HOT HOT HOT!

As all of you Arizonans know, our summers can be unbearably hot. This heat can spell disaster for your garden. Once the summer heat is in full swing, it often means the end of your spring garden… but it doesn’t always have to! Our garden is still going strong despite being exposed to temperatures well into the 100s.  Here are a few tips:

  • Make sure you plant appropriate fruits and veggies that are supposed to be planted in the spring.
  • Shade your plants as much as you can without restricting too much sunlight. We built a sunshade over the most important part of our garden. The screen restricts 75% of the sunlight, and it has not hindered plant growth.  We also built shade panels and placed them like lean-tos to protect vulnerable plants. You can also grow heat tolerant plants such as as sunflowers to provide shade for weaker species.
  • Make sure your plants are well hydrated. Do not let them go for a long period of time without water. They should get a good amount of water at least once a day. On extremely hot days, it’s a good idea to water them twice. We usually keep our garden on drip for an hour each evening.
  • Make sure you are looking over your plants very well and monitoring for any signs of distress.  If you catch troubled plants soon enough you may be able to save them.