During summer heat, your garden appreciates mulch and morning irrigation
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In addition to the red umbrella shading the tops of a
few tomato plants, how many shade hacks can you
find in this photo? There's the plant flat on a tomato
cage, the straw mulch in the grow bag, an old
summer hat shading the roots of a plant, and just a bit
of the shadows from a shade cloth and a patio umbrella.
That soil could use some more mulch, however. (Photo: Kathy Morrison) |
How is your garden handling the heat? Chances are your plants are faring better than you.
Which is a good thing – people can retreat indoors to air conditioning or at least a spot in the shade. Plants tend to stay in one place, no matter the temperature.
We appear to be in the midst of a record hot summer. According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento averages 23 days a year with triple-digit temperatures. As of Tuesday, Sacramento already had 19 100-plus days, with Wednesday and Thursday all but assured to reach 100 (or more). And this heat wave is not over.
“Temperatures will remain steadily hot into the next week with most days 5-10° above normal,” tweeted the Sacramento office of the weather service on Wednesday. “Hottest days will be today (Wednesday), tomorrow (Thursday) & early next week with Valley temperatures 100-105°. Practice heat safety! Find the forecast for your location at http://weather.gov/sto .”
Ouch! Fortunately, overnight temperatures remain “normal,” dipping down to about 60 degrees each night. That makes mornings automatically more comfortable.
* Get out early and irrigate as needed; some plants definitely will need some extra water.
* Plants with large thin leaves (such as hydrangeas or squash) tend to loose moisture during high heat. Afternoon wilting is normal for these floppy leaves; wilting in the morning is not.
* Container plantings dry out much faster than solid ground; give plants in pots a morning drink.
* If you haven’t already, slip some cardboard or wood under pots to keep their bottoms cooler.
* Organic mulch (leaves, straw, wood chips, etc.) acts as a cooling blanket over bare dirt. It insulates soil, conserves moisture and drops root temperature several degrees. That will comfort your plants during this heat wave and help them survive with less water, too.
* Dust tends to build up on leaves, adding to plant problems. (They can’t “breathe” if their stomatas – tiny pores on foliage – are clogged.) With a hose, give shrubs a morning shower to wash off dust and clean leaves. (It’s not wasting water; the plant will absorb the moisture and excess will run off to the soil and roots.) Do this in the morning so the leaves will dry off during the day.
* Watch for signs of sunburn. Erect temporary shade over tender plants such as peppers or eggplants if necessary. (See the photo above for ideas.)
* Deep-water trees and shrubs as needed. How can you tell if a tree is getting enough water? Look. Use a soil moisture meter to test soil along a tree’s dripline – the furthest reach of its foliage canopy – or try to plunge a long-handled screwdriver 6 inches into the ground. If the soil is like a brick, it’s time to irrigate.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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