6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

WEEKEND GARDENING | Summer shade
THE HEAT IS ON! ...
YOUR VEGIES
The heat of the summer sun can be a real challenge
in the garden, particularly the edible garden
Words Claire Bickle
Depending on your climatic zone, in the
summer months, you may experience long
periods of drought accompanied by scorching
temperatures, or you could see heavy rainfall
with high temperatures and humidity.
Both high humidity and strong, radiant
heat from the sun can damage plants and
make them vulnerable, especially those you
may be trying to establish.
Most softer-leafed edibles will be grateful
for some protection from the midday sun’s
rays. In my experience, even summer-loving
crops such as pumpkins, cucumbers and
melons can have their leaves scorched
beyond recovery.
However, most of the edibles we like to
grow do need a sunny location for healthy
growth and to come to fruition. If you think
planting your crops in a shady spot will
resolve all the summer heat problems, you’ll
soon find that’s not the case. They will stretch
for the sun, be prone to fungal problems and
insect attack and, because of the ambient air
temperature, still bolt to flower.
Common problems
caused by too
much heat
Bolting: This is where plants prematurely
send up flower spikes, flower and then set
seed. High temperatures have this effect
on many edible favourites such as lettuce,
Asian greens, coriander, fennel, dill and
more. A lot of edibles can also become
quite bitter when deprived of adequate
water during dry periods.
Scorching and bleaching: This is where the
tissue of the plant is damaged, which can
then lead to fungal and bacterial problems
and, of course, if hot enough, scorch a plant to
the point of no return.
Failure to form fruit: Sometimes the
flowers of tomatoes, for example, may drop
from heat stress, or fruit development
can suffer. Plus, extreme heat favours
development of more male flowers on some
plants, such as pumpkin.
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