Mid Summer HEAT can really do damage to our garden.
Flowers drop
Fruits wither
Leaves dry up and fall off
Production stops
We freak out
Join me in the garden this morning while there’s still a cool breeze and let’s go over a few common sense EZ tips to help our garden not only survive the heat wave but actually thrive in it! Yes we can do this together!
Today is a Good Day!
42 Comments
Here in Liverpool (UK) it has been really hot and clammy and I'm watching out for botritis. I wish my corn was as good as yours though. You inspired me to try it this year….. Your turkeys whistling drives my Parakeets nuts by the way. I didnt realise the pollen came from those tassels you learn something new every day…..Thanks for your infinite knowledge.
You should exchange them in an online seed exchange.
Thank You for doing the Video..My Best
Praxxus55712, you should make a video to the opposite of this; mainly, one about extremely rainy weather. I live in central Florida, I can deal with the heat and the humidity, but the rain has decimated my heirloom tomato garden (6' tall tomato plants) full of wrinkled, mushy, blossom end rot laden tomatoes and black soggy bottom branching. It's depressing, really – my dragon fruit cacti are looking rough, too – but for some odd reason my barbados cherry tree is getting huge!
you are an amazing gardener.your plants are beautiful and healthy!thank you so much for the tips.:D
Wow, such great tips! Such a healthy garden, too!
I have corn in the raised bed with the beans and peas growing up it for support. I use the shady part to grow the lettuce, so it only gets the morning sun.
I'm growing the watermelon in the pot, too. I use an upturned round tomato cage for a trellis (in the planter pot, works good). When there are the sugar baby watermelons, then use a plastic flower pot turned upside down for the watermelon to rest on. I like the wood idea; will try that.
As for hot and humid, that's Tel-Aviv all July and August, sometimes spilling onto September, but remembering a July visit to Miami I stop complaining. well, it does feel like war against the elements, the only time left will be one hour six in the morning -rarely, sleep is sweeter… and 7pm to 8:30 pm before it gets too dark. that's not enough if you are the kind that goes to the garden for half an hour and comes back home after 4 hours. I wish the year had only 10 months..
mind you – humid thanks to the sea yet no rain whatsoever.
Thank you Ray.
you can make lime from seed! love to watch your videos (specialt of chili) and by the way I have planted mango, it worked 🙂 so thank you!
Not sure if you answer questions from videos a week old but…
I have been getting some huge tassels on my corn but right now only have one very tiny corn popping out. Is it normal for them to get the tassels way ahead of time? thanks
Can you tell your address please, i wanna send you some seeds, thanks Ray.
Ah bet your missing that cool weather of the Pacific Northwest right now. Lol
Hey Ray! This morning I had two female pumpkin flowers open. I live in Colorado Springs and it was raining very light this morning so the flowers were wet. I had pollinated them with a couple male flowers. Will the soggy pollen still pollinate properly? Thank you.
How long do they germinate? I planted corn about 3 weeks ago and still don't have anything yet. HELP.
What's a pvt message, i'm a kid.
it's some tropical seeds.
you can send me your adresse on skype my name is phuonglmsa thanks Ray
Please don't call me because you live in the usa and i live in Vietnam so our time line is very different, you can send me text on Skype.
Praxxus, I wondered if you would know why my pumpkin lower leaves are turning yellow? We have had a lot of rain for the past couple of weeks, but sun in between. Temp is around 80-95 degrees, (NE OK). I have them planted in a very large plastic nursery pot. It has plenty of drainage. Soil is compost (bought). Is it lacking some nutrient or is it just the water? It has 9 small pumpkins on it so far and don't want to lose it. Thanks, Love your 3 sites.
Thanks. I was having the same problem and was not seeing any pests. Thanks for your posts. Ga got more rain than usual this year.
I have had wonderful success against the heat 90+ by using 2 or 3 inches of hay/straw around the plants. It reflects the hot sunlight off the ground and keeps the soil much cooler and holds the moisture in the soil much longer. Try it. Test it for yourself, "On a hot day feel the garden soil in the hot sun and then feel the temperature of the soil under the plant wilth the straw. See the difference?
Tip for heat gardening in summer. The first thing I learned growing in Phoenix Arizona area, Mulch! Mulch Thick and as Ray says… water deep. I literally use river rock to mulch some areas of my garden in order to trap moisture in the soil and block our torturous sun form the roots of the plants.
Another tip for extreme heat. You would think that with all that sun and heat, your plants need a lot more nitrogen or fertilizer. Ive found this, like many other things here, to be backwards. Hold off on the nitrogen rich compost teas and or heavy fertilizers until the heat subsides. Your plants with thank you for it if you plan on getting them through and going into the fall season.
HI Ray, I don't know if you have time to answer this, but I have a Japanese beetle problem eating my bean leafs, is there anything I can do to get rid of them, I know that there's traps that I can buy but don't want to infest my lawn more then it is. Any tips is appreciated, thanks.
do you think 31 degrees is to hot to grow my chillie seedlings in?
Just looking for comments. I am a woodturner and have lots of shavings. I know not to use black walnut shavings for compost or mulch but would oak shavings be safe to add to a compost pile ? Thanks !
I'm just curious…why does everyone think GMO's are so horrible? Also, why does everyone confuse GMO's with hybrids? I don't do GMO's, but in my opinion, we all started as a scientific experiment…not all are good, not all are bad. This whole thing with GMO's reminds me of Hitler and his selection of "the perfect race". Sorry if that offends anyone.That was a great video Ray, once again!
Also, I am very sad you have no solution for the grasshoppers…they have decimated my Angels Trumpet leaves, my Broccoli leaves and my Cauliflower leaves…. I'm the only gardener around me who does both veges and flowers, so it's wonderful to have the hummingbirds and butterflies, but it really sucks that I'm the only one who gets attacked by the bugs and the blackbirds.
Thanks. I will try again
I grew corn for the first time this year, but just pulled up all my plants because rats (or A rat) ate every last ear! It was a tragic sight, but I will try again next year with some sort of fine mesh netting around the plants.
Nice where in Minnesota ?
I am in the same boat, but I was wondering if you could use the black walnut shavings as well in your compost. Most of my sawdust is mixed with a lot of other woods.
Rob,
I think black walnut is good for paths where you don't want anything
to go. I have heard several stories about taking out a black walnut
tree and then not being able to grow anything there for years.
I would separate the b.w. shaviings from other woods.
I think maple, birch, poplar, etc ( and oak ) are safe ( composted of course ) but exotics are probably not safe.
thanks for the comment — good luck
dave
Unfortunately because I turn so much exotic, I guess it would be best not to use it. Could I use the ashes after burning it?
What were you going to say about the peppers at 12 min 13 sec?
Thanks!
I live in South Florida…..
Should I use mulch in my garden while the plants are growing, to keep them moist?
I think plants "know" to drop their flowers like a glass of water "knows" to overflow with too much water added. In other words it's a physical reaction of the properties of the water within the plant.
Good tips.
what kind of bush beans are those and do they stay that small
There are so many simple things a lot of us don't know about gardening. Thanks You crack me up.
Thank you for this valuable info as this week is going to be a cooker in these beautiful Blue Ridge Mts.!