water the garden twice a day by hand to conserve water. Worst year we've ever had....please pray for quiet gentle rain, and lots of it.[/quote]
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Prayers for a long rain. Maybe I'd better visit Texas again, the last time I was there in mid summer it rained almost every day.
For planting, go for heavy mulch. Up to your knees if you can find that much. There is the stuff they put in pots to hold water, if you can find that it would work but expensive. Still, good old mulch works wonders, even old newspapers with hay or grass on it.
Here in the blazing sun of central California, I most times make up my own potting mix. Sawdust, peat moss, wood shavings, tiny wood pieces, cat litter (NEW) because it is formulated to hold moisture, HINT=mix it in while the other stuff is DRY,
Finely cut up newspaper and shredded papers, DRIED grass clippings if you don't use chemicals on the lawn, perlite. All of this, mixed with about 1/4th or more of the volume being plain old dirt, will grow plants that don't need as much water as they would in the ground.
Check out RUTH STOUT's books, she was Organic Gardening's
top writer for mulching gardens.
Prayers for all of you, including my two daughters near Ft. Worth/Dallas and Ft. Hood.