I don’t know how things are in your neck of the woods weather wise . . . . I had to turn off the news after the fifty-thousandth day of coverage on Casey Anthony. Triple ugh.
And, yes, this is exactly how I think and talk. I’m married to a man with an engineering mind, and have two children wired the same way. Imagine how hard it is to understand one another sometimes.
But, back to the weather. As Bill would say, “It hotter and drier than a popcorn fart.”
Anyhoo . . . right now I wish I were anywhere north of here. It is HOT! All of June, we kept hearing “Today’s temperatures will be over 100F,” That’s just wrong. We don’t usually get this kind of weather until mid-July and then into August.
Instead, 2011 has been all about century temperatures and little to no rain. Oklahoma City received 1.24 inches in June. Yes, that’s a record. The southeastern part of the state is having a few popup storms this morning, but boo, hiss, nothing at the Red Dirt Ranch.
You can see the U.S. Drought Monitor at the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. It isn’t pretty my friends.
However, before you take an axe to your potted plants, there is possibly good news. Mesonet is showing our temperatures getting back to normal in July. Yes, that’s still hot, but not HOT.
Hang in there. Here are some suggestions to make the best of a bad situation.
- Water containers every morning and evening (if they are small).
- Take down hanging baskets and place them in partial shade where they can recoup. Hanging in the hot air is killing mine so I’ll just keep them down for awhile.
- With the garden, don’t over water. Hopefully you have soaker hoses, or some kind of drip system. If not, think about installing one next year. You can do a drip system yourself, and I relied on soaker hoses for years. I’m watering about three days a week, but I have fescue in the front lawn, and it needs a bit more water. Everything else except the front beds are on drip irrigation. Because I’m on my own well, I can water without a bill which makes a huge difference.
- In the fall, consider installing rain barrels. for a bed or two. It does help cut down on water bills.
- Keep plants deadheaded and give them a liquid fertilizer to keep their strength up. I use organic fertilizers which can be ordered through the mail, or ask your local garden center to carry them. The only way we’ll change their hearts is through our pocket books.
- If you didn’t mulch earlier, do it now in the cool of the mornings. It doesn’t matter so much what you use to mulch. You just need a cooling layer for plant roots.
- Water in the mornings. You can also run your irrigation system at night, but that will sometimes cause powdery mildew. I’ve been surprised there haven’t been more water restrictions placed on communities. They will come.
- Keep weeds pulled as much as possible. Otherwise, your plants must compete for nutrients and water.
- If you have an elderly or infirm neighbor, offer to water their plants for them and make sure they have enough fans in the house. In hot weather, we sometimes forget how hard this is on our older friends. Same thing with your animals. Make sure they have plenty of good water sources. My dogs and cats drink out of my two fountains, have water in the garage and also a large water container near the water spigot. We fill this daily to make sure mosquitoes aren’t attracted to it.
- Remember native flowers tend to enjoy the heat if watered. So, next spring or even this fall, plant a few native perennials to fill things out in the garden.
That’s all I can think of right now except remember this will all get better by fall, and your plants will recover.Let me know if you think of anything else I’ve forgotten.
Also, with all these photos, I played around with Picnik’s vintage effect among others. It was slow going, but fun to do with such overexposed material in harsh sunlight.
Your historical drought has even made the news here. I wish you rain and cooler temperatures.
Dear Dee, I am sorry to hear you are having such awful weather. It makes me feel maybe our 90 degrees with scattered downpours aren’t so bad. One of my tomatoes drowned though, and I have powdery mildew on my zucchini and phlox — usually that doesn’t strike until the end of the summer. Your list is very comprehensive. Great posting. Pam x
Dee, I feel for you–this is the kind of summer we had last year, well, maybe not temps in the 100’s, but it was darned hot with no relief all summer. This year hasn’t been nearly so bad, and we have had enough rainfall to keep things going. Still, this week I’ve really had to keep up with the watering, especially since I have a lot of new plants in one bed. I chuckled at how your dogs and cats keep hydrated–I have a small solar fountain and I can’t keep it filled with water, because Sophie thinks it’s her personal drinking dish:)
Good to see all your bumblebees, and I love all the touches of blue. Hope you get a break in the weather soon!
Thanks Rose. I’m glad you laughed about my dogs’ water. They seem to think the fountains are theirs. I just fill them up again. :))
I hope we get a break too my friend. I do.
Wonderful tips, Dee. One would never know that … “It’s hotter and drier than a popcorn fart.” Your gardens/home … stunning! Wishing you welcome relief from the heat and nourishing welcome rain.
Hi Joey and thanks. I hope that made you laugh. Many of my plants like the heat and are relishing it. Others, not so much. I’m a bit tired of it myself.
Dee,
Even with a drip system I still haver burnt foliage on almost all the plants. Though I will admit the beds certainly do need a new layer of mulch.
Hi Randy, I don’t have burned foliage on everything, but in my shade garden in the front, my elephant ears are burned. I’m bummed. It is a hard summer.
I love the vintage look of the photographs, I should try that sometime. And this is excellent advice on how to deal with the hot temperatures, especially the part about helping elderly neighbors and making sure pets have water, too.
Thanks Carol. It took time, but it was fun to do. I found if I made the pictures smaller before making changes, it went a lot faster.
Oooh the house looks fantastic!! I have moved almost all of my pots to shady spots. Luckily I planted lots of succulents this year.
Thanks Lynde. It’s already a long summer. I’m ready for September at this rate. You were smart to plant succulents and put them in the shade. I may need to move all mine in partial shade before long.
I understand….just up the road.
Greggo, I’m sorry. I feel your pain.
Hi Dee,
Sorry to hear about such high temps this early. They are probably coming my way. It seems like when you “western bloggers” post about certain weather conditions, we hear in”The East” get the very same about 1 to 1/2 weeks later.
Thanks for a reminder with the good tips. I didn’t even do hanging baskets this year because they all suffered too much last year no matter how much I watered. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we had a giant shade cloth that rolled out like the commercial green houses do?
glimpsesofglory-karen.blogspot.com/
Karen, I can only hope you don’t get the same. We are unseasonably hot. It’s a difficult thing.
You know I feel for you because we’re experiencing the same thing. Our temps started going over 100 at the end of May and haven’t stopped. It’s getting old.
Okay Cindy, that is way worse. We have several more months of these temperatures, and that worries me a bit. I’m hoping for a cooling breeze for both of us.
Such timely advice, I think I’ll pop outside right now & take down the hanging fuschia basket. It’s suddenly like midsummer here in Chicagoland, with the lawn crunchy and the plants wilting.
Hopefully, your summer temps won’t be as high as ours. Fuschia? Wow, can’t grow it here. Too hot.
You’ll have to go pretty far north as we’re at 105 right now. Weather says maybe tstorms tonight and tomorrow with 80s. Wow. I was just looking at all the drooping plants in my garden. I know they’ll perk up tonight and are just couping. I did see a few plants that seem unfazed. I need more of them next year.
I’m so sorry to hear that. Ugh. This weather would try a sane person. I’m thankful for air conditioning though. I hope you get some good thunderstorms to perk up those plants.
I hope July really does bring you better weather Dee, you have been having such a rough time weatherwise. Good ideas for me to keep in mind as our summer is cranking up into the 100s.
Me too Leslie. What a nightmarish summer it’s been so far. Makes me sad only because I was so looking forward to gardening season after last winter’s wild weather.
I’m glad you had to fiddle with your photos because the result is dazzling.
It’s good to have a well – but are you ever in danger that it too will run dry?
Esther
Hi Esther,
Yes, if I ran it all the time, I guess my well could run dry. However, it is very deep and most of the irrigation is drip which helps. Thanks for the sweet words about my pictures.
All this time I didn’t realize you were on a hill Dee. Your weather sounds absolutely horrid. We have had crazy weather here but thankfully no actual 100 degree days. We are 7 inchs over on rainfall. I hate to put this all in print becasue it is just tempting fate. We are due to go into our summer heat and droughty time at any minute. It was cooler here (86) than in WI this 4th. I hope you get a rainy spell soon and a break in the temps. I can only imagine how your poor garden is taking it.
Hi Lisa, you didn’t? Yes, it’s a steep hill on the back. My front yard is flatter. I hope your summer remains good. Here, it is so hot I am sick and tired of it all.
Your tips are excellent, Dee. Heat is hard on all living things, that is the italicized and capitalized HEAT you mention as opposed to just plain hot. I remember living in Oklahoma and enduring 45 days in a row over 100. Yikes! Your photos, BTW, look fabulous! Love that vintage look with the bright colors.
Thanks Frances. It may end up being 45 days in a row here. They aren’t giving us any hope for relief. Waah!
Oh, Dee, that is HOT! I sure hope the pop-up showers show up n your part of the garden and soon. Your spirits are high considering the heat~Iced tea in the house probably makes more sense then sitting in the shade. Btw, the cabin looks wonderful with its new stain and I love the green trim. xogail
Hi Gail, we can only hope. Thank you for your sweet words.
Good tips today Dee for helping the garden survive a harsh summer such as yours. We’ve been a bit more fortunate with the precipitation, but our temps have been higher than normal this summer too. Hope you get a break from the heat soon and some wet stuff to boot. 🙂
Hi Racquel,
I hope your precip stays with you as much as you need. My temps are simply awful this year.