3 Drought-Resistant Plants You Can Use to Create a Bountiful Garden in a Dry Climate Area
If you live in a dry-climate area in Australia or any other country, you can still have a bountiful garden just like those living in areas that receive adequate rainfall each year. You just need to get edible drought-resistant plants and shrubs and plant them in your garden. From tomatoes to other thorn-laden plants, you can find various dry-climate edible plants for your garden. Most of the edibles that grow in arid or dry areas are flavour-rich, and their flowers and leaves add beauty to the garden. Here are three edible plants people living in dry climate areas can grow:
Pomegranates
Pomegranates are historic fruit plants or shrubs that produce tasty fruits. Although pomegranates share some features with apples, they differ in several ways. Pomegranate plants can grow tall, and they produce flowers mainly in late spring and ripen in autumn. Their flowers aren't just tubular, but they are also lipstick red. Although pomegranate plants are drought-resistant, the young plants require adequate watering once in two months to enhance heavy fruiting. Don't water pomegranate plants in fall because excess moisture might make the ripening fruits to burst and even rot.
Burdock Gobo
Although some people consider burdock a roadside weed, it can be one of the most delicious vegetables you have ever eaten. Burdock gobo has edible roots, and it happily grows in the driest and harshest climates. Most of the burdock plants don't need watering to grow; just cast their seeds into the garden and leave the rest to nature. After spouting, this biennial plant takes several months to produce the flower stocks and seed-heads. After about 24 months, the roots are tough and deep-grounded to withstand the dry climate.
Early Girl Tomatoes
With different tomato species in the market, it's hard sometimes to know the tomatoes that will grow well in a dry area. Most tomato plants require adequate watering to grow and produce flavour-rich fruits. However, some species like the Early Girl tomatoes are among the dry-farmed plants you can use to beautify your garden and still make delicious meals at home. If you can't find the Early Girl species, you can plant Black Krim or Brandywine cherry tomatoes and water them the first few days after planting. Once you stop watering them, their vines may shrivel, but it doesn't hinder the ripening process.
Other dry-climate plants or edibles you could try on your garden include goumi, Jerusalem artichokes, purslane, fava beans, jujube, pear cactus and grapes. When choosing drought-resistant plants, you should consider the soil's ability to reflect heat, wind exposure and soil oxygenation to ensure the plants aren't just beautiful but also healthy.