With recurring hot weather stints this summer, delicate garden vegetables – like lettuce, broccoli, and spinach – need a little extra TLC to get through the hottest part of the day.
Here are a few quick tips to help garden vegetables remain healthy until a heatwave passes and typical summer temperatures return…
Lay down mulch
A good layer of mulch is very important during a heatwave. It will help the soil stay moist and cool during the hottest part of the day. You can use pine bark nuggets or something lighter in colour, like grass clippings, which will help reflect the heat of the sun.
Using grass clippings requires a bit of advance planning – you’ll want to let them sit and dry on the lawn for a few days before raking and spreading them in the garden. But with the help of weather apps, planning ahead isn’t difficult. Plus, it’s free – a real bonus.
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Provide shade
Sensitive plants benefit from added shade during the day. Shade cloth is a great option and comes in various “shade factors,” ranging from 25% to 90%.
Choose the factor you need based on your plant’s heat sensitivity. You don’t need to completely enclose the plant; simply put the cloth over the plants to block the sun’s rays. I like to do this by placing stakes around the plant and holding it in place with binder clips.
I have also used flattened cardboard boxes tied to stakes or a trellis to provide shade. This DIY version is affordable and can be done on the fly because most people already have these supplies on hand.
Water early in the morning
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Like watering your lawn, watering vegetables is best done first thing in the day.
Watering early not only helps prevent water loss from evaporation, it also prevents leaf scalding as the leaves will have time to dry before the sun starts beating down on them.
Keep an eye on your vegetables throughout the day – if you see them starting to wilt, carefully water the plants at soil level.
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Charlyne Mattox is the Food and Crafts director with over 20 years recipe development, recipe editing, and crafting experience. Prior to starting at Country Living in 2014, she worked in the crafts department at Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Kids before attending cooking school at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. She was nominated for a James Beard media award while a senior editor at Real Simple magazine and authored a cookbook Cooking with Seeds.
When not in the kitchen she loves to garden, focusing on growing flowers and kitchen herbs (of course), watering her 25 house plants, and knitting scarfs or hats she will never be able to wear in the always hot and steamy Alabama.