4 ms·

I don’t live in California but my state is experiencing the same. I love to garden, but summer has just become the dry season here, so it is pointless. You ca

I don’t live in California but my state is experiencing the same. I love to garden, but summer has just become the dry season here, so it is pointless. You can irrigate, but the vapor-pressure deficit (VPD) when it is 100 degrees and 20% humidity makes plant growth almost impossible for anything but cacti. I think I’ll just have to move. https://www.dimluxlighting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Leaf-Vapor-Pressure-Deficit-VPD-1.jpg https://www.dimluxlighting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Le...

anonuser123456 5y ago
Try using a biodegradable hydrogel at the base of the roots.
- masklinn 5y ago
  Changing up the crop would probably be a good idea, either early and late crops or heat-adapted summer stuff.
agilob 5y ago
>20% humidity makes plant growth almost impossible for anything but cacti Have you considered planting trees around your fence?
newsyyswen 5y ago
Have you considered drip irrigation? It was designed with desert agriculture in mind. Shade can also make a big difference.
- JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
  My garden has drip irrigation and looks like a burned mess unfortunately. I think it is just the effect of the hot dry air on the leaves.
  - huntertwo 5y ago
    You would need misters on a timer to up your relative humidity throughout the day. Drip irrigation can’t correct an oppressive VPD.
  - akiselev 5y ago
    It might just be the sun burning your plants, which droplets of water would only make worse (by acting as a lens). Try hanging shade cloth above them. It's what I have to do here in California for tomatoes, especially at higher elevations
  - downut 5y ago
    My wife is a master gardener at 5500' elevation in AZ. If the monsoon happens (50% chance) then there are two difficult months, May and June. June is the real bitch. Highs in the high 90s, hot winds out of the southwest everyday, and no clouds. If the monsoon fails (again 50% chance) then every month is difficult. She grows many varieties of tomatoes, okra, blackberries, three kinds of eggplant, basil, cilantro, and many varieties of beans. It's AZ, so of course there is a cornucopia of chiles, and garlic. Peaches and the other stone fruits are more dependent on the weather in Feb. (it snows here). Here are the techniques: partial shade from large trees, shade cloth over seedlings, timers on the drip, and the drip runs three times a day in June. Missing a single irrigation day in June means death to the garden. She does have some spray heads but most of the garden is just drip. Oh, and you can't plant too early, we've lost an entire bed of tomato seedlings to frost in May! That seems like it's a diminishing problem, however. The soil is the kitchen/garden compost + a few bags of water retention garden soil every year. I have seen gardens in Phoenix in the summer and the only possibility is full shade cloth over just about everything. The water is just city water, it's expensive. $100/month May-Sep. Because we're food snobs, and the flavors and textures are so much better, it's worth it. There's a lot of work in the spring getting everything going, and we joke about the "garden nazi" in Sep-Oct, where the harvest pretty much demands constant processing (which I do). But the middle 3 months are less than 1/2 hr/day. If you're curious about your local growing environment and how to deal with it, the local university agricultural extension are the goto folks. They literally exist to help you with this.
heavyset_go 5y ago
Would you mind sharing the state?

anonuser123456 5y ago

Try using a biodegradable hydrogel at the base of the roots.

masklinn 5y ago
Changing up the crop would probably be a good idea, either early and late crops or heat-adapted summer stuff.

agilob 5y ago

>20% humidity makes plant growth almost impossible for anything but cacti Have you considered planting trees around your fence?

newsyyswen 5y ago

Have you considered drip irrigation? It was designed with desert agriculture in mind. Shade can also make a big difference.

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
My garden has drip irrigation and looks like a burned mess unfortunately. I think it is just the effect of the hot dry air on the leaves.
- huntertwo 5y ago
  You would need misters on a timer to up your relative humidity throughout the day. Drip irrigation can’t correct an oppressive VPD.
- akiselev 5y ago
  It might just be the sun burning your plants, which droplets of water would only make worse (by acting as a lens). Try hanging shade cloth above them. It's what I have to do here in California for tomatoes, especially at higher elevations
- downut 5y ago
  My wife is a master gardener at 5500' elevation in AZ. If the monsoon happens (50% chance) then there are two difficult months, May and June. June is the real bitch. Highs in the high 90s, hot winds out of the southwest everyday, and no clouds. If the monsoon fails (again 50% chance) then every month is difficult. She grows many varieties of tomatoes, okra, blackberries, three kinds of eggplant, basil, cilantro, and many varieties of beans. It's AZ, so of course there is a cornucopia of chiles, and garlic. Peaches and the other stone fruits are more dependent on the weather in Feb. (it snows here). Here are the techniques: partial shade from large trees, shade cloth over seedlings, timers on the drip, and the drip runs three times a day in June. Missing a single irrigation day in June means death to the garden. She does have some spray heads but most of the garden is just drip. Oh, and you can't plant too early, we've lost an entire bed of tomato seedlings to frost in May! That seems like it's a diminishing problem, however. The soil is the kitchen/garden compost + a few bags of water retention garden soil every year. I have seen gardens in Phoenix in the summer and the only possibility is full shade cloth over just about everything. The water is just city water, it's expensive. $100/month May-Sep. Because we're food snobs, and the flavors and textures are so much better, it's worth it. There's a lot of work in the spring getting everything going, and we joke about the "garden nazi" in Sep-Oct, where the harvest pretty much demands constant processing (which I do). But the middle 3 months are less than 1/2 hr/day. If you're curious about your local growing environment and how to deal with it, the local university agricultural extension are the goto folks. They literally exist to help you with this.

heavyset_go 5y ago

Would you mind sharing the state?