Do's and Don’ts for Gardening in a Heat Wave

During increasingly common heat waves in summer, temperatures can soar, making it a challenge to maintain a healthy garden.

When we have designed our gardens carefully, taken the right approach for where we live, and chosen the right plants for the specific growing conditions, we are far less likely to encounter problems.

But planning and preparation now won't help much during a current heat wave. So what should you do, no matter the present situation in your garden, to make sure that your favorite plants and key crops survive extreme weather conditions?

Protecting the soil is one of the most important things to do in a heat wave. Bare soil can overheat more easily, killing off the beneficial soil life upon which many of our growing efforts depend.

Covering the soil with either plants themselves or with organic mulches helps us to keep the soil temperature down, and to maintain moisture levels in the soil by reducing evaporation. With organic mulches covering the soil, less moisture will be lost from the soil and there will be more available for the uptake of the plants you grow.

When it is extra hot, even plants that love full sun most of the time may need some shade to reduce stress. In full sun, plants will typically use and lose more water than they do in the shade. So increasing shade cover during extreme temperature highs can often be beneficial.

You might increase shade through additional planting or through shade netting or man-made structures. Deciduous trees can often be beneficial, of course, because they provide shade when it is most needed in summer but lose their leaves and allow more sun through during the coldest part of the year.

Of course, water can often be a problem in a heat wave. You may often