Lazy gardening

cootambear

I made a trough of guttering which runs all three sides of my garden fence. the problem is of course that it dries out too quickly. some nights I just cannot be arsed to go out and water.

so. what - edible - plants, or herbs can I grow in it (it is only 3 inches deep), that are drought resistant?

southerly

Can't think of much that is edible and drought tolerant except for thyme, (and you are not likely to need much of that), and a dwarf (if there is one) or trailing variety of rosemary. Both would want sun.
I bought seeds for oregano recently, thinking that as it is a mediterranean plant it must be drought tolerant, but it says on the packet that it likes moist soil, I can't believe it would get that in Greece!

a1cat

Oregano does great in drought summer

cootambear

I dont mind those both as I cook with those a lot. Plus they smell good. Thank you.

tim_n

radish do OK, peas can be started quite sucessfully in it too, but need somewhere with more soil to continue to grow. Lettuce you may get away with as well.

Orange_King

I used my old guttering as a holder for plastic bottles and cut holes in the sides for more strawberry plants - there was no more room for them elsewhere. While the roots were not terribly well protected from sunlight, they did manage to produce some good fruit this year and I'll repeat next year - this was the plants first proper year of fruiting. Watering is the problem though as you have to be a bit more ccurate than usual.

flea72

water retaining gel would be one option, or a trickle irrigation system - there are very few edible plants that have shallow roots and like dry conditions. you can get away with watering most vegetables every other day, but just dont expect the to be as big, or nice looking as a plant that you take more care of. you could get away with sewing lettuce, radish, beetroot, but only sew a few at a time, over many intervals, as these items bolt easily, and moreso, if they get dry

F

matt987106

strawberry plants, but you would need a constant trickle of water, a solar powered pump in a rain water butt, with a little tap to slow the flow right down

southerly

a1cat wrote: »

Oregano does great in drought summer

Yes, I am not surprised, sometimes I think they put very generic instructions on seed packets, my Wilko (quite old now) packets all say 'keep free from weeds, do not over-water, do not allow to dry out'. The oregano packet Thompson & Morgan - 'prefers moist, well drained soil in full sun'. What soil in full sun is ever going to be moist unless it's a bog!

cootambear

thanks all

the amount of lettuce type plants I have planted is deranged. they go to seed quickly. they grow like weeds in the cracks of my stone slabs lol.