Sirocco!!

I have experienced conditions like we recently had here in Georgia but it was many years ago in
Morocco. Desert winds that make it feel like you had just stepped into an oven. We are back in the
mid 90's now which is a 10 degree improvement. We had 4 or 5 straight days of the unusually high
temps and still no rain here. After a mild spring with a good bit of cool weather this has been hard on
plants.

This has shut down my kitchen garden production to a trickle. My ambitious heirloom tomato crop
has been blasted into dormancy or outright death of the plants in some cases The blueberry crop was
pretty much harvested so that was good. Basil, okra, cucumbers, dill and green beans are o.k. Cantaloupe and
horseradish leaves are burned. I find myself developing a plan B and would welcome any ideas.

If your plants survived the heat wave count yourself fortunate. Maybe give them a little extra water and compost tea.

For me I think having several different gardens or garden areas with different conditions may help. For instance one area would be more flood resistant with raised beds or hugelkultur, another more drought resistant with basin beds or buried wood beds. All garden areas should be protected from wind, but still allow slight breezes to promote healthy ventilation, avoiding fungal infections. Obviously having a variety of growing conditions is going to be harder with a smaller space.

Tyler, I had my nephew who runs an organic garden for a University visit this spring. I asked my sister to pick his
brain for suggestions on how I might improve my garden and it came back: "expand it". I can do that inside the
current confines and plan to do so. That doesn't give me the diversity solution you suggest but I am limited by
sun patterns. Giant trees are in the way. Neighbors already think I am farming rather than gardening. There are
some limits I am self imposing. I have enough space if I manage it right and get some cooperation from the weather.

I have been nursing the plants along with additional water and compost tea as you suggest. It is too late here for
some things to re-plant and too hot to start on fall items. I will be doing something but I am off my game at the moment.
When the tomatoes I have ripening come in, there could be a an actual gap in production right in the middle in the normal
peak of the season. My pride will be damaged! However, there are black cherry tomatoes galore and they are great.

Alex Ames wrote:
When the tomatoes I have ripening come in, there could be a an actual gap in production right in the middle in the normal
peak of the season.

That happens here virtually every year because it gets too hot for the tomatoes to pollinate. They pick up again in the Fall and with careful planning we can still have tomatoes ripening in the house in December. But I've only managed that one year.

Yes, I am used to that happening too, but later in the summer. Everything seems to be happening 4 to 6 weeks
earlier than usual this year.

For me it is an emergency issue. My tomatoes are sunburned. Most everything else is too. I am looking for old sun cloth or sheets to cover with during the day. Just for the shade. cloth or semi clear plastic. I like cloth better. I may have to replant the carrots and cabbage. They are looking toasted. However my everlast strawberries are kicking but. I planted them in part shade. The rabbits like to nibble a little on them. I can share.

Last year my wife and I went to a local farmer's market and one farmer had some
particularly nice tomatoes for the time of year. He said his father grew them and he
was the retired county extension agent. His theory was to give them afternoon shade.

I've found I have to plant my summer garden where it gets some shade, otherwise everything gets horribly sunburned. I think a forest garden with pretty good canopy is probably best for me here at 30 degrees latitude. I have some semi-dwarf apple trees in my kitchen garden which should help out more in the future, they're really taking off this year.

In hot/humid regions I believe morning sun, afternoon shade is a key.
The morning sun dries the dew (prevents many fungus type diseases).
The afternoon shade gives them a break in the killing temps.

That county extension agent was somebody I had heard of because he wrote a short column
in the local paper. I cut one out years ago and I look at it every spring just for fun. Hopefully,
you can read it. It is almost too dark to scan. He entitled it "Sunshine and possibilities".