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AUGUSTA, Ga. () – Extreme summer heat can be detrimental to your garden, but there are plenty of ways to help your plants thrive during the season.
Daily temperatures in the 90s and 100s sometimes prevent plants from doing the respiration they need to survive.
“Temperatures at night don’t cool down,” said Campbell Vaughn, UGA’s Richmond County Agriculture Natural Resource Extension Agent. “They stay in the low 80s or something- the plants don’t have time to recover, so it’s kind of starting off in a deficiency.”
Gardening expert, Campbell Vaughn, says most local plants can withstand the heat with a little help.
“What I like to say is you like to water deep to where the water goes down into the soil instead of watering often,” said Vaughn. “That just kind of keeps it on the surface and then it evaporates.”
Vaughn says other ways to help your garden include adding supplemental moisture when necessary and mulching to help prevent evaporation.
Locking in moisture helps keep plant roots strong.
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“If you can build strong root systems, then you have a stronger plant,” said Vaughn.
Vaughn tells us that, for many annual plants, extreme heat will cause them to shut down completely.
“Basically, it takes a lot of energy to reproduce,” said Vaughn. “And once it starts hitting the stress level, the first thing it’s going to do is shut down its reproductive system, which is the fruit that we’re eating.”
To help prevent your plants from shutting down, Vaughn says it’s extremely helpful to limit plants’ sun exposure to the mornings.
“You know, up until about two o’clock and then it can get some filtration from the trees- overhang from the trees,” said Vaughn. “That can help a whole lot. That’s a good one to do. Or, in the long term, if you set your garden up to where you’re not dealing with our brutal afternoon sun, it will pay big dividends in the long term.”
Vaughn says the best time to water your plants is in the morning, so most water goes to the plant instead of evaporating.
