And at the end of that summer I wrote this book.
What follows is not mere theory, not something I read about or saw
others do. These techniques are tested and workable. The
next-to-last chapter of this book contains a complete plan of my
1992 garden with explanations and discussion of the reasoning behind
it.
In _Water-Wise Vegetables _I assume that my readers already are
growing food (probably on raised beds), already know how to adjust
their gardening to this region's climate, and know how to garden
with irrigation. If you don't have this background I suggest you
read my other garden book, _Growing Vegetables West of the
Cascades,_ (Sasquatch Books, 1989).
Steve Solomon
Chapter 1
Predictably Rainless Summers
In the eastern United States, summertime rainfall can support
gardens without irrigation but is just irregular enough to be
worrisome. West of the Cascades we go into the summer growing season
certain we must water regularly.
My own many-times-revised book _Growing Vegetables West of the
Cascades_ correctly emphasized that moisture-stressed vegetables
suffer greatly. Because I had not yet noticed how plant spacing
affects soil moisture loss, in that book I stated a half-truth as
law: Soil moisture loss averages 1-1/2 inches per week during
summer.
This figure is generally true for raised-bed gardens west of the
Cascades, so I recommended adding 1 1/2 inches of water each week
and even more during really hot weather.
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