Amateur Gardening – 10 August 2019

10 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 7

Agoodstart:Ifplantingin summer,standplantsin

water for atleastanhourbeforeplantingsotheir

rootballs are completely saturated.

Preventing your plants overheating undercover

THEheatis stillonandwon’tstartto

diminishforanotherfewweeks.Plants

outsidecancopewiththisthanksto

breezes and the occasional rainy day,

butthoseundercovermaystartto

strugglein theconcentratedheat.

Heatstressin plantspresentsitself

throughwilting,scorchedleavesandthe

dryingoutof youngfoliage,butyoucan

counterthethreatbyloweringthe

temperaturearoundwh

theyaregrowing.

Dampingdownthe

floorwithwatereach

morningandevening

helpscooltheair

asthemoisture

evaporates.If youare

goingaway,leave

bowlsof wateraround

thegreenhouseto

graduallydisperse.

Improveventilation

throughthegreenhouse

openingdoors,ventsandwindows,and

if youhaven’tdonesoalreadyshadethe

glasswithblinds,fleeceorpaint-on

shading that is easily wiped off when the

Coolgreenhouseairbydamping

the fl oor morning and evening

Makesurethereis

a fl ow of cooling air

Prioritisewateringwhenlevelsarelow,asRuthexplains

T

HEdryspringleadinginto

a relativelydrysummerhas

meantthatwateringhasbeen

somethingofa preoccupation.

The butts ran dry early on and were

luckilyrefilledbyJune’srain, but that

wasallgonebymid-July.

Sincethen,wehavebeenre-using

‘grey’non-greasywashing-upwater,the

water used for boiling eggs, pasta and

Usea bottleandporous

conetogivecontainersa

steady supply of water

vegetables,andtherun-offcollected

whilewaitingforthehottaptoheatup.

Youwillneedtoprioritiseyourplants

duringprolongedperiodswithoutrain.

Establishedperennials,treesandshrubs

arelowdownthelistastheirrootswill

havestretchedfaranddeepenough to

collectsufficientmoisture.

Newplantings,bedding,annualsand

containerplantsneedthemostwater

becauseeithertheyhaveimmatureroots

oraregrowingin a confined space with

limitedaccesstowater.

Wateraroundtherootsof theplants

andgivethesoila thoroughsoaking

ratherthana lightsprinkling,whichcan

encouragerootstoquesttowardsthe

surfacein theirsearchformoisture.If

wateris runningoffverydrysoil,create

a ‘moat’aroundyourmostvulnerable

plantstocatchandhold on to all

availablewater.

Neverletcontainercompostdryout

completelyasit canbehardtore-wet

properly.If thisdoeshappen,adda

coupleof dropsof washing-upliquidto

thewateringcantobreakthewater’s

surfacetension,soit is moreeasily

absorbedintothecompost.

Onewayof takingthestrainoutof

wateringcontainersis tofillempty

bottleswithwaterandplantfood,screw

onanirrigationnozzleandinsertit into

thecomposttorelease moisture and

nutrients slowly.

Slow-releasenozzles

keep compost damp

Avoidwettingfoliagewhere
possible,aswaterdrops
cancausesun-scorchon
veryhotdaysandalso
encouragefungal
problemsin humid
weather.

Createmoatsto

hold water

temperaturedropsin autumn.

Plantscontroltheirtemperature

bymovingwaterthroughtheircells

andoutthroughtheirleaves,a

processknownastranspiration.

Insufficientwatering,leaving

themdryat theroots,

contributesmassivelyto

stressandwilting,so

waterat leastoncea

dayduringveryhot

spells,makingsure

growbagsand

containersare

properlywetted.

It canalsoleadto

blossomendrot

in tomatoes.

It’salsoworth

rememberingthatalthough

wiltingcanbereversedbywatering,

it takesa lotoutof theplantandyou

mayfindthatit maynotbeasrobust

and productive afterwards.