Water-Wise Growing in a Dry Climate: Lessons from a Cape Town Farm
Navigating the choices of a changing climate.
We farm one acre in the Far South of Cape Town, in a Mediterranean climate that gives us its rain in winter and almost none in summer. This past winter was unusually dry, and one of our two wellpoints began to fail. With seedlings that cannot last more than a day or two without water, especially in heat and wind, it became a scramble. What follows are the practical steps and the mindset that have helped us keep growing through water scarcity.
Planning for water means understanding your land and your community
Our farm depends on the collective groundwater of the neighbourhood. Our land’s ecology affects the spaces around it, and the people around it. As we expanded to six vegetable gardens and hundreds of trees, our water needs crept up every year. There are no easy answers here. How do you use groundwater sustainably in the face of very unpredictable weather? Have we used more than is renewed each winter, or is this simply an exceptional year? Sitting honestly with those questions is the first piece of water-wise growing.
Prioritise: animals first, then fruit trees, then seedlings and veg
When water is tight, decide your order of priority before an emergency forces your hand. Ours is animal health first, then established fruit trees, then the seedlings and vegetables that are the most sensitive to heat stress and the heart of our community. A clear order means you make calm choices instead of rushed, expensive ones.
Practical ways to stretch your water
Hand-water your seedlings with rain or municipal water during heat. Track the volume and the time it takes, so you have real data to plan around.
Capture and reuse rainwater. Our natural swimming pool collects rainwater, settles and cleans wellpoint water, and doubles as an oasis for frogs, birds and dragonflies. Adding tap connections to a rainwater store builds resilience for the dry months.
Build a mulch "sponge" around your trees. We receive many tons of thatch each year and layer it around the food forest to hold moisture in the soil. In our food forest, only the fruit and nut trees get water. The windbreak trees, companion shrubs and medicinal plants are chosen to need none.
Use drip irrigation where you can. Our tunnel growing runs on drip, which delivers water straight to the roots with very little lost to evaporation.
Everything changes, always
There are always big things to face. Reframing them as a normal part of growing, rather than a constant emergency, helps us stay generous and clear-headed. A dry season may just be the natural partner to several years of rapid growth. Our farm is resilient, and even if what we produce changes and changes again, it can take many forms while staying true to being a space of encouragement and hope, for us and for our community.
For more on designing a garden that leans on trees and mulch rather than constant watering, see our guides to food forests in Cape Town and growing fruit and nut trees.
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