Getting Ready for Summer

The drought conditions here in California.

Since I live here in SoCal, we're pretty much the opposite of Alaska. We spend all winter (short as that might be) prepping for summer. At least that's how it feels to me. I know it's January, and our rainy season has not officially ended yet, but I can already feel a bad summer on the horizon. It's a given it will be hot. But we haven't had any rain, so it would have to rain hard once a week or something to catch us up to where we need to be. Something I can do right now to prep for summer: pray for rain! I don't actually hold with the idea that California has too many people and therefore we deserve our drought. Or any other problem that befalls us. I do, however, blame bad water usage and bad management in some places. So that's my next step: start better management of my household water usage right now!

For me, that involves a little web research. Doesn't everything? I'm currently investigating my local utility company's website for possible water an money saving measures, as well as reading and planning on implementing much of what the Red Cross recommends under their drought section. Sadly my utility company is not very helpful. The Red Cross has many more suggestions that I plan to implement. However, my current worry is my garden. I was hoping to start a Victory Garden this year, but I'm uncertain of how to conserve water and still have a thriving garden. I know a big part of it will be using the right irrigation - soaker hoses and mulching to keep the water from evaporating. I'll also be doing a lot of research into different kinds of fruits and veg to see if there are any that naturally use less water (no GM here).

Does anyone have any suggestions that aren't on the Red Cross Page? Or specific suggestions for gardening?