If you’re like me, a sunny afternoon in March Replaces you tearing through your Territorial seed catalogue and poring over cryptic drawings of garden plots. It’s like I can hear my backyard’s biological clock ticking and I can’t wait another minute to get outside!
As part of your preparations for your 2014 garden, you’re probably checking out seed calendars and companion planting charts. Here’s one more graphic you might want to consider from the
U.S. Drought Monitor:
Experts are calling the current western dry spell one of the “worst droughts in 500 years”, severely affecting the supply of drinking water, as well as that for crop irrigation. In fact, one of the most far-reaching effects of even a localized drought in an agricultural state like California is rising produce prices across the country (read about food storage and drought
here).
In that light, gardening may seem like a smart way to beat the heat. However, if you live in any of the highlighted areas on the map above, there are some serious considerations for the home gardener. Some Californians have already been required to restrict water use. Your neighborhood may not be in quite such dire straights, but there are ways all of us can garden a little more conservatively in a dry year.
Check out these tips and tricks for gardening in lean times:
Water conservation is a good idea any time, but this year seems to be providing us a compelling reason to conserve. Read about
California’s challenges and some solutions you can implement at home and in the garden. Then get outside and get those peas in the ground!
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/us/severe-drought-has-us-west-fearing-worst.html
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Drought Monitor
