Summer Gardening Tips For Your Survival Garden

Summer Gardening Tips For Your Survival Garden was originally published on http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Garden maintenance is necessary in all seasons, especially in the summer. As temperatures continue to rise, our survival gardens need extra care. This summer, some states are experiencing record highs, therefore, our summer gardening tips deserve proper consideration!

Like humans, plants need food, water, and protection against disease to survive and thrive. Let’s give them a fighting chance in one of the hottest summers in recent years.

In this article, I’ll go over these summer gardening tips:

• Feeding your plants
• Proper watering for your plants
• Protecting your plants against pests and disease
• Weed control

Also, I’ll cover vegetables you can plant in the summer! Let’s get started!

Summer Gardening Tips: Survival Garden

Feeding Your Plants

Even if you added compost at the time of planting, keeping your plants fed throughout the summer season is important as plants produce more when they’re well fed.

About mid-summer, add a very thin layer of compost throughout the soil about 1 inch away from the plant making sure not to disturb the root system. Adding a layer of mulch on top of the compost will help keep the soil moist which will help keep those necessary nutrients provided by the compost in place. You should not have to compost more than once throughout the summer months.

If you use fertilizer, never add more than is directed as it can burn the plant’s root system. Also, avoid adding it to any plant in extreme heat or drought as this can put stress on your plants, which can make them more susceptible to things like plant disease.

Proper Watering For Your Plants

During the summer months, vegetable gardens require about 2 inches of water a week to stay hydrated. It is important to know that the amount of water you give them is just as important as how you water them.

Here are some great tips for watering your survival garden throughout the summer season:

• Make sure the water is reaching the plants root system and not just sitting on top of the soil. Also, leaves that are wet continuously is an invitation for plant disease to set in.
• As I said before, add mulch to your survival garden! In the case of watering, adding 2-3 inches of mulch to your garden beds will help keep the root systems at a steady cool temperature, conserves water, and helps to prevent weeds. Ground pine bark, wheat straw, and pine straw make great mulch for your survival garden.
• If you are growing your vegetables in containers, they will require daily water. Containers tend to dry out much faster than garden beds.
• Consider a soaker hose or irrigation system as these are the best options for watering your garden beds as they allow just the right amount of water to reach the roots.

Protecting Your Plants Against Pests And Disease

The summer months are when your plants are most susceptible to pests and disease!

Follow these steps to help protect your survival garden against plant disease:

• First and foremost, proper sunlight, feeding, and watering all play a role when it comes to keeping your plants disease free!
• Keep garden beds free of debris as debris can carry disease organisms.
• Keep your garden tools clean. Clean them after every use. Wash your gardening gloves as often as you can.

To help control pests this summer, look out for damage on each plant often. Catching pests early is key to getting rid of them quickly. Check out my article, 4 Organic DIY Insect Sprays For Your Survival Garden, for all natural solutions for pest control.

Weed Control

Controlling weeds in your survival garden can seem like an impossible task at times, especially in the summer! Applying mulch, cultivating, and using weed mats all help tremendously but, will not guarantee a weed free garden.

If you are in search of all natural solutions to killing weeds, check out these articles:

• 6 Benefits Of Using Vinegar In Your Survival Garden
• 8 Baking Soda Uses For Your Survival Garden To Try
• 6 Secret Survival Uses For Hydrogen Peroxide You Didn’t Know!

Vegetables You Can Plant In The Summer

If you are looking for a few more vegetables to add to your survival garden but, aren’t sure which ones will do well being planted this time of year, consider these vegetables.

• Beans
• Zucchini
• Celery
• Squash
• Peppers
• Corn

If you would like to know which plants would make great companion plants to these vegetables, check out my article Companion Plants To Benefit Your Survival Garden.

Do you have summer gardening tips to share? Share with us in the comment section below.

Check out these other great articles on survival gardening:

Survival Gardening – How To Grow Lettuce Indoors

Survival Gardening Hacks To Achieve The Perfect Tomato Plant

Composting For Beginners | The Building Blocks To A Better Harvest

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