Heat hurting new Garden...

[LoneEagle721]

Southern Black hills of South Dakota, Zone 5. Rain finally stopped, got some time off work, finally started putting in a 4000 sq. ft. vegetable garden. Seeds sprouting, transplants in, a few with transplant shock, not too many. Everything is looking good. Then, bam, we are in our 3rd day of 90-100+ degree heat. Most plants are still seedlings and don't seem to be taking the heat very well. Need advice, bad. Thanks in advance.

[imafan26]

You got a lot done. 4000 sq feet is not a little garden.

You cannot control the weather.
It depends on what you planted. Eggplant, okra, hot peppers, squash can take more heat than leafy crops. Leafy crops would need some kind of shade but at the same time you want to make sure the covers don't overheat the plants. Lath actually will work better than shade cloth because it provides shifting shade and the top is open so it gives the rising warm air a way out.

You have a short season, so it is important to get your plants in on time.

[Asica]

Do you put mulch too? It made a huge difference for me. I finally have cucumbers.

[jal_ut]

Back in the days when we had wooden shingles, I used to push a shingle in on an angle to give the plant some shade. Guess one could do that with a cardboard square and position it with some soil to hold it up in place?

[rainbowgardener]

You can do the best you can with mulch, water, water, water, and shade. Water deeply, not frequently, but put LOTS of water on. But the heat of summer is just not a good time to be planting most seeds/ seedlings.

Plant the most heat resistant varieties of the most heat resistant plants. Imafan named them: Eggplant, okra, hot peppers, squash. Other possibilities include New Zealand or malabar spinach, melons, jerusalem artichokes, rosemary, tarragon, yarrow, lavender, sage.

[imafan26]

There are some heat resistant tomatoes from florida that will set in high temperatures but I don't know how they taste or if they are long season. I was actually surprised how heat resistant Early Girl was. It will not set in high temperatures, but it survives.

[Gary350]

If you need to water do it in the evening about 1 hour before sun down. Be sure to soak the soil deep at each plant only. Water only near the plants if you water the whole garden that will make weeds and grass grow. Home Depot and Lowe's sell black screen sun shades in many sizes like tarps. Cardboard boxes are free at the post office you could build small cardboard tents for the tiny plants. If you have a source if ice place an ice cube next to each plant it melts slow and only the plant gets the water not the weeds and grass in other parts of the garden. It is going to be 100 degrees here today, it was 98 yesterday.

[joed2323]

I'm in upper western north dakota(aka) oilfields

Anyway, its been tough here as well. Not as hot as you in sd but still high 80s

My potatoes are growing like crazy.

Corn is taking off, kohlarabi is doing good.

Tomatoe plants, seem like they havent changed height, no happy about that.

my carrots and cucumbers show no signs of ever emerging from the soil

I want to comment about the water tips

What if I can not soak just the soil around the plants, work has been getting in the way so my only option is using sprikler, yes I've noticed more weeds but it's called gardening, you always get some weeds. Pull them out when they are small

[rainbowgardener]

RE: "my carrots and cucumbers show no signs of ever emerging from the soil" when were they planted? Cucumbers are very fast sprouting. Days to germination depends A LOT on soil temperature, but even in cool soil wouldn't be more than ten days. Carrots are much slower, and may take three weeks or so to germinate. But they are usually planted in early spring. They don't like the heat so much.

If it has been longer than that, your seeds died for whatever reason (got too wet and rotted, didn't stay wet enough and dried up and died) and you need to re-plant. Seeds are very sensitive to conditions, especially water conditions. It's why I start a lot of seeds indoors under lights. Much easier to give them optimal conditions that way. But carrots don't transplant and have to planted in the ground.

[Lonesomedave]

You can do the best you can with mulch, water, water, water, and shade. Water deeply, not frequently, but put LOTS of water on. But the heat of summer is just not a good time to be planting most seeds/ seedlings.

this....I don't have near your square footage, but I have found that I really need to keep up on my watering after a few days of no rain....when you water, water long and deeply

good luck

/dave/