See if they have rain barrels..then you could collect extra water. Also you could keep a bucket in your shower to catch extra water. I would mulch everything very thick...it improves soil and keeps roots cool retaining water. Best of luck-Rena

Personally, I'd use heavy mulch, drip lines to a rain water barrel. If your soil has a lot of organic matter in it it will retain water longer.

I got this idea from a story in a local paper. Over here in Australia we are suffering a major drought, Sydney's main water supply is quickly drying up. We have restrictions at the moment, fines if caught. Watering systems are a no-no, we have to water only at night on certain days, though we can use hand watering.

The original story was about a man who sunk large plastic pots in his garden, fills them with water and then the water seeps underground through the drainage holes. My idea was to dig a hole large enough for the plant and the pot it came out of to sit side by side. The area is back filled and then the pot is filled with water. My plants thrived because the water was getting straight to their roots. We've had some rains since and I've remulched the area so I've been able to take the pots out. But I left the hole, using it to dump a few days worth of kitchen scraps covering it up with the upturned pot. They are breaking down well and encouraging worms to enrich the soil.

Simply Devine,

Could you post pics of your raised beds? Would love to see!

I mulch heavily and use recycled paper between plants. This 1) keeps weeds down 2) keeps the garden moist--water much less this way 3)REALLY encourages worms and their castings and 4 turns into great organic matter. We throw straw and grass clippings on top of this to hold it down and also keep things moist.

We use 55 gallon rainbarrels on the downspouts, save bath/dishwashing water (great fertilizer and insecticide). Hope to send the clothes wash water out to the fruit trees this summer.Drip hoses put water where you want it. They are under mulch so there is no evaporation.

mid tn mama,

Excellent!

I'm looking for a resource where I can buy shredded paper and use it as mulch.

I am as you 'catching' whatever water I can not that I need to save on our water bill and not because it may appear to be more work. It's just a good habit to get into.

Have you had experience with 'trench'ing tomatoes?

Happy Gardening,
simply divine joe

I've heard of trenching potatoes, but not tomatoes. You dig a trench a foot deep, drop seed potatoes in, cover with a thick layer of straw or hay, and that's all. You just might want to lay a soaker hose in the trench too. The potato grows up through the mulch. You harvest your tubers by pulling back the mulch when the tops die back in the fall. It didn't work out here in Arizona because it got too dry in one of our many drought years.
Norm