With the soaring temperatures set to continue, it’s important to ensure your garden is kept as healthy as possible, and that includes protecting your plants and giving them some extra care.
Follow these tips for keeping gardens healthy this summer:
- SUPER SEAWEED
Drought-proof your plants with an organic fertiliser that contains seaweed extracts. Naturally occurring substances in seaweed such as Mannitol and Betaines are known to enable plants to cope better physiologically with drought stress.
- CHANGE YOUR DIET
Raised temperatures reduce the soil’s ability to absorb the nutrition in fertilisers. Too much fertiliser can have the opposite effect and burn plants. Seek out liquid fertilisers that have improved absorption in high temperatures.
- GET MOWING
Adjust your mower blade to a higher setting to ensure grass stems provide maximum shade to your soil. Resist the urge to rake the lawn for a perfect finish as cuttings can also provide vital shade. And check mover blades to ensure they give a sharp clean cut to the grass.
- MORE MULCH
Don’t be shy when it comes to adding extra mulch as it provides a vital barrier to cool the soil and hold moisture. Choose well-composted mulches in hot weather such as bark chips on borders.
- WATER WISELY
Even a well-established lawn will require watering during increased temperatures. A simple sprinkler is easy to set up, however if you have a large area it is worth investing in a proper irrigation system to ensure equal and efficient distribution of water, ideally with a timer. Timing is important; early morning and late evening are the best times of day to allow water enough time to soak into the soil before the sun’s heat rises and speeds up evaporation and transpiration. Consider an automatic watering system to ensure plants are kept watered while on holiday.
- GET YOUR BUTTS OUT
Invest in a water butt – it’s an eco-friendly way to water your garden and you can also draw from it should a water ban come into play.
