Summer Oasis

I just came inside a few minutes ago from walking my dog.  As I stepped inside the front gate, hot from the sultry evening, it was so refreshing to hear the sound of splashing water from the little fountain by the front porch, and to smell the jasmine in bloom.

Scorched Leaves

Recently I had someone ask about their plants' leaves being scorched by the hot weather.   That's an issue I'm dealing with as well, so I started reading up on it.  I'd noticed that it seems to happen mostly to plants more recently planted rather than mature ones, so I was not surprised to find out that it is generally an issue with plants that have inadequate root systems.  Many times it happens to plants that have not been in the ground long enough to establish a good root system, so in prolonged very hot weather, and with hot winds, the roots are simply unable to supply water to the foliage as fast as it is lost by transpiration from the leaves.  Other times it may happen to more mature plants that have not developed good root systems or have had damage to their roots, such as roots dehydrated by too little winter moisture, or stunted by compacted soil or poor drainage. Often the effects of a dry winter are seen in mid-summer when plants struggle with scorched leaves.

Feeding Birds: Baltimore Orioles

Oriole visiting the jelly feeder

Over the last couple of summers, I have really enjoyed the visits of Baltimore Orioles to my garden.  I first spotted them coming to my hummingbird feeders early last summer.  Before then, I hadn't even realized that they lived in this area, so I was delighted to spot these gorgeous birds.  After a bit of research, I started putting out grape jelly for them, which was a real hit.  I had found a bright orange feeder with spikes for slices of fruit and small cups to hold jelly, and the birds quickly began visiting it.

Enjoying the Harvest

Garden Fresh

I just finished a tasty little salad earlier; with fresh tomatoes, peppers, radishes, parsley and mint from my garden.  The cucumbers, feta cheese and olives were courtesy of Dillons.  But since most of the ingredients were from my garden, it was a great feeling to sit down to a meal of fresh stuff I'd grown, and had just picked minutes before.

I'm hoping to have even more variety coming in soon.  The green beans, cucumbers and cantaloupe vines are all blooming, and the sweet corn is growing fast.

Gardening in a Heat Wave

Moss rose thrives in hot summers

The high temperature here today was 107. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 106.  The forecast for the next week shows highs of 100 or above every day.  Well, that's summer in Kansas -- thank God for air conditioning!

Heat like this, especially over an extended period, is really hard on the garden (as well as people, animals, utilities budgets, etc.)  There are a few things a gardener can do to help their plants make it through this kind of weather.

Fertilizing

I'm waiting inside, doing some computer work, until it cools down a bit so that I can get out in the garden again.  I spent about 3 hours this morning before church time, getting some weeding and clean-up done, plus feeding my plants.  The last several years, I've used a range of fertilizers: primarily compost, supplemented with organic fertilizers.  Some you dig in as you plant; some you add to the watering can, and this morning I was using foliar feeding--fertilizer sprayed onto the leaves of the plants.

Got Weeds?

The weather has been so lovely recently; cool, often sunny, but enough rain so that everything outside is incredibly green and lush.  It's a great time to be outdoors, and I treasure my garden time.  So what do I spend my time doing?  Weeding!  I avoid using synthetic products on my lawn, like weed killers or weed and feed products, and so my yard gets lots of weeds.  Weed pollens tend to be a major allergy issue, so I need to eliminate them.  Result?  I spend a lot of time pulling weeds.

There are a few things I can do to try to prevent weeds in the first place.