How do you garden in 100 degree temperatures? Shade cloth!
I got these hoops and 50% shade cloth to give the garden a fighting chance to live this summer. The cloth isn’t really fabric, more like a plastic-y veil. I’ve heard burlap works too. This is my first time trying this so we’re going to experiment with installation, placement, and timing!
I’ve seen shade cloth done in a variety of ways. I chose hoops and clips since the garden is tiny and the ground surrounding the raised beds is really difficult to dig into, but stakes might have been a more secure choice given how high the winds can get.
After installing shade cloth we have a covered wagon, and a hot mess…
You can see how much wind damage there is in the garden from the latest storm. The corn is blown over, and each plant is now leaning to the south. Some stems are broken and I’m hoping things will bounce back. With any luck we will be done with high winds for a little while, the plants will grow straight up again, and my new shade cloths won’t end up halfway down the street in my neighbor’s yard!
I do have some concern that there won’t be enough light let in while these are covered. We’ll see how much growth we get. But I think having a little shade and slow growth is better than getting scorched, which is what will happen for sure if I don’t try to make an adjustment. At least that’s what happened to last year’s tomatoes when the heat set in.
I am learning that this is what it is to have a garden – working with the conditions you have to make little adjustments until you get the result you want.
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