Protecting your plants

As our temperatures start to rise you may notice your plants aren’t doing as well as they were in the beginning. Just as humans can suffer from heat stroke, your plants can suffer from heat stress.

There are a few simple things you can do to protect them, however.

When you think mulch, the first thing that may come to mind is how expensive it is, but there are alternatives you can use that are cheap and easy and will reduce your chores, retain water and reduce evaporation so your plants grow vigorously.

Simple options include dry grass that can be spread around the base of your plants. There’s also straw, alfalfa, black plastic sheeting and even newspaper, all of which will retain water and reduce weeds.

So when, exactly, are you supposed to water?

Well, plants begin opening early in the morning so watering early in the morning ensures the plant’s roots are well hydrated before starting their day.

It cuts down on heat stress later in the day, which is basically a sunburn for your plants. Heat stress can leave their leaves just a little too brittle to fight off the sun.

Watering in the evening when it cools down a little is a good idea, too, if a single watering isn’t doing the job.

Just like we love sitting in the shade when the sun is beating down, so do your plants. Again, it doesn’t have to be anything expensive, just a thin cloth that you can toss over them that lets them breathe.

If you happen to have plantings next to a fence you can always attach the cloth to the fence and make a little tent for them, allowing the bees and other helpful insects do their job and allow air to circulate.

It never fails on a hot summer day the shortest members of your family will stand in your shade to keep cool. That’s not a bad idea for seedlings, either.

Plant the little ones closer to their big brothers and sisters and they’ll get the shade they need to grow healthy and strong and less likely to get scorched by the sun. Just be sure they aren’t completely shaded as young plants need some sun and total shade is just as deadly as too much sun.

And finally, if you’re just getting around to putting your seeds in the ground after all the rain we’ve had, put those seeds in a little deeper than normal.

Top soil dries out a lot faster in the heat of the day, so having the seeds down where its cooler underground gives them a fighting chance to really get their root systems going before popping their little heads up.

These simple tips should help you have green, heathly plants all summer long.