7 Tips to Protect Your Garden in a Heatwave

1. Water Early, Water Often

Intense heat will make your plants extra thirsty. Aim to maintain consistent moisture levels in your soil by watering your plants slightly more frequently than usual. Try to water them early in the morning to prevent heat scald and/or wind from sweeping away any sprinkler water. If all this watering feels too overwhelming, you can also consider installing drip lines for deep and regular irrigation. Note that container plants will drain water more quickly than in-ground plants, so be sure to give them some extra love.

2. Apply Mulch

Mulch can save your plants from excessive stress due to heat. A 2- to 3-inch layer will conserve moisture, keep the base of your plants cool, and can even reflect the sun’s rays. Shredded leaves, grass trimmings, straw and wood chips will all protect your plants beautifully. Just don’t pile it too heavily near the bases of trees, as that can lead to root rot. Read more tips for laying mulch here.

3. Shade Your Plants

Unless your plants are full-sun varietals, get them out of the line of fire. There are numerous reliable ways to add shade. Move container plants beneath awnings, shade sails, or larger plants like trees to provide the most reliable shade. For in-ground plants, try adding an inexpensive shade cloth. Shade cloths come in a range of “shade factors” that can block up to 90% of sunlight. The most sensitive plants, like salad greens, will need a higher shade factor, while heartier ones, like beans, may only need about 30%.

4. Pause Pruning, Fertilizing, and Transplanting

While these regular garden tasks typically improve plant health, in extreme heat, they can cause unnecessary stress. With this in mind, hold off on pruning, fertilizing and transplanting until the heat wave has fully passed. You’ll be busy enough watering and weeding anyways!

5. Eliminate Weeds

Notoriously resilient weeds will steal vital water and nutrients away from your more sensitive plants. To that end, it’s critical to keep them out of your garden when it’s most vulnerable in summer. While it may be too hot during the day to spend long hours weeding, you can always focus on weeding in the cooler mornings or evenings. Additionally, try to get ahead of this task before a heat wave hits for best results.

6. Baby Your Seedlings

Newborn plants will be the most vulnerable to extreme heat. With this in mind, if you have to prioritize which plants to pour your energy into, coddle your seedlings. Get them properly shaded, mulched, watered and weeded before the sun can hurt them—and before your more mature plants take the heat hit.

7. Listen to Your Plants

When your plants are overwhelmed by the heat, they’ll try to tell you! If the edges of the plant’s leaves get brown, dry or crispy, it may be sun-scalded. If the leaves of more sensitive plants are curling upwards to make little cup shapes, the plant may be thirsty. And if a plant is wilting, it could be parched or else naturally responding to the heat.

To determine if it needs more water, check it early in the morning after the night has cooled it. If it’s still wilted, it needs a drink. And don’t forget to look out for these signs of overwatering.

Finally, be sure to manage your expectations of your garden in a heat wave. Fruit and vegetable production will likely drop as the plants focus on survival. But don’t worry: it’ll typically pick up again once things cool off a little more.