A few weeks back, I watched an episode of Texas Central Gardener where I was introduced to the concept of dry gardening/ farming. Being that our summer's can be pretty hot and dry, this peeked an interest in me, so I did a little more research on it. The idea is that to produce more yield, you plant less crops and space them out. So whatever the recommended space would be, you would double it. The extra spacing between plants gives the plant less competition for water. Once you plant it, you do a slow drip watering to get the roots to grow deep instead of wide toward the ground water. There are other techniques to help with water loss like a light soil tilling a day after the rain so the top layer of soil doesn't dry out and crack. This keeps the top layer like a blanket which keeps the water from evaporating. Another thing you can do is to do a dust mulching, which after a rain, you lightly cover the ground with a thin layer of organic mulch. Remember to keep the mulch a few inches away from the actual plant to avoid any burning.
Its been about 3 months now since the completion of the backyard grape pergola. We have enjoyed it a lot, retreating to it after a long day of teaching, with a beverage and light snack. I spruced it up with some rope lighting and a few fans to help keep the mosquitoes at bay and for a cool breeze. I also found an old metal chandelier at a thrift store and took out all the wiring. Its just hanging above the 8ft picnic table, but it gives it a touch of ambiance. I threw on some screen fabric to provide a little shade over half of it and its all good.
New plants to locate for future planting:
- garlic chives- perennial, fast growing, great for adding to cooking, spreading plant
Get dirty and keep on gardening!
