According to weather reports issued by the Japan Meteorological Bureau, this summer will be hotter than average and at worst hotter than the last summer when we were suffered from stand-dead of my vegetables caused by the heatwave. And even in the mid of May, the temperature is already higher so I have to get prepared for the up-coming hot summer in some ways. Today I put bundles of straws, which my wife's aunt had gave me, beside my cucumbers, egg-plants, tomatoes and black chilies. The straws work as a blanket, which can keep moisture in the soil by interfering sunlight.
Straws are so light that they can be blown easily by wind as you see in "Three Little Pigs". I pegged down the straws to hold them tightly as you can see in the photo shown below.
Now I finished the preparation for the hot summer but I'll have to take actions against bugs, not against a wolf.
-- from iPod touch
10 comments:
I use lots of straw mulch and once it is wet, it doesn't blow away. I use peas straw and wheat straw...maybe it is heavier than rice straw.
We had cooler summer this year and the night were cold. Eggplants and chili were not so good compared with hotter summer. The straw look cute bundle like that.
I like your straw bundles and I hope they work against the big bad summer!!
I was intrigued by your use of the straw. I am accustomed to just laying it across the ground under the plants. I have never seen it in bundles like that before. I am excited to see your progress in the garden. I have a small garden as well. My garden is made up of a series of raised beds and I use companion gardening which means I plant a lot of flowers and herbs with my vegetables to keep the insects confused and off of my vegetables. I look forward to watching the progress of your garden. Good Luck!
In Kyoto, I saw straw being used to protect some plants against the cold. So it is quite interesting for me to see it being use to protect plants against the heat. Very versatile.
In my garden, I have taken to watering as much as three times a day for some of my plants. In anticipation of the summer, I also had netting installed to keep them in shade and yet allow sunlight through.
>Noelle
Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a good comment! I've been suffering from bugs which can eat up my vegetables every summer so I'll have to take actions against them. Companion plant is one of my options and most attractive one. I hope we can share ideas and opinions on gardening!
>Bom
Well, unusually hot summer seems to cause problems in many countries including Japan and Philippine.
Straws are so multi-purpose that they can be used for protection against heatwave in summer and against cold temperature and frost in winter.
Finally they can be composted in soil so it's very environmentally-friendly.
Takaeko, I look forward to sharing ideas for the garden. If you look at my blog under my posts for February, you will find how I plan my garden and some of the plants that I use. Check your library or online for this book; Great Garden Companions; A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden by Sally Jean Cunningham. It has really helped me a lot. Good Luck!
Great idea! I have tarps near my garden beds, and if the temperature dips too low I cover them. It always helps.
I plant my strawberries through some weed suppressing fabic which helps to keep moisture in as well... Doesn't look very nice though, much prefer your idea. :)
Thaanks for sharing this
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