Summer Gardening Tips

Summer Gardening Tips

Summer is here and so are many sunny and hot days, at least in most parts of the country.

Tomatoes and peppers are ripening and turning a beautiful color. The green beans are ready to be picked and if you planted enough you may even can some for future use.

Spinach and Salads wanting to go to bolt sooner than one could eat it. :-)

Oh well, it makes great chicken and duck food. They love their greens too.

Here are a few Summer Gardening Tips:

• Water your plants early in the morning preferably only around the roots. Plants like squash and tomatoes don't like watering from the top as much. It also makes them more prone to fungal diseases, when their leaves stay wet for a longer time.

• Install a drip irrigation system or use soaker hoses. This way the water goes directly where it is needed and won't evaporate as much as when using sprinklers.

• Do not water in the hottest part of the day. The water on the leaves will act like lenses and the sun could burn your plants. If you have to water because they are really wilting water only around the roots.

• Weed the weeds! Yes, they will compete for water too, so weeding is a necessity in a vegetable garden. Pull the weeds, shake of all the dirt and either put it on a compost pile or use it for mulch around your plants. It will keep the soil cooler and can compost right where they are at.

  'The pick and drop” method is not recommended if your garden is being plagued by slugs though, because they will like to hide under the weeds. If that is the case haul the weeds to the compost pile.

• Mulching with straw, old hay or wood chips will keep the soil cool and moist and you won't need to water as much. If using wood chips, don't till them in when the gardening season is over or the beneficial bacteria in the soil will try to break it down and compost it and won't be able to provide enough nutrients for your veggies the following season. Wood chips take a while to compost.

• Start your Fall Garden seeds now, like Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale etc. for an abundant harvest through the end of the year.

• If you live in an area where it is very hot, you probably prefer to garden early in the morning or evening. It is also the mosquito's favorite time to be out. Protect yourself with a Mosquito head net and deet free bug spray.

We have successfully used this type head net to work in the garden if the bugs are just bugging us too much or for a hike in the woods. The Deet Free Herbal Bug Spray is really great.  

Head Net Link   

Herbal Armor Link

Happy Summer Gardening    

The Survival Center Farm and Prepper Team

Store located here

FREE Survival Center Newsletter

P.S. Please be sure to forward this blog and tell all you know to "like" us on Facebook or as our tech people like to say we get some kind of brownie points, what ever that means.