Home gardens can thrive during drought conditions
McClatchy Newspapers
CHICAGO
Kathy Wolan has been harvesting her Arlington Heights, Ill., garden plot for 23 years and said she’s never seen her plants produce tomatoes so enormous and plump.
“They’re bigger than softballs,” Wolan said.
It’s not just her tomatoes that are thriving. Wolan said her green beans are “doing fabulous” and she has given enough basil to her sister to make batches and batches of homemade pesto.
While historically hot, dry weather has withered corn fields and parched lawns, many home gardeners say they are experiencing bumper crops.
Ironically, the drought may have helped.
Experts say that squash, tomatoes and other heat-loving produce have thrived during this summer’s long stretches of sunny days and haven’t missed the rain because of consistent watering.
“People have become more aware that their plants have needs, so there’s less of a casual assumption the rain will take care of it,” said Beth Botts, freelance garden writer and consultant. “Some think any amount of rain means they don’t have to water, but a sidewalk sprinkling doesn’t get to plants’ roots. This year, there’s more of a focus on actually getting out and watering.”
Western Illinois University agriculture professor Joel Gruver said this summer’s weather has been comparable to that experienced in what’s known as the vegetable belt of California The consistently hot and dry weather provided a controlled environment for growing, he said.
“Predictable weather can mean great productivity,” Gruver said. “You add water as needed to compensate for the lack of rain. For growing vegetables, it’s a lot easier to deal with hot and dry than excessively wet and cloudy.”
Oak Park, Ill., resident Julie Samuels said her garden has seen some giants this summer. Her peppers and potatoes are thriving — and her grapevine is sprawling up her neighbor’s fence.
“The butternut squash crop is wonderful — they’ve taken over our garden. I’d guess some are as big as 3 or 4 pounds,” Samuels said. “Our herb plants are also enormous, about three times bigger than normal.”
Samuels said it has been an unusual summer for plants across the board. Some are booming, while others are stunted.
A warm March kick-started the growing season, leaving plants to survive the ups and downs of spring temperatures, she said. If the plants made it through the strange spring and were consistently watered throughout summer, she said, they’re likely bigger than ever.
Jenny Jocks Stelzer said her tomatoes and peppers are “coming in like crazy.” While she planned to supplement her watering from a backyard rain barrel, it was often bone dry — so she had to resort to the garden hose.
“I’ve got probably 30 jalapeno peppers on three plants right now,” she said. “My vegetables that do well in the heat are really looking great this year.”
Ron Wolford, horticulture educator for the University of Illinois Extension, helps maintain a garden at the Museum of Science and Industry’s “Smart Home” exhibit. One of the biggest differences he has seen in this year’s crop is a decrease in diseases, which could be a reason many have done so well this year.
“The lack of disease goes to the dry weather,” Wolford said.
“Every time it rains, plant diseases spread. Since we haven’t seen as much rain, there’s hardly any Leaf Spot Disease, which usually harms our tomatoes.”
After nearly two decades of gardening, Wolan said she’s learned plenty about growing vegetables — but none more important than proper watering tactics. Now that she has built her garden on a mesalike platform, the water does not run off as quickly as before.
“We couldn’t control the sunlight or heat this year, but we could control the water,” Wolan said. “As long as they’ve got water, they’ll grow.”
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