Watering is not my favourite activity. I can imagine little more mind-numbingly boring ways of spending your time than repeatedly refilling a watering can then trudging up and down the garden with it emptying it into the earth.
So I am all for techniques which cut down on the amount of watering I have to do. Especially since it’s now about two months since the last decent rainfall, and though we are promised the weather will break this weekend it doesn’t look like my little corner of the south-west is going to get much of it, and in any case I’m not sure the relief will last long.
Tomatoes, of course, are notoriously thirsty plants: they are big, and jungly, and fast-growing, so it’s not surprising. They aren’t great choices for a climate that’s warming: it’s much more sensible to grow drought-tolerant vegetables like chard, Mediterranean herbs, root vegetables and perennial crops which are in the ground long enough to get their roots well into the water table.
But I do love a tom: I also adore courgettes, cucumbers and pumpkins, also well known for their hoover-like ability to suck up water. So I reserve my precious water supplies for these, and the salads and peppery plants which need regular watering to keep them from turning bitter.
I also install a few little extra boosts which help hang on to water a little longer, and make best use of the water I do give my plants – so they help to keep plants healthy and growing strongly, even in quite prolonged droughts. Here’s a rundown of my favourites.
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