Help your Garden Survive Summer Heat

Tips to help protect your garden during a summer heatwave

Sunshine and heat have finally arrived after what can only be described as the most miserable winter and spring we have experienced since moving to France eight years ago.

Whilst blue sky and warmth soon erases the memories of the dreary weather, it brings with it a whole new challenge; dry ground and wilting plants! If plants could talk I know what they’d be saying right now, and it wouldn’t be polite! After months of rain, our poor garden has gone from waterlogged to bone dry in less than a week!

So how can you help your garden survive a sudden heatwave and the blistering summer sun? Here are a few tips that can be implemented now and ones that should be incorporated into your gardening routine earlier in the year so your garden doesn’t wilt at the first signs of sun.

• Add organic matter to the soil when planting out. Any organic matter added to soil will improve the soil structure thus helping it to retain water. Organic matter added regularly not only provides the plants with nutrients but helps to conserve water within the ground during hot weather.
• Don’t pander to your plants. When the plants are young you can establish a watering pattern and they will learn to adapt to it. If you live in an area with hot summers, don’t over water the plants when they are young and they will learn to adapt to the watering routine, making it less of an ordeal for them when the temperatures soar and rain stops. I apply this to my vegetable plot as much as possible, never overwatering courgettes and beans when they are young, yes they need water, but don’t go mad and they will learn to survive a heatwave.
• Water plants in the morning or evening. Watering at these times gives the water plenty of time to soak into the ground rather than just being evaporated away before it has had chance to reach the roots. I like to water my vegetable plot early in the morning, so it has plenty of water to get it through the hottest parts of the day. Water close to the ground and roots, there’s no point in watering leaves plus you run the risk of them scorching as they dry in the sun.
• Know your vegetables and plants. Not all vegetables and plants need regular, daily water, even during a dry spell. Vegetables with deep roots such as carrot, parsnips and potatoes will be more resilient than the likes of tomatoes and lettuce which have surface roots and will dry out quicker. Always pay particular attention to potted plants and hanging baskets.
• Use mulch on flowerbeds, shrubs and trees. A mulch spread on the surface of the soil will help to prevent water evaporation.
• Don’t panic into watering your grass. Grass is very resilient and good at dealing with a lack of water. Even if it turns brown, don’t worry, it’ll return full of life as soon as the rains arrive. Mow less frequently during dry spells to reduce damage done to the surface of the grass.
• Shade and ventilate your greenhouse. The glass will magnify the sun’s rays, drying out and scorching plants. Make sure the greenhouse is ventilated as well as possible and shade it with a net if you can. During the hottest days, move potted plants outside. If like me you have plants in the greenhouse which can not be moved outside, keep the floor of the greenhouse damp to help bring down the temperature.

Enjoy the sun, enjoy your garden, but please when the sun is blazing down be sensible and admire it from the comfort of some shade and limit the amount of gardening you do.

If you have any other tips for helping your garden through a heatwave, please do share them by filling in the comment box below.

A bientôt
Katherine x