Calendar summer has arrived in Central Texas, and it feels more like August than late June. The early and prolonged heat wave has been brutal on our plants and gardens. Even the wellestablished, heat loving plants are beginning to show signs of stress.
Most plants benefit from afternoon shade, but especially young plants. To help your plants survive the rest of the summer, make sure they get some afternoon shade at least until they are established.
When it comes to providing shade, there are options. You can use something that you have already, like an old white sheet or a window screen. You could use a section of lattice which will block quite a bit of sun. These options are good, but if you want to know how much shade you are providing or you want it to look a certain way, you may want to purchase shade cloth.
Shade cloth is used to protect plants from too much sun and solar radiation. It diffuses the light while providing ventilation. Plants grown under shade cloth are more likely to have larger leaves and grow taller.
Shade cloth comes in different shade density percentages. It’s sold this way because different plants tolerate different amounts of sun and shade. Heat loving plants don’t need as much shade, so a 30% shade cloth works great for tomatoes, peppers and squash. 50% shade cloth is good for flowering summer plants. Shade cloth that is 70% or greater is appropriate for ornamental plants such as houseplants that spend the summer outside.
Lighter colored shade cloths reflect the sun’s heat. White shade cloth reduces light but not the quality of the color wavelengths in the light spectrum. Plants use the color wavelengths for photosynthesis. The color spectrum includes all the colors of the rainbow–the ones that we can see, but also infrared and ultraviolet which humans can’t see.
Photosynthesis is the process that plants use to make their own food from carbon dioxide, water and sunlight.
Darker colored shade cloths and materials absorb the sun’s heat and act like filters while blocking the color wavelengths. Depending on the placement in your garden and how much sun you plant get during the day, it is possible to deprive your plants of too much light and color wavelengths.
Since many plants will benefit from afternoon shade, it's worth your time to assess the light in your garden. The best part about shade structures, they aren’t permanent. You can always adjust, change and remove them.
If you have lost plants to water, heat or insect stress, don’t despair because we will have another opportunity to plant another round of summer favorites like beans, corn, cucumbers, orka, peppers, tomatoes and squash. Fall gardens need to be planted in early August in our part of Central Texas.
Planning your fall garden now will help you prepare for a successful harvest in the fall. Beans and corn prefer to be directly sown in the ground. They don’t like to be transplanted and can be planted in early August right in your garden. Tomatoes, pep
Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squash don’t mind being transplanted or moved around. Since transplants are your best bet for a successful fall garden, start some plants from seeds or cutting indoors now so that you are ready for planting in early August. Transplants give
Transplants give you a leg up on your fall garden because larger plants have better developed root systems. Healthy plants depend on healthy root systems. When plants are thriving above ground, you can feel confident you have a nice healthy root system. A healthy root system is important to keeping the top parts of your plants alive. When they get stressed from weather conditions, disease or insect damage, a healthy plant is more likely to be able to recover.
With 25 years of backyard gardening experience, Julie is a plant and nature enthusiast. She lives in Taylor and hosts the “Plow & Hose Organic Gardening in Central Texas” podcast and radio show that airs on KBSR, Black Sparrow Radio every Saturday and Sunday at 9 am.
