Gardening in drought conditions

It’s becoming obvious that we’re going to have to learn to live with water shortages in the UK.

First catch your rain

Start by investing in one of the rainwater diverting kits which can easily be fitted to most plastic down pipes. Most kits are universal to fit both round and square pipes. Alternatively a straight down pipe can be fitted into the top of a water butt or barrel - the only problem then is to fit some form of overflow.

Improve the soil structure

Increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil of a flower bed will help it retain moisture - but this isn't something which can be done when the dry spell arrives. You have to invest in the process in advance. In the case of heavy soils, it is a good idea to dig in farmyard manure in the autumn or winter. For light soils, dig it in later in the year, maybe in spring, to avoid the nutrients being washed out. In heavy clay soils, organic matter will open up the structure while in light, sandy soils, it will add body and nutrients. In both cases root growth will also be encouraged to help the plants find what water there is.

Apply some mulch

Putting a mulch on top of moist soil will help keep it cool and reduce evaporation. Thick mulches also help suppress the weeds that will be competing with plants for what water there is. Various materials can be used - composted bark, ordinary garden compost, grass cuttings, even old carpets, but avoid any material which may contain weed seeds. Don’t use peat as a mulch, it’s too valuable a material to waste in this way and should it dry out, it is difficult to re-wet.

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