Growing vegetables without irrigation may sound farfetched, but two Willamette Valley trials proved crops can be grown in home gardens without a drop of irrigation.
At demonstration gardens in Benton and Marion counties, Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardeners successfully grew tomatoes and other vegetables without irrigation except on the day they put them in the ground. The idea came from Amy Garrett, assistant professor of practice with the Extension Small Farms Program, who is conducting research into dryland farming, an ages-old but little-used method of farming vegetables without supplemental irrigation.
Garrett began her research in 2015 with a trial of tomatoes, squash, beans, and melons. Not only did the plants thrive, but in a blind taste test the majority choose dryland tomatoes and melons over irrigated ones. The taste, they said, was sweeter.
Since Garrett started her work on dryland farming the idea caught on and the Dry Farming Collaborative has formed to further refine the system. The idea intrigues home gardeners, too.
When some OSU Extension Master Gardeners found out about Garrett’s research, they decided to translate the principles to small-scale plots. In Benton County, Ann Brodie headed up a group that grew three ‘Dirty Girl’ tomato plants for two years at their demonstration garden at the Benton County Fairgrounds.