Officially, no summer isn’t here yet but in Yuma, AZ it is here, shade your garden. Today is 102° F and it is time to care for your delicate plants. Is what I do every year. Even during this heat we still want to grow food. Protecting your garden during this time and during summer I can assure you that they will be fine. Can’t guarantee anything without proper care.

Even if it is protected from the sun there’s still the heat and most plants do really well even if in the heat. You just need to make sure that you use the right kind of protection.

Using mulch during the summer is a great way to protect perennials because it keeps the soil moist and keeps the roots or bulbs from drying out.

Even young succulents will dry up. So, you must be vigilant about your plants. Don’t forget to water them as well. Nothing will be any good if it’s not properly taken care off.

Shade Your Plants

As you can see my collards, chives, and chili peppers are very happy under this sunshade. These materials block out 85% of UVA and UVB rays. What I love about this fabric is that it allow rain or watering to go right through it and it doesn’t collect. This fabric also protects your plants from high winds as well.

Where I live it is always windy so I am glad I purchased these for use. They last a long time. I have been using the same ones for over three years.

This year my garden has expanded and I planted some plants; more like medicinal plants and other Hmong herbs that are not normally grown here to experiment with. I tried with my Hmong herb where they said it would not survive but they did. ☺

Where to get a sunshade

You can purchase these sunshades at your local nursery, Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-mart, or online on Amazon. You can get them anywhere. It comes in various size and colors. As you can see from my pictures I have them in cream, light brownish and green colors.

I think that if you live here in Yuma it is a must, to protect what you have been working so hard to provide healthy foods for your family and for generations to come.

Why not protect it from mother nature’s fury. I’m sure your plants will thank you by bearing its fruit for you when it is time.

Recap

Summer is approaching soon. The heat is already in the triple digits. Make sure to go out and purchase some sunshade for your forever garden. We must love our plants so they can love us back by growing to feed our family.

Most of the plants will survive during the summer as long as it is well covered with the right materials and constant watering. Don’t water it too often because some plants hate getting their roots water log. Once, it does it will start to turn yellow, if it is not supposed to be that color.

Put a drip system on your vegetable plants so during the really hot weeks when it might reach 120° F your plants will be singing in the rain, so to speak. So, you can see Yuma, AZ summer is here so let’s shade our garden temperature is rising rapidly for us.