How to Xeriscape Your Vegetables Grow Water Wise Veggies And Herbs

7 (or is it 8?) steps of xeriscape: 1.Plan 2.Soil 3.Limit (Edit) 4.Irrigate Efficiently 5.Mulch 6.Appropriate Plants 7.Maintain 8.Add a sense of humor and adventure These steps, applied to growing vegetables in containers

Plan - Design Location – 6 hours of sun (know your east, west, north, south) Containers – efficient use of space and water, must be large enough to produce a good crop, at least 12” wide and deep Flexibility – rearrange, combine options: 1. color, scent 2. shape, form, line 3. size, scale, texture 4. variety or repetition, transition or unity 5.change layout during the season as plants change (cool season to warm season veggies) 6.sort by watering needs (group closely to prevent evaporation)

Soil Containers give you a chance to choose your soil 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite or perlite Make your own compost a.Not rocket science b.Green/Wet (veggie wastes, coffee grounds, water from steaming veg) c.Brown/Dry (leaves, chopped twigs, straw, newspaper torn up) d.3 Keys: temperature, oxygen, moisture (3 x 3 foot ideal) e.Turn, aerate, water if needed f.Result is called “Black Gold” g.Make your own compost tea

Compost bin

Aeration Tool Rocket Science

Limit (Edit) Condense – what will you eat? Grow that, think quantities Simplify – choose the right varieties Clarify – think pretty, colorful, desirable, so you want to spend time observing and caring for them Results in an edited, simplified, condensed arrangement of containers full of what you like to eat, using less space, less water, and creating less work (and pretty – don’t forget the flowers, for you and for pollinators, and a comfy chair)

Irrigate Efficiently By drip 1.Purchased kit 2.Soda bottle with needle hole, buried to its shoulder By Self-Watering Containers 1.Make your own buckets 2.Make your own bins By controlled watering Use existing water sources (harvesting wasted water)

Mulch Best, #1, is compost (you know how to make that, now) Plant densely – fill in space with low growing flowers or shorter time to harvest veggies while taller ones grow Straw, dry leaves

Appropriate Plants Most appropriate plant = what you want to eat Look for shortest growth to harvest Look for low water use Always (my personal opinion) plant a few flowers with the veggies

Maintain Weeds not a big deal in prepared container soil 1.No hoeing allowed 2.Pull a weed or two while you sit in your chair, a mug in the other hand 3.Easy to observe and pull weeds when they are tiny 4.No backlog of seeds lurking in the soil, waiting to haunt you Bugs and other Critters 1.No gophers 2.Easy to observe and deal with a bug or two rather than an infestation 3.Easy to toss a cover over if needed (frost or bug intervention) 4.Scoot containers out of harm’s way if a hailstorm moves in Harvest is simple and convenient

Humor (Adventure and Fun) Definition of insanity: do same thing, same way, and expect different results…be a sane gardener, willing to try new things Accept mistakes and failures, learn from them, smile, try again Experiment with confidence “ To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” –Audrey Hepburn 1.Let’s plant 2.Let’s learn 3.Let’s grow and flourish along with our plants