Gardening Without Irrigation Part 6

_Sowing date:_ It is easiest to sow in April or early May, minimally fertigate a somewhat gnarly plant through the summer, push it for size in fall and winter, and then harvest it next March. With too early a start in spring, some premature flowering may occur in autumn; still, ma.s.sive blooming will resume again in spring.

Overwintering green Italian types such as ML423 (TSC) will flower in fall if sown before late June. These sorts are better started in a nursery bed around August 1 and like overwintered cauliflower, transplanted about 2 feet apart when fall rains return, then, pushed for growth with extra fertilizer in fall and winter.

With nearly a whole year to grow before blooming, Purple Sprouting eventually reaches 4 to 5 feet in height and 3 to 4 feet in diameter, and yields hugely.

_Irrigation:_ It is not essential to heavily fertigate Purple Sprouting, though you may G-R-O-W enormous plants for their beauty.

Quality or quant.i.ty of spring harvest won't drop one bit if the plants become a little stunted and gnarly in summer, as long as you fertilize late in September to spur rapid growth during fall and winter.

Root System Vigor in the Cabbage Family

Wild cabbage is a weed and grows like one, able to successfully compete for water against gra.s.ses and other herbs. Remove all compet.i.tion with a hoe, and allow this weed to totally control all the moisture and nutrients in all the earth its roots can occupy, and it grows hugely and lushly. Just for fun, I once G-R-E-W one, with tillage, hoeing, and spring fertilization but no irrigation; it ended up 5 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter.

As this highly moldable family is inbred and shaped into more and more exaggerated forms, it weakens and loses the ability to forage.

Kale retains the most wild aggressiveness, Chinese cabbage perhaps the least. Here, in approximately correct order, is shown the declining root vigor and general adaptation to moisture stress of cabbage family vegetables. The table shows the most vigorous at the top, declining as it goes down.

Adapted to dry gardening Not vigorous enough

Kale Italian broccoli (some varieties) Brussels sprouts (late types) Cabbage (regular market types) Late savoy cabbage Brussels sprouts (early types) Giant "field-type" kohlrabi Small "market-garden" kohlrabi Mid-season savoy cabbage Cauliflower (regular, annual) Rutabaga Turnips and radishes Italian Broccoli (some varieties) Chinese cabbage Brussels Sprouts

_Sowing date:_ If the plants are a foot tall before the soil starts drying down, their roots will be over a foot deep; the plants will then grow hugely with a bit of fertigation. At Elkton I dry garden Brussels sprouts by sowing late April to early May. Started this soon, even late-maturing varieties may begin forming sprouts by September. Though premature bottom sprouts will "blow up" and become aphid damaged, more, higher-quality sprouts will continue to form farther up the stalk during autumn and winter.

_s.p.a.cing:_ Make each spot about 4 feet apart.

_Irrigation:_ Without any added moisture, the plants will become stunted but will survive all summer. Side-dressing manure or fertilizer late in September (or sooner if the rains come sooner) will provoke very rapid autumn growth and a surprisingly large yield from plants that looked stress out in August. If increasingly larger amounts of fertigation can be provided every two to three weeks, the lush Brussels sprouts plants can become 4 feet in diameter and 4 feet tall by October and yield enormously.

_Varieties:_ Use late European hybrid types. At Elkton, where winters are a little milder than in the Willamette, Lunet (TSC) has the finest eating qualities. Were I farther north I'd grow hardier types like Stabolite (TSC) or Fortress (TSC). Early types are not suitable to growing with insufficient irrigation or frequent spraying to fight off aphids.

Cabbage

Forget those delicate, green supermarket cabbages unless you have unlimited amounts of water. But easiest-to-grow savoy types will do surprisingly well with surprisingly little support. Besides, savoys are the best salad material.

_Sowing date:_ I suggest three sowing times: the first, a succession of early, midseason, and late savoys made in mid-March for harvest during summer; the second, late and very late varieties started late April to early May for harvest during fall and winter; the last, a nursery bed of overwintered sorts sown late in August.

_s.p.a.cing:_ Early-maturing savoy varieties are naturally smaller and may not experience much hot weather before heading up--these may be separated by about 30 inches. The later ones are large plants and should be given 4 feet of s.p.a.ce or 16 square feet of growing room.

Sow and grow them like broccoli. Transplant overwintered cabbages from nursery beds late in October, s.p.a.ced about 3 feet apart; these thrive where the squash grew.

_Irrigation:_ The more fertigation you can supply, the larger and more luxuriant the plants and the bigger the heads. But even small, somewhat moisture-stressed savoys make very edible heads. In terms of increased yield for water expended, it is well worth it to provide late varieties with a few gallons of fertigation about mid-June, and a bucketful in mid-July and mid-August.

_Varieties:_ j.a.panese hybrid savoys make tender eating but may not withstand winter. European savoys are hardier, coa.r.s.er, thicker-leaved, and harder chewing. For the first sowing I suggest a succession of j.a.panese varieties including Salarite or Savoy Princess for earlies; Savoy Queen, King, or Savoy Ace for midsummer; and Savonarch (TSC) for late August/early September harvests.

They're all great varieties. For the second sowing I grow Savonarch (TSC) for September[-]November cutting and a very late European hybrid type like Wivoy (TSC) for winter. Small-framed January King lacks sufficient root vigor. Springtime (TSC) and FEM218 (TSC) are the only overwintered cabbages available.

Carrots

Dry-gardening carrots requires patiently waiting until the weather stabilizes before tilling and sowing. To avoid even a little bit of soil compaction, I try to sprout the seed without irrigation but always fear that hot weather will frustrate my efforts. So I till and plant too soon. And then heavy rain comes and compacts my perfectly fluffed-up soil. But the looser and finer the earth remains during their first six growing weeks, the more perfectly the roots will develop.

_Sowing date:_ April at Elkton.

_s.p.a.cing:_ Allocate 4 feet of width to a single row of carrot seed.

When the seedlings are about 2 inches tall, thin to 1 inch apart.

Then thin every other carrot when the roots are [f]3/8 to [f]1/2 inch in diameter and eat the thinnings. A few weeks later, when the carrots are about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter, make a final thinning to 1 foot apart.

_Irrigation:_ Not necessary. Foliar feeding every few weeks will make much larger roots. Without any help they should grow to several pounds each.

_Varieties:_ Choosing the right variety is very important. Nantes and other delicate, juicy types lack enough fiber to hold together when they get very large. These split prematurely. I've had my best results with Danvers types. I'd also try Royal Chantenay (PEA), Fakkel Mix (TSC), Stokes "Processor" types, and Topweight (ABL). Be prepared to experiment with variety. The roots will not be quite as tender as heavily watered Nantes types but are a lot better than you'd think. Huge carrots are excellent in soups and we cheerfully grate them into salads. Something about acc.u.mulating suns.h.i.+ne all summer makes the roots incredibly sweet.

Cauliflower

Ordinary varieties cannot forage for moisture. Worse, moisture stress at any time during the growth cycle prevents proper formation of curds. The only important cauliflowers suitable for dry gardening are overwintered types. I call them important because they're easy to grow and they'll feed the family during April and early May, when other garden fare is very scarce.

_Sowing date:_ To acquire enough size to survive cold weather, overwintered cauliflower must be started on a nursery bed during the difficult heat of early August. Except south of Yoncalla, delaying sowing until September makes very small seedlings that may not be hardy enough and likely won't yield much in April unless winter is very mild, encouraging unusual growth.

_s.p.a.cing:_ In October, transplant about 2 feet apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart.

_Irrigation:_ If you have more water available, fertilize and till up some dusty, dry soil, wet down the row, direct-seed like broccoli (but closer together), and periodically irrigate until fall. If you only moisten a narrow band of soil close to the seedlings it won't take much water. Cauliflower grows especially well in the row that held bush peas.

_Varieties:_ The best are the very pricy Armado series sold by Territorial.

Chard

This vegetable is basically a beet with succulent leaves and thick stalks instead of edible, sweet roots. It is just as drought tolerant as a beet, and in dry gardening, chard is sown, s.p.a.ced, and grown just like a beet. But if you want voluminous leaf production during summer, you may want to fertigate it occasionally.

_Varieties:_ The red chards are not suitable for starting early in the season; they have a strong tendency to bolt prematurely if sown during that part of the year when daylength is increasing.

Corn

Broadcast complete organic fertilizer or strong compost shallowly over the corn patch till midwinter, or as early in spring as the earth can be worked without making too many clods. Corn will germinate in pretty rough soil. High levels of nutrients in the subsoil are more important than a fine seedbed.

_Sowing date:_ About the time frost danger ends. Being large seed, corn can be set deep, where soil moisture still exists even after conditions have warmed up. Germination without irrigation should be no problem.

_s.p.a.cing_: The farther south, the farther apart. Entirely without irrigation, I've had fine results s.p.a.cing individual corn plants 3 feet apart in rows 3 feet apart, or 9 square feet per each plant.

Were I around Puget Sound or in B.C. I'd try 2 feet apart in rows 30 inches apart. Gary Nabhan describes Papago gardeners in Arizona growing individual cornstalks 10 feet apart. Grown on wide s.p.a.cings, corn tends to tiller (put up multiple stalks, each making one or two ears). For most urban and suburban gardeners, s.p.a.ce is too valuable to allocate 9 square feet for producing one or at best three or four ears.

_Irrigation:_ With normal sprinkler irrigation, corn may be s.p.a.ced 8 inches apart in rows 30 inches apart, still yielding one or two ears per stalk.

_Varieties:_ Were I a devoted sweetcorn eater without enough irrigation, I'd be buying a few dozen freshly picked ears from the back of a pickup truck parked on a corner during local harvest season. Were I a devoted corn grower without any irrigation, I'd be experimenting with various types of field corn instead of sweet corn. Were I a self-sufficiency buff trying earnestly to produce all my own cereal, I'd accept that the maritime Northwest is a region where survivalists will eat wheat, rye, millet, and other small grains.

Many varieties of field corn are nearly as sweet as ordinary sweet corn, but grain varieties become starchy and tough within hours of harvest. Eaten promptly, "pig" corn is every bit as tasty as Jubilee. I've had the best dry-garden results with Northstine Dent (JSS) and Garland Flint (JSS). Hookers Sweet Indian (TSC) has a weak root system.

Successfully Starting Cucurbits From Seed