List of drought resistant food crops

Here is a list mostly compiled by the University of California. "The list is not exhaustive.... For additional possibilities, consult seed companies or nurseries that specialize in plants suitable for desert or dry climate areas."

Alliums

Garlic

Hardneck

• Asiatic
• Chesnok Red
• Creole (good for southern USA)
• Siberian
• Spanish Roja
• Turban

Softneck

• Long Italian

Silverskin

• California Early

Onion

• Egyptian Walking Onion
• Red Walking Onion

Arugula

Wild Arugula

Beans

Bush Beans

White Half Runner Snap

Butter Beans

Jackson Wonder Bush

Garbanzo Beans

Ceci

Lima Beans

• Alabama Black-Eyed Butter
• Carolina Sieva
• Christmas
• Fordhook 242 Bush
• Henderson Bush
• Jackson Wonder
• Pima Orange
• Willow Le

Pole Beans

• Blue Coco
• Garden of Eden Romano
• Louisiana Purple Pod
• McCaslan Snap
• Rattlesnake Snap
• Selma Zesta
• Selma Zebra

Tepary Beans

– need warm nights

• Big Fields White
• Black
• Blue Speckled
• Brown Speckled
• Cocopah Brown
• Colonia Morelos Speckled
• Mitla Black
• Pinacate
• Sacaton Brown
• Tohono O’odham White

Beet

“Characteristically, beets are salt- and drought-tolerant crops; however, prolonged and persistent exposure to salt and drought stress results in a significant drop in beet productivity and yield.”

Broccoli

Waltham 29 (when fall-planted)

Chard

– Almost all varieties listed in desert or dry climate catalogs

'A member of the beet family, Swiss chard certainly “beets” out the drought-tolerant competition.'

Corn

• Anasazi Sweet
• Butcher
• Daymon Morgan’s Kentucky
• Hopi Blue Flour
• Hopi Pink
• Kentucky Rainbow Dent Corn
• Oaxacan Green Dent Corn
• Painted Mountain Flour
• Pinky Popcorn
• Silver Queen Hybrid Sweet
  • also Silver King Hybrid Sweet
• Tennessee Red Cob (Dent Corn?)
• Texas Gourdseed

Cowpeas

(need warm nights)

• Iron and Clay
• Mississippi Purple Southern Pea — “Irrigation is normally not necessary as they are renowned for their ability to grow under harsh conditions.”
• Pink-Eye Purple-Hull

Cucumber

• Armenian
• Lemon

Eggplant

Listada de Gandia

Grains

Amaranth

• Mayo
• Red Stripe Leaf
• Tampala

Barley

• Ethiopian Hulless
• Jet
• Milan

Buckwheat

• 'Bai Lu Qiao' Tartary Buckwheat
• 'Ci Qiao' Tartary Buckwheat

Millet

Pearl

Quinoa

– all varieties

Wheat

• Hard Red Spring
• Kamut
• Vaughan Turkey
• White Sonoran

Herbs

• Basil – Mrs. Burns’ Lemon
• Borage
• Catnip
• Chamomile, German
• Chives
• Hyssop
• Lavender
• Lemon Balm
• Mullein
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Sage (once it’s established)
• Sweet Marjoram
• Thyme

Melon

• Hales Best Muskmelon
• Iroquois
• Navajo Yellow
• Pike — “A stabilized cross between 'Spear' and 'Hearts of Gold', [Mr. Aaron Pike] bred 'Pike' melon for its ability to thrive in heavy, dry soil. When dry farmed under those conditions, the melons average about three pounds each.”
• Sweet Passion Muskmelon

Mustard

– uses less water than many other cultivated vegetables

Southern Giant Curled

Okra

– needs warm nights

• Gold Coast
• Hill Country Heirloom Red
• Jing Orange

Pepper

• Jupiter Red Bell
• Ordoño

Spinach

New Zealand Summer—a “spinach substitute” that is “best cooked.”

Squash

Summer

• Cocozelle Zucchini
• Costata Romanesco
• Dark Star Zucchini
• Homs Kousa
• Lebanese Light Green
• Maycock

Winter

• Cushaw Green-Striped
• Iran
• Jumbo Pink Banana
• Khersonkaya

Sunflower

• Beach Sunflower (or Cucumber-Leaf Sunflower)
• Skyscraper — edible seed, probably requires support

Tomato

• Caro Rich
• Early Girl
• Pearson
• Pineapple
• Stone
• Yellow Pear Cherry

Watermelon

• Black Diamond
• Homs Landrace
• Jadu'I, sometimes available as a smaller watermelon from the Experimental Farm Network.
• Moon and Stars, Yellow Fleshed Watermelon (only “some tolerance to ... drought.”)
• Nancy — “excellent drought resistance.”
• Sugar Baby

Linkdump

• Corn Seeds | Shop 19 Varieties | Eden Brothers (18 varieties listed as drought tolerant)
• Good page on drought and heat resilient food crops: https://earth911.com/home-garden/climate-resilient-garden-heat-drought-tolerant-veggies/
• Search: 50 results found for "drought" – Experimental Farm Network Seed Store
• Search Results for drought on SESE's website (accessed March 29, 2024)