Dry Weather

We are in the midst of a major dry spell in the Pacific Northwest. We had a cool, wet spring which got things off to a slow but steady start but now our irrigation pond is empty. This does happen most years but not usually this early. We now have to irrigate from our well, which although having plenty of water, has a very low flow rate and we can't water the whole garden all of the time. So we start deciding which crops can do without water, which ones are mainly over anyway, which ones, like the winter vegetables, need to be kept well watered. We've pulled the water off the onions and potatoes, they're pretty much mature, off the statice because it will keep going for a long time even if really dry. Tomatoes can do without much water as long as they are maturing fruit. The fruit will be smaller but actually tastier as a result. Although it has cooled off this week the hot weather has been great for the melons and winter squash and corn, you can practically see it grow. Which speaks to one of my main philosophies about market gardening - grow everything. No matter what the weather throws at you something will like it.