Heat Wave Tips
We’re headed straight for our first big heat wave of this summer this weekend. Here are our tips for supporting the plants growing in your raised beds in Boise, Idaho.
Intensive planting helps in heat waves, too! And no, steel beds don’t make plants hotter.
Feed Your Plants
Your plants are reserving a lot of their energy on hot days, so we want to be sure they feel supported. I like to add a handful or two of worm castings around the best of each plant so that when I water for the day, they can take up the nutrients. This is easy to do with a small bag of worm-gro (available at Edwards Greenhouse and North End Nursery), or you can apply compost tea (available in bulk at North End Nursery). For those of you growing in raised beds with drip irrigation, bury the worm-grow beneath the first layer of soil around each plant so that it can have contact with the root system.
How to Water
You look out the window. The sun is blazing. Your plants are visibly wilted, droopy green leaves. Your first instinct is to grab a sun hat and the hose. WAIT! Do not water in the middle of the day on a heat wave. Your plants are just reserving their energy, and they will perk up later in the day when it cools off.
When it is cooler, in the morning or evening, go outside, and test the moisture level around your plants with your hands or a handy garden tool. I like to dig a tool down 4-6 inches to see if the water I most recently applied has dried up or is still retained. If it’s bone dry, water deeply and grab some compost when you can. Compost helps plants retain the water around them for longer than your soil might be doing on its own.
If you have some water retention already, you can definitely water again, but don’t overdo it. You’ll end up with yellowing leaves (the same indicator for too little water). Isn’t gardening fun?!
To Shade or not to Shade?
I have only ever really shaded plants during extended heat waves (multiple days over 100 degrees early in the season) when I have young plants newly out of the nursery. You can use a shade cloth or hang a sheet above them to give them some reprieve, but realize this. When you buy locally grown plants from local seeds, they’re well-adapted to our seasonal swings in temperatures and early Idaho heat. If you do end up with some plants that don’t make it through the heat wave, be sure to plant again using local plants and local seeds.
Consider intensive planting - it helps reduce the temperature in your garden beds! Keep planting for the next few weeks to achieve successive harvests.
Have a special circumstance?
Do you want to know if what you’re doing is working? Or do you just want some additional support for this season? Our crew has space in the summer schedule for in-garden coaching. Fill out our inquiry form at the button below to have us out to your garden.