Well, I might have mentioned in the past I don't do much mulching in my veg patch; slugs and bugs love it, and they do more harm to my plants than mulch does good. Things are topsy turvy this year, and my soil needs mulch more than my plants need slug protection (I think they've all died off in this heat).
The soil has been getting dryer and dryer, especially where it's exposed. In the shade, such as where plant cover is thick enough, the soil is a little moist, at least under the topmost layer. The squashes, for example, have been shading the soil as they ramble around the Misc bed.
 |
| Keeping cool in the Misc bed, July 2018 |
I haven't been weeding much since it got so hot--and not only because I'm lazy. I want the weeds to help shade the soil, like the squashes are doing. Will the weeds drink the bed dry, leaving no water in the soil for my veg? I doubt it, as there are far more veg than weeds, but even so, I know the soil will lose water quickly if exposed to the sun and wind.
In places I hoed bare, like some of the Roots bed when I sowed new beet seed earlier, nothing is growing, not even weeds; it's too hot and dry for anything to germinate I suspect. I don't dare transplant anything here now, either, as anything new will just bake.
 |
| Bare in the Roots bed, July 2018 |
My best bet is to mulch the empty spots, after giving them a bit of a soak. I'll use some trimmings from the Perennial beds, which is in partial shade and far more weedy/leafy now. And when it rains again (oh man do we need some rain--even just a short shower), hopefully these spots will be ready for a quick growing crop.
No comments:
Post a Comment