Garden Heatwave: How to Care for Heat-Stressed Plants

💛 📖 See the GrowVeg book here: www.growveg.com/growveg-the-beginners-guide-to-easy-gardening.aspx.
Extreme summer heat can be as exhausting for our plants as it is for us, but you can make life easier for them by deploying a few simple strategies.
By using smart watering techniques, providing shade and removing other stressors you can help keep those harvests coming, even during very hot, dry weather.
In this short video we’ll share five tried and tested ways to take the stress out of the heatwave for your plants.
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and many more...
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[@SmallGardenQuest]

When watering I do it in passes. Rather then one big pass I do it 3-4 times with 1 minute brakes in between. That way more water is absorbed in the soil rather then just running down the same crack. Great video!

[@GrowVeg]

That's what I do too - gets much more water into the ground/potting soil in the end.

[@Daniel-nf8pp]

I have old window screens and repurpose them for shading the plants from the afternoon 🌞 sun. I'll prune heavily to reduce the heat stress. ✌

[@cristinaharding3764]

This advice was definitely needed in Riverside, California! Thank you!!

[@cathyann6835]

It's only May and temps here are close to 90°F. It's usually only in the 70s. My tomatoes are in a slightly raised bed and I'm worried about them. I saw your video and I'll have to make shade for them. I put 12 plants aside to give to my daughter and they're doing really well. They're only getting the morning and early afternoon sun. I waited forever for the temps to get warm enough and now that I planted, we have a heat wave! Thanks

[@GrowVeg]

Opposite here - still very chilly and about 50s in temperature. Good luck with your tomatoes this year. :-)

[@carolschedler3832]

Thank you for showing aged and bug damaged crops! Every garden has some! I learn more seeing the good AND the ugly! Thanks for your tips!

[@spinningkat]

I put up a shade tunnel for my lettuce and radishes so that they are not overwhelmed, even during the hottest heat wave so I can have salad all summer long. Works quite well.

[@christines5430]

I am checking this out ahead of the extreme heatwave that we will be having next week in the UK, expected to be 39C on Tuesday! My lettuce, tomatoes and peppers will be really suffering

[@GrowVeg]

Yes, it's going to be a difficult time Christine. Check out our latest video on careful watering also. :-)

[@andrewkliss274]

Very timely vid for our current heatwave here in the Southwest U.S. Thanx!

[@celan4288]

Summer in the Carolinas, when the garden bakes to a crisp but the weeds grow tall as trees. Thanks for the tips, I am going to use the "bury the pot" one.

[@lisabug75]

NC here I am to

[@GardenMinistry.]

Yep SC here. The sun scorched my container cherry tomato's July/Aug and they stopped producing. Found it hard to keep up with watering, when the sun was also scorching me! This year I'll move them to the shade if possible.

[@samanthatrujillo568]

Your video came at the perfect time as Southern California is getting very warm! I recently lost my strawberries to the extreme heat 😫 I'll use these tips to save the rest of my garden cuties. Thanks!

[@cmenowOn]

I’m in Alabama and my peppers are taking a beating, this is right on time!!

[@darrentoews3151]

I too live in Alabama and we both know how hot the summers can be! 🥵

[@RelentlessHomesteading]

Timely advice - Thankyou. I sometimes give them a mist on a hot afternoon - seems to perk them up.

[@rl2117]

It's hot in Cali & I cover the delicate plants!

[@royaleclay6456]

Thank you so much for sharing those creative tips!

[@johnsmithjr5974]

Thanks for posting this video. Great tips!

[@allythescot]

Great advice on watering,People are never really sure they have got it right

[@Sonic-wl4gw]

Awesome vid I’m doing this for a project

[@nibzizintit]

Just wanted to say brilliant channel and thank you for all the tips!

[@GrowVeg]

Cheers Shaun!

[@maryblacker8744]

Thanks, I couldn't figure out for the life of me what was happening to my green beans. Dropping their flowers answers that even tho I 'thought' I was watering enuff.

[@jessihelgren8596]

Very helpful!

[@mindydiaz9015]

Wow thanks I'll make a sun shade.

[@ELBlDu]

this couldnt have come at a better time as our temps are climing into triple digits. I have issues with roots rotting with trays underneath. my tomatoes are rolling leaves, thought id back off on fertilizing by half. Great timing with video

[@HomeMakerDairyNo1]

Interesting, super brother, thanks

[@chantelcorless2274]

Wow what a wonderful clip and some very helpful advice. I live in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and its particularly hot this year.

[@GrowVeg]

Hope it cools off a bit for you soon.

[@NMew]

Long time fan, first time commenting - I hail from Sunny South Africa and I love GrowVeg! Your tips are always helpful, i love making use of partial shade nets or planting big bushy crops next to smaller vegetables that may need more shade. I love growing little rows of lettuce and flanking them by rows of sweet peas. The two just compliment each other while growing. I am also a big fan of using chille plants as little bushy borders for my raised beds as I've read they're supposed to improve drainage in the soil and I love those eye-catching chille flowers, they always attract beneficial bugs to the raised beds. It gets incredibly hot around here, especially in the summer peaks. I will be putting your advice to good use this season!

[@GrowVeg]

Hi Nina. Thanks for taking the time to post. Glad you enjoy the channel.

[@J1Bigtime]

I live in Australia and I find Summer so overwhelming, sometimes I just want to give up!

[@GrowVeg]

Don't give up. Keep on gardening - just concentrate on building a resilient soil by adding lots and lots of organic matter.

[@CATRYNA49]

That is why I watch primarily gardeners from Oz, although I live in the US (SOCAL), the summer weather, here, is very much like yours. And, Australians seem to have a lot of common sense when it comes to gardening.

[@RedDesertRoz]

Just planted our first little garden with the kids here in Sydney this week and it's a scorcher this weekend, right now it's 41 degrees (that's about 106 Fahrenheit) and a gusty hot wind like dragon's breath - and it isn't even summer yet. Thanks for the tips, hope they're going to be alright.

[@GrowVeg]

Sydney's been in the news this morning - highest November overnight temperature on record. I hope things cool off a bit for you before the summer kicks in.

[@RedDesertRoz]

@@GrowVeg oh really, yeah it was a bit hard to sleep Saturday night, and then 41 again on Sunday but today was just beautiful. Thanks for the tips, as the kids' seedlings made it through both scorchers and even managed to produce a few new flowers, so the kids are really happy!

[@WildBoarChannel]

Very interesting video

[@eLizburyDoughgirl]

Great to meet you! Thanks for the tips!

[@GrowVeg]

Hey - lovely to meet you too, thanks for stopping me! I thoroughly enjoyed your channel too, you've a fantastic voice!

[@eLizburyDoughgirl]

GrowVeg thank you!

[@theprettydamned]

I had to water containers three times yesterday, cucumber still looks a bit worse for wear from that warm breeze but is recovering!

[@eleanoradajo2019]

Good idea. Waching from Philippines

[@marich91]

Until yesterday we had such temperatures as high as 42°C here in Belgium! It's been the second heat wave in Belgium in two moths and this one lasted more than 10 days, I really thought the veggies would die, especially since it hasn't rained a lot since begin of 2019 so both the soil and the air were horrendously dry... I've focused on watering after sunset (22h30) and less often but much more generously, and it has indeed shoed much more results than watering lightly everyday like I did last year! Fortunately it's now been raining for 20hrs in a row and the temps have literally dropped 15°C. Heaven for the crops, especially the freshly sewn and germinated seeds!

[@ElaWyns]

Hi Idéfixette, that's a good tip. I think you had some rain yesterday? Grts Ela

[@marich91]

@@ElaWyns Hi! Yes we had, but tbh even after 24h of rain I don't think the soil was able to absorb that much water, it's been so dry lately. Which brings me to the most important piece of advice, which I forgot to mention in my first comment: anticipate droughts and heat waves. Cover the soils, feed them every winter and associate cultures so that, for instance big, leafy vegetables can give some shade to other, smaller veggies when it's dry and sunny, etc.

[@ElaWyns]

@@marich91 Well after all we had 30mm here in East-Flanders :)

[@marich91]

@@ElaWyns Yes, for once it rained both quite heavily AND for a while and it's been SUCH a relief to me! But still, tbh it's been so dry this past year (at least here in Vlaams Brabant), even since january 2018, that i'm afraid it'll not be sufficient to deeply moisturize the soil and help us through the rest of summer. Fortunately it should rain quite heavily next friday! Even duimen tot dan!! ^^

[@ElaWyns]

@@marich91 ​ Ah ja Friday? We'll see ... :) For the moment my sandy soil is so wet that I had to go on slug hunt this morning. Fingers crossed for Friday. The groundwater level must be raised urgently. But I still prefer the sun :D

[@stephanie9851]

Planting tall plants next to smallest ones can provide some natural shade

[@maaiker2977]

I have a tip for indoor orchids. They tend to dry out and die fast cause the air is too dry inside. I used to think I needed to water them more...yeah that kills them cause they don't like being too wet either. Instead an orchidgrower told me to put a bowl filled with those clay balls in them...fill that bowl with water. That way your orchid doesn't get dry air but still keeps its feet dry. It seems to keep my orchids alive. So the pro tip actually worked. Only problem with it being 40° here....apparently its so hot now even a tropical plant can't handle that kind of heat. In 1 day the bowl dried up and so did its flowers. 😱😭 The plant itself is fine (good leafs and green roots) but the flowers are all dried up and dead. Also make sure your orchids are nowhere near your airco...they don't like the breeze of fresher air. Also a good way to remove all your flowers from your orchids. It was so hot I turned the airco on but forgot about one little orchid...next day...BAHM all the flowers on the floor. It took me a little while to realise it was because of my airco.....it was fine before.

[@kimtown]

Maaike R You can make mini Ollas for your orchids! I make them large for my garden and tiny for my hanging plants. Works great!!!

[@maaiker2977]

@@kimtown Thanks for the tip. I will be using it outside. But inside I don't think it was a need of water problem nor the sun problem (cause I kept my metal outdoor sunblinds down when it was 40° to shield it as much as possible...and keep the house as "cool" as possible). But the air in the home itself got too dry and orchids are sensitive plants. I forgot to check the water in the bowl and it dried up within a day. 2 out of my 3 big orchids lost their flowers. But weirdly enough 1 small orchid was loving the heat and grew like crazy. You would think the tiny plant would suffer the most but nope he LOVED the heat....but he had a seperate water bowl which wasn't dry. They all have green roots so the plants itself have enough water....its just the dry air made my flowers die. But the tiny orchid probably thought it was back in the greenhouse or something. 😂 40+° is way too hot inside a home. The weather is crazy.😓

[@solofox6925]

Well it's 107 degrees here so I will attempt this , thanks

[@GrowVeg]

Wow - that's warm!

[@robtyman4281]

I find watering in the evening best, as it gives plants the luxury of a cooler night period to recover before they have to face the heat again the following day. Watering in the morning is ok, but it needs to be done by 7am at the latest, as the sun after this is already warming up the ground again, and plants don't like warm water.

[@kimtown]

Rob Tyman you’re not supposed to water at night because, in warm climates, your plants will begin the mold growing process overnight. Learned that from growing up in North Florida. ;)

[@robtyman4281]

@@kimtown Ok, I didn't know that - very interesting. I presume Florida is used to very hot and humid summers so plants there have adapted to the conditions. In the UK we generally have much cooler summers than Florida! Usually summer temperatures are between 73 and 87 F, but (if you've seen the super hot weather in Europe recently) we experienced temperatures of almost 100F, and elsewhere in Europe it's been even hotter......so this was my reasoning for watering my garden plants in the evening. But now I think I'll do it early morning instead - given what you say about plant mold.....even if it's going to be up to 90F a few hours later in the morning!

[@GiJoeVideo]

"Garden of Eden" method helps keep even moisture levels in the soil

[@wheretwoormoregather]

Builds great soil too.

[@Efferri]

I live in AZ and the weather has been 114/115 for almost a week. I use a shade cloth and water as needed, but my pepper has dropped all of leaves. I pruned it down and brought it indoors out of the heat. Is there anything I can do to nurse it back to health? Should I keep it inside for a few days or should I bring it out in the mornings for a few hours?

[@GrowVeg]

You have probably done the right thing Chris. I'd leave it inside in a bright-but-out-of-direct-sunlight position until it begins to re-sprout. You can then pop it back outside during the cool of the morning and gradually increase the time the plant is outside over time (by which time hopefully the heat of summer will have cooled off a little).

[@marymcandrew7667]

Thanks for this video! I didn't know that about the fertiliser. My sugar peas and marrow fat peas, some plants are going totally pale, is that heat stress or do they need fertiliser?

[@GrowVeg]

They can go a little pale after planting them out. Once they establish they quickly turn green, as they can fix their own nitrogen from the air at their roots.

[@CATRYNA49]

Same happened to me and I added a bit of worm castings around the base of the seedlings and added mulch on top. It took 4 days to notice a significant change. Yay.

[@evekarlsson8150]

I'm a Swede living in a very hot part of Canada. We are classed as 4b and have fridgid -40 winters and summers as hot as 40c. Most of the growing season starts as hot as 25c (We have it already). Do I not fertilise them at all then since it's mostly over 30c at any given day? Or do I just focus on compost and aged manure in the soil before the growing starts?

[@GrowVeg]

It depends on what you're growing. Heat-tolerant, warm-season crops may still need occasional feeding. And compost and aged manure is always going to be a good thing, no matter the weather. If you are growing heat-tolerant varieties too then you would carry on feeding since the plants are used to that kind of weather.

[@PickledPoacher]

Great video thanks. Where we can't shade, we use a foliar of Molasses and Nickel to help restore nitrogen balance and prevent leaching which would otherwise restrict protiens and have the potential to attract insect pests to our already heat stressed plants. Organic mulch helps since this releases CO2 as it oxidises. Higher rates of CO2 enable plants to operate at higher temperatures..We also use a CO2 foliar treatment called Nano Breathe.. This also helps calcium levels helping keep roots and plant happier..It also has Magnesium and Iron, both useful in maintaining photosynthetic efficiency. Humic acid helps increase the soils ability to hold water, up to 40% more rentention, as well as providing many other benefits to support.plant and soil health. Also always grow with active biology. This can help maintain access to water as microbes like us are 70% water. Mycorrhizas in particular are incredible at.both storing water and locating sources in the soil which can be.out.of reach of root networks alone. Added biology helps maintain access to critical micro nutrients which in turn help plants resist environmental stressors. Humic acid and Seaweed at 5:2 as a foliar has also been a trick to help plants resist high heat which we have had good success with. Overall, increasing photosynthetic efficiency really boosts resistance as things heat up. We always spray out of the sunlight. 😊

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks for that very comprehensive list of tips. Totally agree about working with active biology. I've switched to no-dig/till growing as it preserves the mycorrhizal associations in the soil and ultimately promotes more self-reliant, healthier plants.

[@kyriacoscrassides2553]

What is the NICKEL that you use?

[@feyrie]

would use the cloth thing on hot days, but HOA will hop on me like flies to dookie.

[@andreavincent4619]

Hi, do you think my loofa plant is not giving me fruits because of the hot weather? I live in zone 7/8 in Georgia.

[@ElaWyns]

A lot of plants struggle with the heat even loofa or luffa. They drop their flowers, small fruits begin yellowing and fade away. Try to create a bit of shadow at least for the midday heat. Prune the plant, remove the lower old leaves, which have already begun to wilt and can no longer do photosynthesis. Keep the soil moist and hopefully it will recover and start producing fruits again. Good luck!

[@rosewood513]

I believe that is a pollination problem I had that too when it was not hot. I live in So west Tenn

[@BetaCuckAlpha]

My Texas plants would love if it was only 85 degrees.

[@catiepower3550]

Have you ever tried Olla’s?

[@GrowVeg]

I haven't tried them but understand they're a really great solution for hotter climates with high evaporation.

[@jojobobo125]

I have never used one of the bed skirts that come in a new comforter set on a bed inside my house. I like to use old sheers too. My grammy used to take the sheers from her laundry and mud room out on hot days and pin them to trellises and the fence to shade her cucumbers and squash vines. My grandad would be so mad because she would end up with new ones shortly after

[@elizabethsteele9445]

I had some gardeners cut a tree down in my complex. The vent for their chipper was pointed at my fern and burned it, how can I ensure its recovery?

[@GrowVeg]

I would cut off the damaged foliage to ground level. If the central crown is intact and undamaged then fresh new leaves will quickly sprout again.

[@elizabethsteele9445]

GrowVeg thank you so much! I will do that!

[@candiwallace6605]

💖💖👍👍💖💖

[@abdullahnizamani7266]

My chilli plant is dying due to extreme temp 43 c please help

[@GrowVeg]

Keep it watered and move it to a shady position during the heat of the day - or maybe leave it there throughout the extreme heat.

[@arwenkuttner]

Hi. I heard that it's better not to overwater tomatoes because a little bit of stress is what will help them produce tomatoes. Is this correct?

[@kristencruz7983]

This is what I keep getting told as well!

[@OrganicGuitarExplorer]

You really cannot over water tomatoes, they love it and need it produce fruit. Stressed plants begin to shut down or grow smaller fruit. I drip irrigate for 4-6 hours every 3 days in two high tunnels full of tomatoes and peppers. Have good harvests.

[@GrowVeg]

It is hard to over water tomatoes. The main consideration is consistency. You don't want the soil to completely dry out between waterings, because that runs the risk of tomato skins splitting every time you water and all that water rushes to the fruits. Some people recommend easing back on watering to improve the flavour of the tomatoes. This certainly can help. But don't let the soil ever get dust-dry.

[@nickuk911]

My cauliflowers all bolted (UK) due to the heat i assume

[@johnbright5860]

Mine too. Mixture of extreme heat and not enough water. (Devon)

[@DanPalacios1]

Nice video, I disagree with only watering in the morning however. If your soil is well drained and its structure is loose loamy type soil, as mine is, watering in the evening is actually better as it encourages roots to go deeper where even in brutally hot dry climates like ours, there is moisture. In fact, my Spireas get watered once a month and even then only if I remember! Veggies such as tomatoes especially are HUGE nitrogen hogs so side dressing them regardless of weather is essential, and over-watering them actually causes spindly growth with lots of unproductive branches, I give them a deep, deep drink via ground soak hoses once a week, and my peppers a little more because their natural habitat is humid, not dry like here in Utah. And keep in mind sometimes when tomato leaves curl up it may be an Aphid infestation, turn the leaves over to check, and if so get some ladybugs, they eat several times their weight in Aphids. It's really all about knowing which plants needs more, and which plants need less water, droopy plants are thirsty, plain and simple, but if you live in a dry climate and have WELL DRAINED SOIL, hold off to the evening and give them a nice deep drink to encourage root depth, remember slow soaking is your friend, it cuts evaporation and allows the water to penetrate soil that has isolated roots so that the water runs off and does not benefit the plant.

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks for sharing those suggestions and experiences Dan.

[@ryewilliams1232]

How hot was it?

[@lisabug75]

Hotter than the devil's balls!!!!😲

[@GrowVeg]

Not outlandishly hot. Probably around the high 20s Celsius when I recorded that, but it got up to 34 Celsius that day, which is very, very rare for our part of the world.

[@rosewood513]

The moist heat caused almost everything to have fungus...

[@plantgurugangsta7299]

Every single other plant guru I've ever watched has condemned leaving water in the saucer to the high hells! Those words are blaspheme saying to leave the water in the saucer according to many. Who does that?😱

[@GrowVeg]

Okay, so add enough water in the saucer so that it is all taken up within an hour or two. In hot weather it's really quite hard to over water.

[@tess764]

Have you seen my first video? I'm about to download another one. (Being a youtuber is HARD)! Edit my mom is sick and I had to shut down my channel for a while! I'll be baaaack!

[@dr.lexwinter8604]

As an Aussie listening to an Englishman complain about heat made me laugh. In 2002 I recorded 54C in the shade. We get some scorchers. I always use a mister and a shade tunnel (shade cloth over a matrix of PVC conduit that bends into a C shape and press fits into the garden bed) and leaky feeders for the ground. But even that didn't work last summer. Was hoping to get ahead of it but unfortunately this is like children's level knowledge. :(

[@GrowVeg]

Sorry the video wasn't helpful. We do get hot summers here, but rarely anything above 34C, so I appreciate that in very hot climates the struggle is very real!

[@dr.lexwinter8604]

Using that metal frame is daft, in REAL heat that'll just heat up like a cooking iron and cook your plants.

[@CATRYNA49]

That was what I was thinking too. Definitely, some shade cloth is the solution.

[@feyrie]

i dont even drink water