Heat, gonna be Okay?

[Beekissed]

mulch will definitely help hold that moisture in. also if your location is exposed some windbreaks (not shading the plants but barriers a bit aways) will also help cut down on evaporative losses.

collecting rainwater is a great supplement to watering/rains.

if your soil is primarily sand find some clay. a few % will help sandy soil hold moisture and also nutrients. if you keep adding the organic materials it will be prime garden soil. go light with the clay. too much gets messy, but i'd really not want too sandy of soil in comparison.

Hard pan clay here...not a grain of sand in sight. That's one reason I'm using heavy mulch to build a topsoil layer and doing no till...if you till this stuff, it doesn't matter how much organic matter you put on it, it will consume it like it never was and leave the clay right on top, to grow hard as cement once again. If you till it, you have to KEEP tilling it and hilling it.

 

[flowerbug]

I am going to make frozen pina coladas when I get home, think I have every thing I need

ghods that sounds good right now...

 

[flowerbug]

Hard pan clay here...not a grain of sand in sight. That's one reason I'm using heavy mulch to build a topsoil layer and doing no till...if you till this stuff, it doesn't matter how much organic matter you put on it, it will consume it like it never was and leave the clay right on top, to grow hard as cement once again. If you till it, you have to KEEP tilling it and hilling it.

yeah, that's like making bricks when it gets that hot and dry. we can get pretty crusty too here in spots because we are almost full clay subsoil here too, but i've been amending and adding organic material for years and the garden soil in some gardens is now prime and looks wonderful.

i also use wood ashes which contain bits of charcoal once in a while and that is primarily a light silicates type of material.

my main gripe is when the crushed limestone from a pathway gets mixed in the garden soil and then i have to pick them out. when the soil gets hard it can be tough to scuffle hoe if the stones are there. otherwise i can skim real easy and not disturb the soil much at all.

and of course, when it gets rainy/wet season working some of the gardens is best left until they dry out a bit. most of the gardens out back are raised because of flash flood risks, but also to give them a chance of being drier when they have to be planted.

many times i take two pairs of garden shoes out with me just out of habit. because the dirt sticks and i have to often walk between gardens so i have to switch shoes before going on a pathway. i also usually have a large dull knife or trowel with me so i can scrape the mud off the bottom of the shoes/shovel/etc.

just the way it is. but it's ok.

 

[Nyboy]

ghods that sounds good right now...

They where good I have a magic bullet blender makes the best frozen drinks.

 

[ninnymary]

On the rare occasion that it gets to low 80s here, it is too darn hot and makes this flower wilt!

Mary

 

[Just-Moxie]

And, are you doing okay, @moxies_chickienuggets ?

Ann Romney, Mitt's wife and the mother of all those boys, has MS.

She was diagnosed 20 years ago.

Steve

Yes. I am fine as long as I don't get over heated. It is just a condition that needs to be managed.

 

[so lucky]

It's been highs in the 90s and high humidity here for several weeks. I am just about wilted. I don't even try to work outside during the main part of the day anymore.
My peppers look wilted every day, but perk up overnight. I thought they were supposed to like it hot.

 

[Just-Moxie]

Here in SC, it is a good idea to tackle yard and garden before 11 am. Or, dependent on heat index. This week, as well as last week, was in 90's. Plants, garden, weeds, you name it.....will wilt in the afternoon. then they perk back up overnight. I have never seen such a thing before.

Until further notice, I am making fresh salads for evening meal. DH is currently doing heavy equipment work at his job. Outside in that hot sun all day. So the salads are heavy on the lettuce and cucumbers, other cold veggies offered. Boiled sliced egg, diced meats, cheese, and homemade croutons. It seems to be helping. He has also been stopping at waffle house at 4am to eat a bigger breakfast. He usually doesn't even eat at work, but having a more substantial early meal seems to help.

 

[Nyboy]

Moxies my mother would do same meal in summer when she did not want the oven on. She also get potato salad from deli

 

[Just-Moxie]

When I lived down in Gulfport/Biloxi MS, from 85-93... it got SO hot in the afternoon and evenings...that I didn't even cook supper and feed the kids till 9pm at night. We didn't have a/c in the trailer either. 6 blocks from the beach.
I would stay up most of the night cleaning the house. Much cooler then. And the kids.....I would fill up a kiddie pool in the afternoon....add a few drops of baby shampoo, and then they could play in the bubbles and get clean. It cooled them off, kept them busy, cleaned them up...and they were ready to eat a meal by 9pm.

Oh, and we got a great ocean breeze going from March-Nov, heading north. It blew the heat and humidity way up north (feeding those tornadoes in Tornado Alley). then from Nov-March, we got the cold winds from Canada.