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Growing Herbs at HomeJul 23, 2024
10 Summer Gardening Strategies
Summer is in full swing, and there’s likely a lot on your plate, literally and figuratively. Full dinner plates with homegrown plants, travel, outdoor activities in the sun, and endless events can keep us busy. The garden should be booming and shifting towards harvesting and watering, rather than the labor-intensive prep work of the prior seasons.
1
Share the Bounty
If your (dinner) plate has runneth over, share your extras with friends and neighbors. Whether you’ve made jam, canned your whole Tomato patch, or just have a cornucopia of fresh items from your garden, they’ll appreciate the gift of homemade deliciousness.
Pro Tip
When preserving the fruits of your labor, make extra to keep on hand for last minute gifts.
2
Weed, Weed, and More Weed(ing)
Keeping up with weeding can be intense, especially if you’ve gone out of town or a rainstorm kicked things up a notch. No doubt you’ve pushed your back to the weeding limit. The mulching prep work done in the other seasons hopefully has kept the weeds at a minimum.
Pro Tip
It’s easiest to pull weeds by hand when they’re young and the soil is loose after rain. For larger spaces, investing in a Stand Up weeder or similar can make the task faster and easier on your body. On our farms, we use a Hula Hoe for small weeds and a Wide Field Hoe for larger weeds.
3
Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Watering can dominate your planned summer fun. Establish systems to set it and forget it with one of these easy options. Drip irrigation systems release drops of water over time. Soaker hoses attach to your regular hose and slowly leach out water. Oyas, also called ollas, are an ancient clay pot system that is buried in the beds and filled with water one or more times a week depending on the heat. The porous clay gradually distributes water to the surrounding areas. A slow, small amount of water over time penetrates the soil better and prevents runoff.
Pro Tip
For a drip irrigation system or soaker hose, installing a timer on the spigot can help you avoid overflow and can potentially save money on the water bill. You may also choose drought-tolerant native plants that, once established, only need infrequent watering.
4
Lock In Moisture
The soil prep from past seasons will create a better growing environment for your plants and help them assimilate water through their roots better. If your beds are in full sun, add a layer of straw (not hay, it has seeds!) or shredded newspaper to cover the soil around your plants. This locks in the moisture when watering or raining and keeps the soil hydrated for longer.
Pro Tip
It’s best to water in the early morning before the sun’s heat hits, which can evaporate water off the plants before it reaches their roots.
5
Shady Business
Some plants can’t handle the sunlight from a heatwave and their leaves can get sunburned and turn brown. New plantings are also vulnerable. Add shade cloth to your hoop tunnels or a sunshade sail over the area. This allows some sun and ventilation to come in but not direct sun that could cause burns.
Pro Tip
Remove any damaged leaves from sunburned plants so the energy of the plant can go elsewhere.
6
Deadhead
No, Grateful Dead’s fans aren’t descending on your garden but if you do this trick, more flowers will come! Deadheading is when you remove the dead flowers from a plant. This encourages new flowers to bloom and extends the flowering season. This trim tells the plant to grow out, making it bushier and the garden will look more vibrant. This is especially true of Calendula plants and Rose bushes.
Pro Tip
Clip or pinch them on the stem just under the spent flowers, but above any healthy leaves.
7
Keep One Eye Open
Insects and pests in your garden can happen to the best of us. If you tackle them fast, keeping on top of any invasions can be easier. Continuing to support the health of your soil each season annually can diminish the likelihood of bugs taking over. There are many organic ways to address pests by researching Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Remember to remove any infected leaves to help the plant recover or if it’s a goner, remove it so it doesn’t infect its neighbors.
Pro Tip
Intersperse your garden with mutually beneficial companion plants. They’ll repel unwanted insects with their aromatics and attract beneficial bugs that eat the ones you don’t want on your plants. You can also add a sacrificial plant that bugs will attach to instead of your crops. A common duo is Nasturtiums next to Brassicas like Kale, Cabbage, or Horseradish for aphids.
8
Take a Seat
Adding a bench or some chairs to sit back and admire the lush greenery, brightly colored flowers, and buzzing pollinator activity of summer can make all the difference for your mental health. Stopping to smell the flowers can help ground you during a busy hectic summer.
Pro Tip
Add a firepit for chilly nights entertaining friends, making s’mores for the kids, or a quiet respite after little ones go to bed.
9
It’s All About Timing
Some crops should be harvested while ripe, others can be picked early and will ripen off the stem. Doing some research can help plan a harvesting timeline. That way you can stagger your harvesting and everything isn’t ready at the same time making your head spin.
Pro Tip
Letting some plants flower without harvesting or cutting them allows some food to be left for pollinators.
10
Bloom Where You are Planted
If you’ve bought some starts and they’ve been sitting outside waiting, transplant them in the ground as soon as possible. The longer you wait, especially if you have a shorter season based on your location, the longer it will take to get established roots, blooms, and harvests.
Pro Tip
Getting the soil in the seedling tray wet and the area where it will be planted before transplanting will make the soil stick better to the plant’s roots. This encourages less damage to the root system and lower transplant shock.
Reap the Harvesting Benefits
There are so many benefits of gardening! Food right off the stem just hits different since it doesn’t have to travel far to sit in storage to get to your plate. Along with the free homegrown food and fresh flowers, gardening can be great for the soul. Following a project like growing different plants through the seasons can give you a sense of accomplishment. Exercise and fresh air can contribute to a great mood along with a connection to the earth, soil, and plants.
Don’t feel the need to do all the items on our seasonal gardening lists. These tips are merely suggestions to help you get started if you are new to it all or extra tips for those who want to expand their knowledge. While these are general tips that are helpful in our area and climate, always do your research about the specific plants in your space and what’s recommended for the zone you live in.
Want to learn more about gardening at home? Check out the Growing Herbs at Home section of our Stay Well blog.