growing it
should be prepared to plant several vines and accept that at least
one-third of them will throw rather off-type fruit. It needs the
work of a skilled plant breeder. Yellow Crookneck is still a fairly
"clean" variety offering good uniformity. Both have more flavor and
are less watery than the modern summer squash varieties. Yellow
Crookneck is especially rich, probably due to its thick, oily skin;
most gardeners who once grow the old Crookneck never again grow any
other kind. Another useful drought-tolerant variety is Gem,
sometimes called Rolet (TSC). It grows an extensive
winter-squash-like vine yielding grapefruit-size, excellent eating
summer squash.
Both Yellow Crookneck and Black Zucchini begin yielding several
weeks later than the modern hybrids. However, as the summer goes on
they will produce quite a bit more squash than new hybrid types. I
now grow five or six fully irrigated early hybrid plants like Seneca
Zucchini too. As soon as my picking bucket is being filled with
later-to-yield Crooknecks, I pull out the Senecas and use the now
empty irrigated space for fall crops.
Tomato
There's no point in elaborate methods--trellising, pruning, or
training--with dry-gardened tomato vines. Their root systems must be
allowed to control all the space they can without competition, so
allow the vines to sprawl as well. And pruning the leaf area of
indeterminates is counterproductive: to grow hugely, the roots need
food from a full complement of leaves.
_Sowing date:_ Set out transplants at the usual time. They might
also be jump started under cloches two to three weeks before the
last frost, to make better use of natural soil moisture.
_Spacing:_ Depends greatly on variety. The root system can occupy as
much space as the vines will cover and then some.
_Irrigation:_ Especially on determinate varieties, periodic
fertigation will greatly increase yield and size of fruit. The old
indeterminate sprawlers will produce through an entire summer
without any supplemental moisture, but yield even more in response
to irrigation.
_Variety:_ With or without irrigation or anywhere in between, when
growing tomatoes west of the Cascades, nothing is more important
than choosing the right variety. Not only does it have to be early
and able to set and ripen fruit when nights are cool, but to grow
through months without watering the plant must be highly
indeterminate. This makes a built-in conflict: most of the sprawly,
huge, old heirloom varieties are rather late to mature. But cherry
tomatoes are always far earlier than big slicers.
If I had to choose only one variety it would be the old heirloom
[Large] Red Cherry. A single plant is capable of covering a 9- to
10-foot-diameter circle if fertigated from mid-July through August.
The enormous yield of a single fertigated vine is overwhelming.
Red Cherry is a little acid and tart. Non-acid, indeterminate cherry
types like Sweetie, Sweet 100, and Sweet Millions are also workable
but not as aggressive as Red Cherry. I wouldn't depend on most bush
cherry tomato varieties. But our earliest cherry variety of all,
OSU's Gold Nugget, must grow a lot more root than top, for, with or
without supplemental water, Gold Nugget sets heavily and ripens
enormously until mid-August, when it peters out from overbearing
(not from moisture stress). Gold Nugget quits just about when the
later cherry or slicing tomatoes start ripening heavily.
Other well-adapted early determinates such as Oregon Spring and
Santiam may disappoint you. Unless fertigated, they'll set and ripen
some fruit but may become stunted in midsummer. However, a single
indeterminate Fantastic Hybrid will cover a 6-to 7-foot-diameter
circle, and grow and ripen tomatoes until frost with only a minimum
of water. I think Stupice (ABL, TSC) and Early Cascade are also
quite workable (and earlier than Fantastic in Washington).