GardenHelp.org

It’s been hot. Or at least, it’s been hot for Seattle. Remember, we rarely have a long stretch of 80F, let alone the 90F we’ve had lately. Plus, our sunlight hours are long, so the heat really builds up. This leaves me melty and often cranky. It also means I spend some extra time watching my garden for signs of stress and seeking opportunities to keep everything growing happily.

Hot Sunny Seattle Patio & Garden

When the heat flares up, here are a few helpful hints to keep your garden from completely crashing for the season:

• Regular & Mid-day watering: Yes, I said it! I don’t encourage you to take up a program of watering any and every garden item mid-day, but if you’re growing cool season edibles like lettuce or if your hydrangeas are crashing in the heat, hitting the leaf surfaces briefly with some cool water mid-day can help reduce crashing and ward off notorious heat-bolting in lettuces. Other than that, keep sticking your finger in the soil to see if your plants need a long, deep soak. I prefer to give these, as needed, in the very early morning.
• Powdery mildew: Last week this nasty sign of stress began showing up in my own garden as well as many clients’ gardens. Powdery mildew really is a sign of stress. It can happen from too much water, from too little water, from significant day-to-night temperature fluctuations, and from a number of other stressful issues. I have a pretty high tolerance for the stuff on my ornamentals, but when it goes after my edibles, I go after it with a vengeance. Mix up a gallon spray bottle with about a teaspoon of baking soda and a few drops of liquid soap. Spray all surfaces of your infected plant to drench. The soda will burst the mildew spores and the soap will help it stick. (Note: try spraying a few leaves before doing the entire plant; some plants are sensitive to soda. Also, use a phosphate-free soap. Multiple applications may be necessary, and if the mildew has really taken hold, you may be unable to win back your plant. If the mildew starts winning the battle, best to remove your infected plant to keep it from spreading the mildew to other similar plants.)
• Water features: In the heat, algae can grow like mad in water features. I dismantle mine, as needed, to wash off the algae growths. Too, check them regularly to be sure there’s enough water in them. If you’re running a small, recirculating system, some water is lost to evaporation and to thirsty birds.
• Harvest those crops: Get out early in the morning and do a daily harvest. Likely, your edibles are really rolling in. Keep harvesting regularly or your crops may stop producing. Harvesting in the morning allows you to cool down your crops before you eat them later in the day; this way you can crisp your lettuce  instead of having a harvest-wilted salad. (caveat: there’s nothing like a warm tomato fresh off the vine!)
• Under cover: Sometimes there’s nothing more to do for your garden than contrive some shade for touchy plants. In a year when our rains continue later than they did this year, my astilbe (for instance) happily plugs through the sunny days of late summer. In years like this, it is already drying and crisping up. Simply putting up a patio umbrella to protect it from reflected heat can make all the difference.
• Watering, one more note: When I was in first grade, I entered a contest to draw the best poster illustrating water conservation. I was a hippie kid in the 70s and had some pretty cool ideas including using rain barrels. During the summer, rain barrels are usually long-emptied; there’s nothing falling from the sky (in Seattle) to fill them during our summer drought months. As my contest poster suggested, consider keeping a bucket in your tub. As you heat water to fill the tub or start your shower, catch the water as you wait. If you can’t use it immediately to pour onto a thirsty plant, dump it in your rain barrel to use later. You might be surprised how much water you’ve been wasting down the drain and how quickly you’re able to refill your rain barrels even in mid-summer. Plus, if you’re as heat-exhausted as I’ve been lately, you’re probably taking more than one shower a day this week just to survive.

As I sit here in my west-facing office on the north side of the house, I’m beginning to overheat myself. We have close to 5 more hours of sunlight ahead, 4 of which will be pounding on my office window. After I post this, I’ll be seeking shade and maybe a bit of water for myself.  I wonder where I put my foot tub? Mixing some fresh peppermint in some ice water and dunking my feet in it sounds perfect right about now.

Stay cool folks!