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Just look at this soil: Dry as a bone. This drought across the country is affecting everyone.
And if you don't believe it just wait until you see grocery prices going up. That's why
I wanted to talk about managing your garden the best possible way. You can still pull
it through the drought. But with vegetables, you wanna make sure that you're doing certain
things right. They gotta have water. You see, water is essential. Unlike some plants, vegetables
cannot respond to a drought by simply going dormant. They just die. You just wanna make
sure that the plants have consistent water. It's best to water in the early, early morning.
You wanna deep soak the soil around the plants. Avoid any water contact on the leaves. You
really just wanna soak the soil. And be consistent. Don't let the plants dry out and then come
in and water and expect to save them. They're not gonna produce any fruit if you let them
become dry. You also wanna eradicate any weeds as soon as they appear. Avoid letting weeds
spread as they're gonna compete for the water that your vegetables need. Now to conserve
some of that moisture, you can place an organic mulch such as grass clippings or leaves or
straw or pine needles around your vegetables to reduce the loss of water to evaporation.
And when you apply the mulch, you wanna at least put down quarter of an inch. I'd recommend
two or three, actually. So you may be asking, "How do I keep the soil consistently moist?"
Well, you can water your vegetables with a soaker hose. You see, this hose has perforations
along its length. Place the hose along the rows of plants, water at a low pressure for
about 15 to 20 minutes, again, early in the morning. Also, take advantage of Mother Nature.
If you don't have a rain collection system, install one. Place a rain collection barrel
under the gutters to collect rain and use it to water your garden. And when caring for
your containers, one thing to think about is move them into some shade. All they need
is morning sun when it's as hot as it is. And water them regularly. And to help conserve
water, think about using a drip irrigation system. And most certainly, put a saucer under
them to conserve that water. Now we've talked about how to keep your plants from stressing
out in the heat, how about some tips for us humans? My friend Brian Smith from the National
Weather Service has some tips that we should all think about. One of things that we encourage
people to do during periods of hot weather like in a drought is to stay hydrated. Drink
plenty of non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated beverages. Avoid being outside during the hottest part
of the day, which is usually mid to late afternoon. If you have to be outside, take frequent breaks.
Wear lightweight, light colored and loose fitting clothing. Make sure your watering
your plants. If possible, avoid watering during peak hours.