Keeping your garden safe in the heat

With temperatures set to soar, it’s more important than ever to protect your garden and its content from the incoming heatwave.

Jack Sutcliffe, founder of Yorkshire-based shed manufacturer, Power Sheds, has unveiled his five tips to help you protect your prize plants, fruit and vegetable patch, and garden furniture.

1. Move all container plants into the shade

Container plants are the first to dry out in a heatwave, you need to protect them from the sun or they will perish quickly.

Moving them into the shade so they don’t feel the full heat of the midday sun is an easy way to prepare your plants and pots for the rising temperature.

2. Do not over water your lawn

Lawns can become scorched during a heatwave, but there are things you can do to keep it looking thick and green.

It will require minimal watering, once a week should do, and your mowing routine should drop to once a week.

You should also adjust the blades on your mower to a higher setting to ensure the grass stems provide maximum shade for the soil.

3. Install air vent and use UV-resistant varnish on your summerhouse

The biggest risk to plants in high temperature is the soil drying out, your first line of defence against this should be to use a layer of mulch around plants to help the soil stay moist after watering.

There are many different mulch materials gardeners can use during a heatwave, dry grass clippings from your lawn are a great option.

4. Get the right pots for your plants

Getting the right pots is key in ensuring that your garden stay hydrated for as long as possible in the summer months.

An unsealed terracotta pot can cause the water to evaporate a lot easier from the soil which will get the plant to dry and die a lot sooner.

The best solution for this is to either get an already sealed terracotta pot or seal it with a specialised sealer. Same goes for black plastic pots that attract all the heat due to their colour.

Opt for light coloured ones that instead will reflect the sunlight.

5. Water your plants early in the morning

It’s not too late for plants that have wilted or turned brown during the heatwave.

Watering them before the day gets extremely hot gives your plants chance to drink up.

The next best time is once the day gets cooler during the evening.

Mr Sutcliffe said “While most of us love a summer of hot weather, heatwaves can put your garden and its contents at risk casuing havoc to your lawn.

“But it’s important you take the necessary steps early to protect your plants or it can be too late for them to recover.”

 

Picture: Power Sheds/Shutterstock