Gardening Without Irrigation: or without much, anyway

S >> Steve Solomon >> Gardening Without Irrigation: or without much, anyway

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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 a ernestly 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.

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