It's hot enough out there to peel the paint off the barn! You can't walk out the door for five minutes without wanting to go right back in! Imagine how our poor plants feel, no wonder they wilt and burn in this heat! Lucky for us some of the easiest things we can do to help our plants survive the summer starts simply with proactive planning.
Plan your space with the sun in mind!
There is nothing that can save our plants more than just planning for the sun and how it hits your garden. Does your house face North, or does it get full west sun? Do you have a fence in your yard, trees, or neighboring buildings around you?
If there's anything we all know it's that everything has a shadow! Look at your space when designing the spring or fall layout for your garden. Focus on the items around you and where their shadows land. Do they sit in a way that casts a shadow creating a space with morning sun, afternoon sun or shade all day? Even the space behind a shed can be perfect if it gets both sun and shade at just the right time. Using the shadows from the items found naturally in your yard when you plan for your garden layout ensures they have the protection required in the summer starting day one.
If your space is in the wide open with no trees or other buildings to borrow shade from, then plan for tall plants! Grow corn, giant sunflowers or okra.
Put up arbors with vines on them and plan the plants around them. Even the tepee's you grow your beans on or tall tomato cages can create shade and should be used. I have a Facebook friend that even used an old ladder to let her vines grow on. Now that's using your stuff! Not only do these things make wonderful companions for your heat deprived plants with shade add interest and beauty to your space!
Once you have designed your space to fight the heat, make sure there is a water schedule that promotes deep roots.
Help your plants build deep root systems
How you water your plants can be another proactive approach to the heat. Provide your plants a deep watering once a week in the spring and early summer months with fewer watering's in between. A heavy watering once or twice per week is better than watering each day. Starting this when plants are young, without the threat of extreme heat to weaken them, promotes strong roots as they reach naturally for that water down below. You may still have to increase your water schedules when the full impacts of summer hits; however, plants wont struggle so much to find water if they have been digging deeply for it all along.
Did you miss the proactive phase this year?
Don't feel bad we have all been there when it comes to gardening. If you are already into the season and do not have natural shade structures you can use etc then the following can help you as well:
- Tarps set up at peak hours can offer your plants some protection from the sun until cooler days hit again.
- Mulch or straw in your beds can save the ground from water evaporation.
- I love using my corn after it has been harvested. It dries into almost a straw like texture and can be chopped into small pieces and placed around your plants or tilled in the ground to help retain water.
Dried corn stalks used in the beds as mulch for the new plants What do you do to keep your plants safe from the sun? Share some of your tips with us!
Related Articles!
- Using Corn Stalks for Natural Mulch (coming soon)
Thanks so much!