Gardening when it’s dry: Prep soil, select plants wisely

IS your summer a summer of drought? No need to sit back and accept what Mother Nature offers — you can soften the impact of dry weather on your garden.

The time to start preparing for dry conditions is long before they occur, but plans made now will help down the road. Prepping begins with the soil. Any type of organic material — leaves, straw, peat moss, compost, manure, sawdust, grass clippings — mixed into the soil helps garden plants weather dry periods. (“Organic materials” are things that are or once were living.)

And do mix these materials into the soil; don’t bury them beneath it. In sandy soils, organic matter acts like a sponge to hold water. In clay soils, organic matter will open up air spaces and promote far-reaching root systems.

While plants are growing, these same organic materials laid on top of the ground as mulch prevent