Gardening in summer heat, a small survival guide
If you happen to be an amateur gardener, working on weekends, then summer heat will bring you down easily. Even the most experienced gardeners bend under the hot sun and turn to measure to cope with heat and bring the crop to a happy end. Since a lot of work is to be done in the garden, staying in the shade is not an option unfortunately, so follow these practical tips to surmount, along your plants, the summer heat.
Experienced gardeners know that anticipating and solving problems at the right time is key to this activity. This includes everything from pest control (insects, diseases and weeds) to grooming plants and pruning to maintain control. Follow this small guide for gardening in summer heat and make the best of your green pocket.
The first steps concern the gardeners themselves. Take frequent breaks and try not to stay outside for extended periods. To prevent dehydration, drink before, during and after working outside. It’s especially important for the body to have a good storehouse of fluids well before the start of outdoor activities. Go in the garden early morning or late afternoon, when it’s cooler outside, but, if you really have to do some work at noon, use a beach umbrella if in a sunny area. Since we mentioned the beach, use sun screens for those parts of the body, usually hands, exposed to sunrays. Needless to say, you need to wear a hat or a cap all the time spent in the sun.
Plants now. Watering them is crucially important, especially in a hot weather like this. Water plants in containers almost every day, preferably to do it by hand so you can assess the right volume of water. If containers are exposed to the sun, wrap them in aluminum foil to prevent overheating.
For larger surfaces, such as flower beds or vegetables, it is recommended you use a soaker hoses or other irrigation systems, such as sprinklers, so you won’t have to spend too much time in the sun watering by hand. Apply mulching around plants to keep soil moisture.
You can turn to various types of screen and nets you can find in the specialized stores to keep plants in the shade, especially those hating direct sun. You can also plant shade loving plants near perennial plants which grow vertically. In any case, specialists say if you run into withered plants in the garden, just bring them back to life with some little water, preferably every morning. Do not apply fertilizers around them because this will only make things worse.
In any case, do not let heat discourage you from weeding. If you cancel weed control for another day you may be in for a big surprise.
