10 Ways to Help Your Garden Survive a Drought

You don't have to let your garden die if you're going through a drought! Help it through the dry spell with these 10 ways to help your garden survive a drought.

How to Help Your Garden Survive a Drought

There's nothing worse for a gardener than having started a beautiful garden right before a drought starts. But just because you're in the middle of a drought doesn't mean you have to lose all your plants! Even if you haven't planted drought-resistant varieties, you can still keep your garden growing. Take a look at these tips on How to Help Your Garden Survive a Drought!

10 Ways to Help Your Garden Survive a Drought

1. Water at the Right Time

The perfect time to water during a drought is in the early morning when the sun isn't going to dry all the water up right away, giving your plants some time to absorb the water. Watering at night just promotes disease and fungal growth because the water sits on plants for so long.

2. Water the Right Way

Instead of parceling out a little water over a week, your plants would actually do better if you gave them a lot of water one or two times a week. When you give them this water, don't flood them. Instead, water somewhat slowly so the water has time to really soak into the ground.

3. Use Drip Irrigation

Drip irrigation is a great way to help your garden survive a drought! This is because a drip irrigation system provides water directly to the roots of your plants, so no water is lost. But it also doesn't use a lot of water (hence the term "drip"), making it a highly effective drought watering system!

4. Help Keep Moisture In

To help your garden survive a drought, you need to ensure as little moisture as possible is lost. To do this, make sure to mulch your garden. There are many different types of mulch (wood chips, plastic chips, straw, grass clippings, etc.) and the one you choose to use should depend upon your budget and the plants that you're growing.

5. Gather Your Own Water

Rather than relying completely on your city's water to water your plants, why not try to catch a few extra gallons of water yourself? If you're lucky enough to get rain during your drought, a rain barrel can catch runoff from your roof. Also consider using "grey water," water left over from washing your hands or rinsing your salad.

6. Don't Fertilize

When you fertilize your plants, you encourage them to grow new, thirsty growth. During a drought, it's best to avoid fertilizing to prevent your plants from creating such vulnerable new growth.

7. Prioritize Your Watering

If you're going through a drought, it may be a good idea to avoid watering grass and drought-resistant plant varieties. Instead, focus on your trees (you don't want them to weaken and fall over) and your more fragile plants.

8. Provide Shade

A simple way to help your garden survive the dry heat of a drought is to give it shade! You could put up umbrellas, trellises, or even build a shade structure to help keep the hot sun off your dry plants, at least for part of the day.

9. Plant More

Believe it or not, one way to help your garden survive a drought is actually to plant more plants! By planting plants in a tight group you help them to shade one another. Also, plants release some water vapor, and when packed close together this vapor builds up, creating a somewhat humid environment, which is great during a drought!

10. Stop Pruning

To stop your plants from growing too fast and requiring too much water, stop pruning. Pruning just encourages new growth, like fertilizing does, which isn't good during a drought.

How do you help your garden during droughts? Tell me in the comments!

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