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At the height of last summer’s drought all outdoor water use was banned in my neighbourhood. Lessons were learned.

I understand and support watering restrictions, but they do handcuff a food gardener trying to respond to the needs of the garden.

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I ended up leaving a good portion of my garden area under a cover crop, rather than try to grow vegetables without water.

What I did plant, I mulched with straw, leaves and grass clippings to reduce evaporation.

No doubt many of you learned — as I did — how hard it is to water deeply when sprinkling is curtailed or banned outright. Handwatering for deep moisture takes more time than I have to spare. I seldom soaked the soil more than an inch deep, and that does a plant very little good.

Two things to do if things get dry again: Place smaller plants such as lettuce and spinach in the shady parts of the garden and place heat lovers such as squash, cucumbers and tomatoes in full sun using this garden hack.