YES YOU CAN GROW AN EDIBLE GARDEN ON A HOT, DRY SITE

Look to Hot, Dry Climates for Inspiration

People have been growing food in arid landscapes for millennia. Take the Mediterranean region, for example, where vineyards with hundred-year-old grapevines can be found on dry hillsides, growing entirely without irrigation. The soil in the hills of southern France, Italy, Portugal and Spain is also very rocky and infertile, but the grapes don’t seem to mind — they are well adapted to the situation.

This Mediterranean villa has several olive trees planted above the house, along with rosemary, salvias and agaves, for a hybrid edible-ornamental landscape.

Grow a Mediterranean-style edible garden

A home vineyard is a very classy way to develop a hot, dry hillside, whether you want to grow wine grapes, table grapes or both. Most of the other classic Mediterranean food plants are equally well adapted to conditions that other edibles would find brutal. Figs are a great example, as are olives.

This home vineyard also features terraced planters filled with lettuces and other edibles.

Olive trees (Olea europaea cvs, USDA zones 8 to 11; find your zone) can even be grown in the desert, as their small, gray-green leaves have evolved to minimize moisture loss. Established olive trees can survive winter temperatures down to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, but there are other edibles that are similarly heat and drought tolerant if you live in a cold climate.

The cold hardiest of them all is sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides, zones 3 to 8), also called seaberry, a large shrub that grows from the cliffs of the Mediterranean all the way to Siberia. Seaberry’s leaves look just like olive leaves, but the shrub produces a bright orange ultranutritious fruit. Seaberry is an underutilized edible, but keep in mind that it may spread on its own in some northern climates, though it is not considered a highly invasive plant.

Pomegranates (Punica granatum, zones 7 to 11) are other fruit trees suited to tough conditions — not surprisingly, they also have narrow leaves to reduce moisture loss. Like olives, they are very charming ornamental edibles, producing 2-inch tubular red blossoms in early summer, followed by crimson red fruit that hangs on the branches like ornaments in fall.

Here, a shrubby pomegranate (near the top left) blends right in with large grasses and other landscape plants that help to hold the soil on steep slopes.

Other tough edibles suitable for slopes include apricots, chestnuts, jujubes and almonds.

Focus on Herbs

While it’s possible to grow vegetables and common fruits like apples and blueberries on a hot, exposed site, you’ll have to work extra hard to moderate the conditions for these more sensitive plants. But interestingly, most savory herbs are very well adapted to these conditions — and their flavor is more concentrated than when they are grown in moist fertile soil.

Rosemary, lavender, thyme, oregano, sage and savory are some of the best options, and they are all highly ornamental perennial plants that lend themselves to landscape design.

11 Essential Herbs for Your Edible Garden

Think Beyond Standard Food Plants

This hillside landscape includes a border of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp), one of the most important edible plants for desert regions. Also known as desert fig, this type of cactus makes a delicious fruit and grows quite well in nondesert areas, too.

Prickly pear is so tough, it’s hard to kill, and some species are hardy down to USDA zone 3. Even the cactus pads are edible — in Mexico they are one of the most commonly eaten vegetables.

Use Terracing to Your Advantage

Terraces create flat, usable garden space on a slope, but just as important, they allow rainwater to infiltrate the soil, making dry slopes a bit moister. They also ensure that the soil stays put and allow you to build up a rich topsoil to support a greater diversity of crops.

See how to step up your garden game with terraced planters

In addition to windbreaks, consider protection from above. It will be easier to grow sensitive plants if shade is provided. The shade could be provided in the form of tree branches that create dappled light on and off throughout the day, or shade cloth can also be used. It’s most important to provide sun protection from the midafternoon onward. Even things that would normally be classified as needing full sun — like raspberries and asparagus — appreciate a bit of shade on a south-facing hillside.

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