Gardening may not be the most activity to do during the heat of the summer, but if you love your garden you do your best. Here are some summer tips and some hacks to make your summer gardening experience easier and much more enjoyable.
Mulch
Mulch is a must during the summer months. It not only makes your garden look more put together, but it helps keep your plants hydrated by preventing evaporation from the soil. It also helps to prevent weeds! Add 2-3 inches of mulch around the base of your plants and keep it fresh throughout the year.
Water Deep and at the Right Times
One of the best summer tips for watering is the way to water your plants. You want to water infrequently but deeply. This means getting the water way down into the roots. This will keep the plant healthier, better hydrated and encourage deep root growth. Push your finger an inch or two into the soil at the base of the plant. If it’s dry, add more water.
Need help watering deep? Find an old 2-liter soda bottle. Poke it with holes, then bury it next to your plant. Leave the mouth of the bottle at the surface so you can pour water in and get that water way down into the root system.
This may seem so simple but many people don’t think about it. Water your garden only in the early morning or late evening. These times of day are cooler and have less direct sun, meaning more water makes it to your plants and doesn’t evaporate. Your plants will be happier and you use less water!
and Be Ready for Drought Conditions
Make a rain barrel if it’s legal where you live. Any large barrel with a lid can be used. Make a hole in the lid for rain or water to enter, and attach a spigot at the bottom. If you don’t get enough rain to fill it, fill it with your hose and you can water even if you aren’t allowed to run water that day.
Starting a New Garden Plot
Want to start your summer plants in a new area? Simply lay down a couple of layers of cardboard in the size and shape you want your plot to be in. Cover the cardboard with mulch. You’ll find the covered area clear of weeds and grass in no time! It’ll be ready to plant!
Plant Seasonally
The best summer tips let you what to plant when. Most people prep their plants in early spring and plant them once the threat of freezes has passed. However, there are a number of plants that love the summer heat! So long as the plants are properly fertilized and watered to their contentment they will thrive. Look at starting beans, celery, corn, peppers, squash, zucchini, watermelon, chilies, cucumbers, and brinjals.
Keep Some Color
Many flowers start to wilt in the summer heat, but zinnias, bougainvilleas, marigolds, and roses hold up well. Consider adding some of these to keep the color in your garden all season long.
Prune and Pluck
Mid-summer is the perfect time to get out and prune back and deadhead any plants that require it. Make sure your plants have the space required and have no clutter. You might even see some new growth since you have some time before the weather turns cold again.
Clear Out the Pests
Summer tips for summer pests. No garden is a stranger to bugs and pests. Keep them at bay with a few different methods. Make your own insecticidal soap spray to get rid of bugs and even mildew! Use citrus peels as great fertilizer and deterrent to bug and other pests. Most biting bugs hate mint, so keep a pot or two around (Mint will spread everywhere if planted in a garden. You can also shave a bar of soap around the edges of your garden. Most pests hate the smell and taste.
Tame Those Weeds
Here’s a great summer tip: Weeds hate vinegar! True! You can pour straight white vinegar over weeds, or you can make your own spray mix with dish soap, salt, and vinegar. Spray it right on your weeds to kill them off without affecting the rest of your garden! It also eliminates the need for harsh chemical weed killers.
Summer Seedlings
Summer tips for starting summer seedlings. If you are starting seeding in the summer there are a number of ways to improve and stimulate growth. Start your seeds on a wet paper towel. This way you aren’t wasting your time planting dead seeds. You can also spray seeds with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution to help them sprout faster! Once they sprout you can plant them in a starter pot.
Don’t have a starter pot? Use toilet rolls, fold in one end, add soil, and plant. Once it’s ready to transfer outside, open the folded bottom and plant the whole thing! It’s also great to start seedlings in citrus peels or egg shells. Both provide vital nutrients to the soil!
Special summer tip: Top your seedlings soil with ground cinnamon. It keeps bugs away, has anti-fungal properties, and smells great! Used tea from tea bags is another great source of nutrients for your soil. Plants the whole bag or open it and spread the leaves around.
Keep Your Container Plants Happy
Summer tips extend beyond the ground garden to containers as well! Have you heard of the diaper trick? It’s placing a diaper at the bottom of a pot so it will soak up and retain extra moisture. If the soil dries out it draws the extra moisture out of the diaper! This way your plants stay well watered and happy. You can also use those gelatin-like orbs your kids love to play with! This was actually one of their initial uses. Simple mix some dry orbs into your soil and they will soak up and hold the water as needed!
Planted potted in terra cotta or dark colored pots are prone to overheating in the summer. Move them into at least partial shade during the summer. It’s also best to fill the bottom of the pot and the drip tray with sand. The sand will hold the moisture without letting water sit openly for mosquitoes and mildew.
Get Those Seeds Germinating
Need seeds? If you’re looking to harvest seeds, summer is a tough time. They don’t like to grow in dry hot weather when the soil is less acidic. A simple hack is to spread a tablespoon of Epsom salt around the base of the plant! This hack is used worldwide to give their plants a seed producing boost.
Sweeten Your Tomatoes
Add baking soda to your water before you water your tomatoes. The baking soda will actually make the fruit sweeter! Tomato plants love the heat but it often results in more bitter fruit. The baking soda balances that out to keep the fruit sweet and delicious.
Don’t Forget to Take Care of Yourself
Summer tips are not complete without a little self care. Complete strenuous activities early or late in the day when it’s cooler. Remember your sunscreen, and drink plenty of water. Splash on some tea tree oil to keep the ticks and mosquitoes away (DO NOT let your DOG or Cat Lick you if you used Tea Tree Oil…make sure you wash it off totally when you come in…it can be deadly to Dogs & Cats.) Try to plan your time out in the sun so you can still spend plenty of time in the shade. Take as many breaks as needed to just rest and enjoy your space.
Easily Switch Up the Seasons
Do you know about Pot-in-Pot Landscaping? It lets you keep your garden up-to-date quickly and easily. Simply bury a pot that is slightly larger than your flower pot in the ground where you want it. It’s perfect edging a garden in decorative flowers, or along a driveway. Then you simply drop in your potted flower into the hole provided by the bigger pot. This way you can plant seasonal flowers all throughout the year with no digging!
Milk Does a Garden Good
Milky summer tips. Milk jugs in the garden. Milk jugs can be put to great use any time of the year! For those heat loving plants like tomatoes, cut the bottom off of a milk jug and place it around the young plant. It’s an instant greenhouse! You can also turn a milk jug into the perfect watering can. Simply take a clean milk jug with a lid, and use a hot needle to poke holes in the lid.
Make some Miracle Grow
Want to easily fertilize your plants while watering? Simply take 1 gallon of water, 1 tbsp Epsom salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp of Household ammonia and mix all the ingredients together. This is your concentrate. Use once a month on your plants by mixing a 1/8 -1/4 of the concentrate with 4 cups of water in a watering can. It’s the same stuff!
Vacation Time
Summer is prime vacation time, but you don’t want your plants to die while you’re away. Keep them watered if you’re gone for a week or less! Simply provide a container of water and roll up paper towels so they don’t break or cloth rags. Dip one end of your paper towns or rags into the container and lay out the rest along the plant. The towels will soak up the water all along its length, and release it into the soil! This might not work quite as well for outdoor plants since the water will evaporate out of your container faster.
Use Broken Pots
Breaks happen, but you don’t have to throw those pot shards away. Use a permanent marker to decorate and create plant labels! They identify your plants and add a nice rustic charm to your garden.
Sweet Propagation
Trying to propagate a plant? Dip it in honey! The enzymes in honey will promote root growth and it a natural anti-fungal agent, keeping your plant healthy.
Help Your Roots
Hydrogen peroxide is great for the roots. Mix 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 32 parts water. Water your plants as normal to keep away root rot and to help them grow deep and strong.
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Victoria Schwalbe says
If you have a large area to water, soaker hoses are a fabulous solution. They can be woven through a lot of plants and laid right at the stem and covered with mulch. No wasted water, next to zero evaporation, and a large area watered at once while you tend to other tasks. Soaker hoses come in various lengths, are relatively inexpensive and will last for several years.
Andrea says
Hi there Victoria! THANK YOU so much the great tip!!! I am sure my readers will enjoy it! You take care now and have an amazing day! Hugs…