City of Wichita is officially implementing phase 2 water usage restrictions. The vegetable raising parts of the garden are probably exempt but only for drip irrigation and hand watering.
[Opinion]
Even though we’re probably OK under that particular exemption, it’s probably best to appear to be in compliance by watering only on Thursday and only before 10 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
Although we could prevail on appeal if warned or cited for violating the general restrictions on water usage if we stick to only watering vegetables grown for food and only by hand watering or drip irrigation, and watering grass and flowers only on Thursdays before 10 a.m. and after 8 p.m., the appearance of being in violation via public complaints or via water meter data isn’t a good look for us as a community organization and would be a significant hassle to defend/appeal. [/run-on sentence] [/Opinion]
Note: It is on my agenda to address this more during our Saturday meeting.
My thoughts so far align with what you mentioned. Many of our plants are doing well with only being watered once a week, so as long as we water on Thursdays we should be fine. We are also going to look into installing a water collection system, such as rain barrels to decrease the amount of water we’re using. Ofc, we will need to gain approval to install these systems, as we plan on diverting water from the gutters.
Also, I have started using old glass bottles to keep my water intensive plants hydrated, such as my beans.
Unfortunately, I have some concerns, for example the Swamp Milkweed that grows in our pollinator bed will be hit particularly hard by this drought.
Finally, I believe it would be in our best interest to research xeriscaping, so that we can utilize these principles in future gardens.