Interesting article in The Sacramento Bee concerning whether to garden this year because of the drought.  It follows the same thinking we have here at the nursery. Use water to grow your food, and make cut backs in the ornamental side of the garden. From the article, "How much water do tomatoes need? Or more specifically, how much does a full-size fruit-bearing tomato plant need to get through a Sacramento summer while providing a good crop of flavorful tomatoes? The average is 5 gallons a week – less than that needed by a square foot of lawn." Wow!

The article continues, "In the vegetable garden, opt for lower-water crops such as legumes (garbanzo beans, limas, tepary beans, etc.), cucumbers, melons, cantaloupe and squash. Skip the corn (it takes more water than lawn), but concentrate on crops that produce a lot of food with what water they get. That includes peppers, eggplant and, of course, tomatoes."

There is no question that growing your own healthy, safe food is the right thing to do, drought or not. We must eat, and either you, or some farmer in the Central Valley is going to use that water to grow or raise that food. 

Maybe it's time to replace that lawn with something you can eat?