Drought resistant Australian varieties

[Woody Gardener]

I'm on a prepper site that includes many Australian members. Could any Australian members here recommend drought resistant species and varieties I could suggest to them? Are black eyed peas and okra varieties available there? I've found most varieties very drought resistant.

[whwoz]

I take it you mean a Pepper site.  Do not know of any drought resistant varieties available here.  Most varieties available here are imports.  Black eyed peas and Okra is available commercially, may need to hunt around the various seed on line seed retailers to find them though.

[Woody Gardener]

Agree about peppers. I've grown many varieties, hot, mild, and sweet and they all start wilting at the first sign of drought.

But I did not mean peppers, *chuckle*, I meant 'preppers', people who prepare for difficult times and unexpected disasters. The people in Queensland and NSW are suffering from heat, drought and low water levels. There are being told that it will last for months and likely much longer. They are losing their gardens and orchards.

What drought and heat resistant food plants grow in Australia?

[Ellendra]

I'm not Australian, but I do know that prickly pears grow really well there. They're actually considered an invasive.

[Lauren]

I just sent you a PM.

[whwoz]

I'm not Australian, but I do know that prickly pears grow really well there. They're actually considered an invasive.

Invasive to the point where they are considered to be noxious and not allowed to be grown in much of the country

[whwoz]

What drought and heat resistant food plants grow in Australia?

Considering that own main crops are derived from European/American plants, not to many.  Reality is that if they want truly drought tolerant vegetables, then they would need to look at what was before those areas were cleared and see what the Australian aboriginals ate.   

[Raymondo]

I live in northern NSW where we are experiencing the worst drought since 1904. Last season I grew black eyed peas and mung beans as a green manure crop among the corn. The corn died in the dry but these two legumes did well. I left them to dry down to at least have some sort of harvest. I got plenty from both. The original seeds were from bulk packets I bought in a whole foods store so nothing special. I think cowpeas are probably well adapted to dry but I was surprised to find that mung beans handled it so well.
Other things that did well, or at least gave me something to eat last season were Kakai pepita squash, a dry bean called Ilanz and a tomato called Matts Folly. All were heavily mulched with hay.
I'd imagine that Americans would have access to plenty of dry adapted crops from the peoples of the south western states like Arizona and New Mexico and the adjoining region in Mexico.

[Woody Gardener]

Thanks Raymondo!

Yes, we have a lot of heat and drought resistant SW US and Mexican varieties. Even a lot of dent corn bred by eastern farmers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Plenty of rain usually but often late July and August get very hot and dry.

I found that a wild Mexican tomato, Matt's Wild Cherry, is heat and drought resistant. It's a 5/8 inch red tomato. I wonder if it's related to or the same as Matt's Folly?

[Diane Whitehead]

I have grown bean seeds from Native Seeds Search in Arizona U.S.A.

You may not be able to import seeds from them, but there is a lot of information available that may be useful in Australia.

from their website:  https://www.nativeseeds.org/.

Native Seeds/SEARCH has been dedicated to conserving the rich agro-biodiversity of the arid Southwest. Preserved in our seed bank today are nearly 2,000 varieties of crops adapted to arid landscapes extending from southern Colorado to central Mexico, many of them rare or endangered. The collection represents the cultural heritage and farming knowledge of over 50 indigenous communities, as well as recent immigrants like Spanish missionaries and Mormon homesteaders. We also conserve a number of crop wild relatives, wild ancestors of domesticated plants.

[Woody Gardener]

Alas, there are VERY strict laws and severe punishments for importing seeds into Australia.

[Lauren]

But there may be breeding information or information on a similar website for Australia. Sites like this often have cross-connections with others in different areas of the world, although you may need to search for it.

[Diane Whitehead]

Yes, Australia has laws about importing seeds. I have sent seeds to Australians, and the rules were simple to follow - less complicated than the ones the U.S.A. currently suffers from.

[Woody Gardener]

DW: "Yes, Australia has laws about importing seeds. I have sent seeds to Australians, and the rules were simple to follow - less complicated than the ones the U.S.A. currently suffers from."

It appears that Australia is suffering from heat and drought that will not go away. Australian gardeners on the prepper site are reporting their gardens are dying from the heat and drought. They said they can only buy seeds from Australian companies and asked which seeds should they buy. A few weeks back there was a news report of a woman arrested for the second time for importing garlic. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

I'll pass along your comment that it is simple to follow the law and have heat and drought resistant seeds sent to them.

[Richard Watson]

A few weeks back there was a news report of a woman arrested for the second time for importing garlic. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

No she got 11 months for illegally importing more than 2,000 garlic bulbs , not sure if that was her first offense though but authorities had warned her previously.