Hi there, We had a terrible drought one year; I had planted both Blue Lake and Kentucky Wonder pole beans; Blue Lake because we like the beans, [and I don't like to string them,] K.W. for reliability. The Kentucky Wonder outdid the Blue Lake by a long shot,and even though I had to string them, at least we had beans! They just seem to be tougher plants, more reliable, and need less water,[also less susceptible to pests and disease]. I guess I should plant some every year, in case we have a drought! Best wishes!

All my blue lake were eaten by slugs/snails and all I got left are green twigs. This year, I got more snails than I have in the past and I use beer trap and its not helping much. I am going to get some more and plant them on 6-packs and replant when they are a bit older.

Okra takes the prize. It does well in extremely hot and pretty dry conditions.
If it is too hot to go outside and the sun is beating down and everything is baking, okra is happy.

Try it, you'll see.

Okra and non-watermelon melons do really well on restricted water.

Also Armenian cukes...which are a type of melon.

All of these will also grow in the worst of the summer heat.

Okra, definitely. Southern peas (black eyes, cream cowpeas, etc.) love the heat just about as much, but I don't know if they're really drought tolerant. More so than beans atleast.

I am so ready for fresh okra. We still have another 4+ weeks before we get any in a good amount out here in mid-NC depending on how the weather goes.

I use okra fresh off the plant in veggie mixes to thicken things up a bit and add a little flavor. The pods have a nice 'green veggie' taste, the seeds have a hint of sweetness to them, and the "slime" is flavorless yet works great as a mild thickener.

When the okra is fresh off the plant it has a crispness that lasts even if you cook it a while. Okra's one of those things that really loses it's true texture 3-5 days off the plant even when properly stored. It's good breaded and baked/fried, too, but I generally only do that a few times a summer. I tend to keep less than 10 plants and I am only growing 5 this season.

No kidding, NC. It's been a few years since I've had room to plant any okra, so this year I planted a LOT. I'll be pickling quite a bit & freezing even more. If you're on a low-Carb diet or are allergic to wheat, it surely does make an especially great thickener. I'm also going to try it fried like french fries this year.

Fried okra is very good. The general rule for drought resistant veggies is: anything with a taproot and/or a propensity for warm weather. Radicchio, chard, melons, watermelon, parsnips, favas, sunchokes, asparagus for the former, okra, melons, watermelon for the latter. Carrot will do OK in dry weather but the final product won't be very palatable. Fava has a big taproot, but it is seldom tested by drought because, at least here, it dies as soon as the temperature hits 85. I find that my ostrich ferns (a deep shade spring vegetable which doubles as ornamental), once established, are quite resistant. They get water maybe twice in the summer, they look good, and they spread with abandon.

I don't think I saw anyone mention eggplant, so I thought I'd throw that in. It seems to have about the same water demands as peppers. Also, it seems that cherry tomatoes can produce on less water than the bigger, pulpy maters.

Tomatoes can go without water. Yes, really. I dry garden Early Girl tomatoes every year--that is using the water harvested during our rainy season. The fruit is slightly smaller, the skin a bit thick, but the flavor instense. Here is a link to how I dry garden:

http://www.harvestwizard.com/2009/02/dry_gardening.html

Here is a link that might be useful: http://HarvestToTable.com

I think okra and cowpeas are two of the most drought resistant vegetables, but Southerners can tell about that with more authority than I. The reason I suggest these is that they are extensively grown during hot Southern summers.

Both of them have unique culinary uses which are practically unknown in the North so, if you grow them, do some research so you can bring out the best in them. They can be mighty tasty prepared the right way.

Jim

Read Steve Solomon's Gardening in the coming hard times.

He says to plant further apart so that each plants roots
can grow to their potential. Should do that anyway even
with no drought.

Also use his Complete Organic Fertilizer. It is a better
formular than most.

Dave Rogers

I'd have to disagree with planting things father apart. In my experience, planting things farther apart allows the soil to dry out quicker, not to mention making more work preparing a larger area & either weeding more or gathering enough mulch to counteract those two problems. YMMV in other zones, but down here in hot, dry Texas, planting closer together than recommended conserves a lot more moisture, & labor as well.

Plus, a nice bonus is more veggies. There may be less yield per plant, but you get more yield per square foot, sometimes much more.

what about trying these?

beans
lettuce
radishes
yellow squash

for us it all comes down to heaps of mulching, at least 6"s of it and replenish as it rots down we use green type mulches spent hay's etc.,. also look to using your used water in the garden this will help to keep fesh water use to a minimum, we find hand watering when needs to be the best only the root zones of each plant and not over the foliage.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

Try sweetpotatoes if you have at least a 120-day growing season. Drought-resistant. Very minimal care will give you large yields without much input. I like to recommend sweetpotatoes to those who have the 'plant it and forget it' mentality. They're really not gardeners. Here in SC I plant slips in early May.