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The Good Earth

with Penny Pyett
Permaculture Director-sydney Institute.

Have you been able to give your garden enough water in this summer's heat?
Watering your garden isn’t wasteful if you do it in the cool of the evening or early in the morning.
Did you know that if it’s windy, just hand water the urgent cases of wilting. Using sprinklers that throw water high into the air on a windy day loses about 40% of the water.
Another tip is to keep the pressure low on sprinklers allowing the droplets to be bigger and not get evaporated so quickly.
What about your veggie bed? Veggies need daily watering in hot weather because if you don’t, lack of enough water can cause the bottom of tomatoes to turn black (blossom end rot), lettuce to turn bitter, and beans, zucchinis and other flowering crops to stop producing.
Has the summer heat turned the leaves of your vegetables brown and crispy? Has the sun baked the tomatoes on the vine? Have the beans turned up their toes and gone to god? All these things may have happened despite your efforts to supply plenty of water in the early morning or cool of the evening.
The hot midday sun is unforgiving and in a lot of areas in Australia, you might have even decided to give up growing veggies in the hottest months. Here’s an idea from the Permaculture Institute to help your summer garden.

If you thought that growing veggies in the shade was a silly idea, I hope this has changed your thinking to, “I’m going to give it a try.”
If you already grow veggies in the shade, drop us a line , we’d love to hear which veggies you tried in the shade and how they went. Send in a photo or drop us a line to. realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR po Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675