Garden tips during a dry spell

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Boss the BBQ! Charcoal or gas? Read our BBQ guide to find the best grill for you this summer.

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Garden tips during a dry spell How to make sure your garden isn’t dealt a knockout blow in this summer

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Tempting summer cocktails

Bring your holiday to your garden this summer with our great cocktail recipes officially arrived, this month, on pages 4&5 we have a guide to help find you the ideal BBQ to give your garden an upgrade. We also have fantastic BBQ rubs and marinades which are sure to impress your friends and families. It’s looking like a hot one this year, so we have all the information you need to protect your garden and keep it healthy in the hot weather, and after all that work, why not check out one of our mouthwatering summer cocktails on pages 6&7? Are you looking to take advantage of the lockdown restrictions being

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BBQ rubs and marinades Simple rubs and marinades to bring your BBQ food to life

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Smart garden equipment Smart accessories and devices to get the most from your garden this year.

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Jonathan Wheatley Editor Spacing plants more widely apart allows each plant a greater area of soil to compete for moisture

It’s not only humans that suffer as the temperatures start to rise – gardens also feel the heat and get stressed, particularly if there is a long dry spell.

Lack of rainfall can drastically reduce crop yield for vegetable and soft fruit growers.

And while it may be simplistic to think that a watering can and a hosepipe will cure everything, that’s just a fraction of the solution.

In fact, the first line of defence against any summer drought should be drawn at the ground preparation stage, where digging in two bucketfulls of well-rotted manure per square metre will add to the water-retaining capacity of the soil. That could add as much as two weeks’ moisture, as well as vital nutrients.

Sowing early, preferably before May, will also allow crops to take root in moist soil and be prepared for when more severe conditions arrive - generally in late June – and drought stress becomes a real issue.

This is applicable to vegetables such as carrots, those that stay in the ground until ready to use. But it is less useful for the likes of spinach and salads where a continuity of supply is needed and later sowings, typically after May, might have to be made in dry soil.

Here it is better to water into your drill before sowing to ensure good germination.

Spacing plants more widely, usually by more than 50per cent of the recommended distance, allows each plant a greater area of soil to compete for moisture. Although this reduces the yield, it does mean they become drought resistant.

Fertilisers are again very helpful to make plants stronger and better equipped to make the most of available water, but excessive quantities can do more harm than good.

DROUGHT FOR THE COUNT

But the key is water retention because, in times of drought, a hosepipe ban is never more than a turn of the tap away. And, as water makes up a large percentage of the tissue in most fruit and vegetables, it doesn’t make much sense to let them go thirsty.

The key to keeping moisture in the ground and around the roots is a good quality mulch. Raked leaves, compost, composted manure, dried grass trimmings, even bark chippings, can all be used to protect young trees and berry plants from summer stress and will create cooler micro-environments at the base of plants. However, anything that has not been aged will temporarily deplete the soil of nitrogen and hamper growth. It is also important to know your soil type. A sandy or chalk mix needs soaking at least every other day but clay may only need watering once a week or the roots may rot. If you have young fruit trees, try taking a leaf out of the 19th Century farmer’s handbook and circle them with large stones or pebbles for moisture conservation. Because, even then, they realised sunshine wasn’t the only thing to dry out surface soil; a warm summer breeze would be just as damaging. And, with that in mind, don’t be afraid to erect some kind of shelter to give your plants some shade in the afternoon. Beans and most green, leafy vegetables appreciate some respite from the sun. How to make sure your garden isn’t dealt a When to water, knockout blow in the summer though, is a bone of contention. Many gardeners argue it is best to go out in the evening when the heat of the day is gone so most of the may be struggling moisture gets down to the shallow roots to establish themselves. evaporation. Others will say do it early in Also bear in mind a heatwave is the morning because it helps prevent hardest on transplants, those starter heat scald and other fungal diseases. plants who have started life in pots

of salad plants and isn’t lost to

The key to keeping moisture in the ground and around the roots is a good quality mulch

However, experts agree over methods of watering. For the likes of lettuce, radishes, and individual plants it is best to use a watering can so you can target and deliver the right amount. Anything where a mulch is concerned, use a hosepipe to get under the covering to give a good drenching, particularly for young fruit trees who before moving out to the garden. Their root systems are shallow and therefore more susceptible to drying conditions in the top few inches of the soil. Obviously you could wait before moving them out, but if they have to be moved look for opportunities to put them in the partial shade of more mature plants.