Hot Garden Maintenance

It happens every year in Spring. You get super excited and plant all kinds of great things like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and beautiful flowers, only to watch it wilt as the summer heat rolls in. Well, don’t worry!

Summer is right around the corner and we wanted to make sure you know how to maintain a lush, green, productive garden all through the summer.

First up…

Watering

This is probably the most important thing to remember in the Houston summer heat. Many people don’t realize just how much water it takes to maintain a garden, especially in full-sun. Plants transpire, or breathe, through their leaves, resulting in water loss. It works the same way when we breathe. Every exhalation includes a little bit of moisture.

If your irrigation is still set to winter timing, please increase it to 20-30 min per day.  This may be plenty for some, and too much or not enough for others. Every garden is different, so you will need to keep an eye on your own to make sure it's getting what it needs. The soil should be moist 1 inch below the surface. If it's not, increase irrigation. If the soil is very wet, decrease irrigation. This may involve trial and error if you're a new gardener.

Fertilizing

Plants get hungry just like we do and need to be fed regularly. Every week to every other week, give your garden a good drench with Microlife Ocean Harvest or Max Blooms. Ocean Harvest has high nitrogen making your leaves real nice and green and Max Blooms will help the plants set big juicy fruits and flowers with its high phosphorus number. It's a good idea to switch them every time you fertilize to get maximum benefits.

It took awhile to realize I needed to use a calendar to help me remember to fertilize. But once I started doing it regularly, my garden exploded with lush, green growth! Don’t wait until you see yellow leaves, put it on the calendar to feed your garden weekly or bi-monthly.

You got this!

Try to spend a little time in your garden each day, even if it’s just a few minutes. Snip some herbs for dinner, gently tie up your tomatoes and cucumbers, and stake peppers and eggplants if they start to lean. Harvest often and enjoy the process along the way!

The more time you spend with your garden, the more familiar it will become, and before long, you’ll start to notice its rhythms, spot changes early, and feel more confident responding to its needs.

Good luck, Gardeners!