Record setting droughts around the world are becoming more common. In some areas, a dry season is expected but the severity might increase. In other areas, a dry summer may be totally out of the ordinary and throw off crops for gardeners.
I have a guide here to how you can conserve water in your garden.
One thing you can do to prevent losses during times of drought is to select drought-tolerant vegetables.
Some plants are naturally resilient in dry weather, such as herbs and some vegetables of the Mediterranean area.
But other plants have been selected over generations to be more resilient than their counterparts for dry gardening.
All of the varieties here are open-pollinated or landraces, so you can save seeds for more self-sufficiency in your garden.
From Amaranth to Zucchini, here’s a list of the specific varieties of drought-resistant crops for your vegetable garden. Whether you live in a dry climate or just want to conserve water, this list will support you in growing abundant harvests.
All amaranths are drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant, and gluten-free! A very easy to harvest and process grain. Check out my list of seed suppliers here.
2. Bean - Tepary, Lofthouse Landrace: Tepary beans are a staple food in southwestern Indigenous culture. They really thrive in hot, dry conditions. This landrace was bred for shorter seasons.
3. Cucumber - Armenian: Cucumbers are typically pretty thirsty. However, this variety is drought and heat tolerant, according to Redwood Seeds.
4. Eggplant - Ping Tung Long: This is the variety of eggplant that performs best in my greenhouse. It’s quick to mature and outcompetes the more supermarket-familiar varieties. Drought tolerant, and absolutely gorgeous.
Grow your own flax seed with little water resources or soil amendments! The pretty blue color of the flowers added beauty and bees to my garden this past season.
6. Garlic - Hadrut: A hardneck porcelain garlic that is cold hardy, this variety thrived in dry conditions in 2023. While you may need to work with this variety a bit to select for dry gardening, I think this garlic has promise.
7. Kale - Homesteader’s Kaleidoscopic Perennial Grex: A perennial kale seed early in the landrace phase (a grex). What’s great about that is you can plant a few and select for your tastes and growing conditions. Even better - these plants are perennial, so they will offer harvest for years to come. Perennial kale can be cloned by cuttings. Seed produced under dry farming conditions.
Buy from Experimental Farm Network
8. Lettuce - Feuill de Chene: A drought-tolerant lettuce is difficult to find. That makes this variety a treasure, and it offers huge yields as well.
9. Millet - Juosves: This variety of millet is drought-tolerant and doubles as a crop to supplement your chicken feed.
10. Onion - Franzisco: For long day zones (check out this map and give this variety a try if you’re in the green zone). Great storage onion that makes good sized bulbs for cooking. These are grown under dry farming conditions and thrive.
11. Orach - Vadito Quelites Grandes: Also known as “Mountain Spinach,” orach is a green that can be cooked or eaten raw. Native Seeds notes that this variety is very drought tolerant and in general low-input.
12. Pepper - Korean Hot: Medium-spicy peppers, easy to dry and quick to mature. Redwood Seeds lists these as a drought-tolerant variety.
A pseudo-grain from Chile, most quinoa is drought tolerant. This specific variety performs quite well, according to the seed producer.
Buy from High Desert Seed + Gardens
Drought-tolerant, lives up to its name in size. Botanical Interests ntes that its “not fussy about soil.” I’ve seen firsthand that this variety is low-input: I did not fertilize it in my garden nd it still thrived.
15. Tatsoi: A great choice for growing in early spring or late summer, and needs little water to thrive.
16. Tomatilla - De Milpa: Tomatillos are naturally more drought tolerant than tomatoes. This variety was developed landrace-style where the fruit with the best qualities and diverse genetics were chosen. This makes this plant resilient all around.
17. Tomato, Beefsteak - Azoychka: A gorgeous yellow variety that checks all the boxes: early ripening, drought resistant, and highly productive.
18. Tomato, Cherry - Florida Wild Everglades: Originally from, you guessed it, the Florida Everglades. However, this seed has been stewarded for years in the dry summers of the PNW under dry gardening conditions. Great for disease resistance, too!
Buy from Experimental Farm Network
19. Tomato, Paste - Baylor: Even though paste tomatoes contain less water than other juicier types, the plants still typically demand a lot of water to grow. Baylor is distinct in that it grows well under dry farming conditions and is resistant to mold and blossom end rot.
20. Watermelon - Desert King: Have dessert in the desert with this impressive drought-resistant watermelon. Easily gets to 20-30 pounds!
21. Winter Squash - Kersonkaya: This variety from Ukraine is a pretty blue hue, similar to a sweet meat squash. These squash are known for being drought resistant and are quick to mature - two rarities in the winter squash world!
Buy from Experimental Farm Network
22. Winter Squash - Stella Blue: A blue and round variety dry farmed successfully in Michigan. A great find for sustainable gardens!
Buy from Great Lakes Staple Seeds
I’ve seen for myself both the resilience and epic production of this variety. I planted a couple of Dark Star Zucchini seedlings next to other zucchini varieties. The Dark Star needed less water, and was less impacted by hot days. The taste was excellent, too!
This list includes the best vegetables to grow in dry conditions. With changing climates and water scarcity becoming more common, cultivating a garden that thrives in drought is essential. Don't let drought hold you back - you can have a productive and resilient garden!
