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Google
Please Brainstorm on this
+6
boffer
mollyhespra
plantoid
Marc Iverson
sanderson
Razed Bed
10 posters
Page 1 of 1
Please Brainstorm on this
I realize it is my stupidity to try to grow so much in containers, but there is no property left for me to expand and add squares unless I dig up our patio and driveway. We cannot grow in the front yard due to restrictions in our subdivision.
So, Mother Nature has decided that this current heat wave with infrequent severe thunderstorms that drop trees on things like houses, cars, and gardens, is not enough punishment. She has decided to go insane with our 10-day forecast for our sweet bedroom community.
Starting tomorrow, Saturday, July 18, and through Sunday, July 26, our high temperature will be in the triple digits with high humidity. 4 of those days have thunderstorm forecasts. Friday, the 24th should be 105-110 actual temperature.
Additionally, there will be little to no wind, and in this heavily polluted bowl, the air quality alerts will be issued.
Not counting the 15 self-watering containers which do just fine in this heat, I have about 35 other containers with cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, and peppers. They all have regular Mel's Mix with Azomite and Sea-90 added. The compost has a lot of poultry manure and alfalfa meal, which raises the soil temperature and helps me get an early start in March.
Yesterday, we had a tiny bit of relief. It was sunny, not so humid, and 98. I watered everything but the self-watering containers--regular containers, raised beds, and original SFG 12-inch deep in compost plots. I actually flooded them. By this morning, the containers were screaming for more water. You could not even tell they had been watered yesterday.
The raised beds were hot and dry on the surface, and I had to place my Sav-a-Plant water probe to the bottom for it to register even a 2 on the 1-10 moisture scale.
The original 12-inch compost SFG squares were in decent shape, as the probe measured 7 just a couple inches down.
Here's the thing: I cannot stay home all day and water the containers every couple hours to keep them from totally drying out in this heat. I have a large deep freezer in our basement with several bags of crushed ice.
1. Will it hurt in any way if I water the containers and then fill up the containers with crushed ice to let the ice melt as the temperature heats up?
2. Would there be any use in bringing the containers indoors in air conditioning even if there is not adequate light in our sun room in the summer? It was designed to have the winter sun and not the summer sun.
3. Is there any other possibility to try to save the quickly drying out containers? The plants are starting to slowly expire. 2 Cherokee Purple tomato plants are just barely hanging on.
Many thanks, and I cannot wait until October. We had to purchase organic greens at the Farmer's Market Tuesday, and they were grown in air-cooled greenhouses, so they are not the best tasting or most nutritious. The only greens we have left are a couple of mustard greens hanging on. The Swiss chard was harvested earlier this week and had no flavor at all. The Jericho lettuce was uprooted after it began to taste horrifically bitter. All other greens bit the dust a month ago.![Please Brainstorm on this 3555472862](/users/2912/12/27/03/smiles/3555472862.gif)
So, Mother Nature has decided that this current heat wave with infrequent severe thunderstorms that drop trees on things like houses, cars, and gardens, is not enough punishment. She has decided to go insane with our 10-day forecast for our sweet bedroom community.
Starting tomorrow, Saturday, July 18, and through Sunday, July 26, our high temperature will be in the triple digits with high humidity. 4 of those days have thunderstorm forecasts. Friday, the 24th should be 105-110 actual temperature.
Additionally, there will be little to no wind, and in this heavily polluted bowl, the air quality alerts will be issued.
Not counting the 15 self-watering containers which do just fine in this heat, I have about 35 other containers with cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, and peppers. They all have regular Mel's Mix with Azomite and Sea-90 added. The compost has a lot of poultry manure and alfalfa meal, which raises the soil temperature and helps me get an early start in March.
Yesterday, we had a tiny bit of relief. It was sunny, not so humid, and 98. I watered everything but the self-watering containers--regular containers, raised beds, and original SFG 12-inch deep in compost plots. I actually flooded them. By this morning, the containers were screaming for more water. You could not even tell they had been watered yesterday.
The raised beds were hot and dry on the surface, and I had to place my Sav-a-Plant water probe to the bottom for it to register even a 2 on the 1-10 moisture scale.
The original 12-inch compost SFG squares were in decent shape, as the probe measured 7 just a couple inches down.
Here's the thing: I cannot stay home all day and water the containers every couple hours to keep them from totally drying out in this heat. I have a large deep freezer in our basement with several bags of crushed ice.
1. Will it hurt in any way if I water the containers and then fill up the containers with crushed ice to let the ice melt as the temperature heats up?
2. Would there be any use in bringing the containers indoors in air conditioning even if there is not adequate light in our sun room in the summer? It was designed to have the winter sun and not the summer sun.
3. Is there any other possibility to try to save the quickly drying out containers? The plants are starting to slowly expire. 2 Cherokee Purple tomato plants are just barely hanging on.
Many thanks, and I cannot wait until October. We had to purchase organic greens at the Farmer's Market Tuesday, and they were grown in air-cooled greenhouses, so they are not the best tasting or most nutritious. The only greens we have left are a couple of mustard greens hanging on. The Swiss chard was harvested earlier this week and had no flavor at all. The Jericho lettuce was uprooted after it began to taste horrifically bitter. All other greens bit the dust a month ago.
![Please Brainstorm on this 3555472862](/users/2912/12/27/03/smiles/3555472862.gif)
Razed Bed-
Posts : 243
Join date : 2015-04-01
Location : Zone 7
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Razed, Just a quick reply. SFG can be done on a patio, balcony, etc. Just make sure there is a way to drain underneath. Also, mulch like mad. Not just a gentleman's mulch but a plant-saving mulch! I took this ugly photo this morning to show the straw mulch I just applied this week to many of my beds (over flowing), the ugly shade cloths hanging every where, but also shows containers on the brick patio and old picnic benches. ![Please Brainstorm on this Mulch_10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f18/18/26/04/75/mulch_10.jpg)
I also topped the boxes with 2" of homemade compost, lifted the auto drip lines to sit on the new compost, then applied the straw and watered several times with the shower hose wand to soak the new compost and straw. I was gone for 30+ hours and when I checked the beds under the straw, they were cool and moist!![bounce](https://2img.net/i/fa/i/smiles/icon_bounce.gif)
![Please Brainstorm on this Mulch_10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f18/18/26/04/75/mulch_10.jpg)
I also topped the boxes with 2" of homemade compost, lifted the auto drip lines to sit on the new compost, then applied the straw and watered several times with the shower hose wand to soak the new compost and straw. I was gone for 30+ hours and when I checked the beds under the straw, they were cool and moist!
![bounce](https://2img.net/i/fa/i/smiles/icon_bounce.gif)
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
I think sanderson's example is the best solution, thought it takes some work and expense. She puts up shade cloths, as do many people in extremely hot places. They let the light in but not quite as much heat. Various types and brands let in various degrees of heat.
And in really hot sunny summers, less or diminished sunlight getting to your plants likely won't matter much unless they get very few hours of sun in the first place. At least not compared to the damage excessive hot sun can cause. As an example, my uncovered beans grew much better last year in a place with fewer hours of sun total than the hot sun all day, which merely stunted or killed them. A previous year, spring crops that got sun all day and *were* covered against bugs got less sun because of protective cloth, but also did well.
Re your numbered questions:
1. This makes me a bit nervous. I don't see how you would keep extremely cold water or even ice off roots and stems or leaves, especially if the ice shifts around a bit as it melts. Unless it were crushed ice, I would worry that this could cause damage.
2. I doubt the air conditioning would do any damage, but the lack of light could lead to lower productivity. Then again, if your plants get scorched or stunted by the sun, you lose that way too. I will say that less light and cooler temperatures can lead to slower ripening, but some tomatoes still produce very well deep into autumn. In an imperfect world, taking your plants indoors may not be the worst outcome. However, a place where they get lots of sun for far fewer hours per day might be even better, if it's at all possible. I mean ... even if you have to ask a next-door neighbor to host your plants for a while.
3. Could you ...
... Sneak a small pin-pricked water bottle into the containers, or are their root systems already too well-developed?
... Heavily mulch the containers?
... Wrap the containers with aluminum foil to reflect some of the sun away from the containers themselves?
... Partially bury the containers? I've done that with good results before. That way the heat is spread a little more efficiently instead of concentrating quite so much in the container itself. It also gives access to soil moisture.
... Shade their bases with cardboard or some other bulk material or items, to keep them cooler during the day?
... The shade-cloth thing mentioned above...
And in really hot sunny summers, less or diminished sunlight getting to your plants likely won't matter much unless they get very few hours of sun in the first place. At least not compared to the damage excessive hot sun can cause. As an example, my uncovered beans grew much better last year in a place with fewer hours of sun total than the hot sun all day, which merely stunted or killed them. A previous year, spring crops that got sun all day and *were* covered against bugs got less sun because of protective cloth, but also did well.
Re your numbered questions:
1. This makes me a bit nervous. I don't see how you would keep extremely cold water or even ice off roots and stems or leaves, especially if the ice shifts around a bit as it melts. Unless it were crushed ice, I would worry that this could cause damage.
2. I doubt the air conditioning would do any damage, but the lack of light could lead to lower productivity. Then again, if your plants get scorched or stunted by the sun, you lose that way too. I will say that less light and cooler temperatures can lead to slower ripening, but some tomatoes still produce very well deep into autumn. In an imperfect world, taking your plants indoors may not be the worst outcome. However, a place where they get lots of sun for far fewer hours per day might be even better, if it's at all possible. I mean ... even if you have to ask a next-door neighbor to host your plants for a while.
3. Could you ...
... Sneak a small pin-pricked water bottle into the containers, or are their root systems already too well-developed?
... Heavily mulch the containers?
... Wrap the containers with aluminum foil to reflect some of the sun away from the containers themselves?
... Partially bury the containers? I've done that with good results before. That way the heat is spread a little more efficiently instead of concentrating quite so much in the container itself. It also gives access to soil moisture.
... Shade their bases with cardboard or some other bulk material or items, to keep them cooler during the day?
... The shade-cloth thing mentioned above...
Marc Iverson-
Posts : 3638
Join date : 2013-07-05
Age : 63
Location : SW Oregon
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Drastic heat means drastic counter measures, as well as making up some sort of white reflective heat shade .
Why not get hold of some of the water retaining crystals and mix a dessert spoon or so of them in the top of each pot to a depth of 1.5 inches or more if possible and water it well in the evening after the heat of the day has gone.
The crystals can easily hold a teaspoon of water in each crystal & let it release gently throughout the day for your plants to use. If you want to go the messy route rehydrate the crystals before you put double the above amounts in the top 1.5 inches of each pots soil/MM .
Rehydrate each pot each evening perhaps use a bit of tomato fed in the water as well .
Why not get hold of some of the water retaining crystals and mix a dessert spoon or so of them in the top of each pot to a depth of 1.5 inches or more if possible and water it well in the evening after the heat of the day has gone.
The crystals can easily hold a teaspoon of water in each crystal & let it release gently throughout the day for your plants to use. If you want to go the messy route rehydrate the crystals before you put double the above amounts in the top 1.5 inches of each pots soil/MM .
Rehydrate each pot each evening perhaps use a bit of tomato fed in the water as well .
plantoid-
Posts : 4099
Join date : 2011-11-09
Age : 73
Location : At the west end of M4 in the UK
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Marc Iverson wrote:
... Sneak a small pin-pricked water bottle into the containers, or are their root systems already too well-developed?
![Please Brainstorm on this Water_10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f18/18/26/04/75/water_10.jpg)
... Wrap the containers with aluminum foil to reflect some of the sun away from the containers themselves?
![Please Brainstorm on this Alumin10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f18/18/26/04/75/alumin10.jpg)
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Plantoid, with all due respect, those water retaining crystals may actually be toxic. Here's an article that goes over the science behind their use: https://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/hydrogels.html
RB, what if you did a modified version of the upside-down water bottle only get some plastic 1/2 gallon-sized milk jugs, fill them with water and freeze them at night with a sturdy long stick sticking out the open top so that in the morning you could stick them upside down into the soil. As the water thaws it should drip down and the stick should keep the bottle in place so long as your stick is long enough.
Or you could try getting some ollas though it may be too late for already established plants. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olla
RB, what if you did a modified version of the upside-down water bottle only get some plastic 1/2 gallon-sized milk jugs, fill them with water and freeze them at night with a sturdy long stick sticking out the open top so that in the morning you could stick them upside down into the soil. As the water thaws it should drip down and the stick should keep the bottle in place so long as your stick is long enough.
Or you could try getting some ollas though it may be too late for already established plants. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olla
mollyhespra-
Posts : 1087
Join date : 2012-09-21
Age : 58
Location : Waaaay upstate, NH (zone 4)
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
mollyhespra wrote:...get some plastic 1/2 gallon-sized milk jugs, fill them with water and freeze them at night with a sturdy long stick sticking out the open top so that in the morning you could stick them upside down into the soil. As the water thaws it should drip down and the stick should keep the bottle in place so long as your stick is long enough...
That's clever!
![Please Brainstorm on this 3170584802](/users/2912/12/27/03/smiles/3170584802.gif)
Have you tried it? I'm wondering if the stick is necessary.
I have some gallon jugs full of water that are filling space in a freezer. I think I'll stick a couple in a box tomorrow morning.
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Yeah that is a neat idea.
Marc Iverson-
Posts : 3638
Join date : 2013-07-05
Age : 63
Location : SW Oregon
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Wow, Wow, and Triple Wow. You guys and gals are so intelligent! I wish I could give you all a hug, but then you'd be soaked in stinky sweat.
I just bought multiple rolls of aluminum foil, a case of bottled water, and a bale of mulch.
I have already placed the foil around the containers; the only bad thing is I can taste the aluminum in my mouth.
As soon as I finish this post and drink 20 ounces of electrolyte water, I am going to mulch and pin prick the waters and sink them in the containers. The roots are deep enough that it should not affect the bottle going in just below the surface.
About the heat and official temperature: I used to work as a sports reporter at our local ABC affiliate here in Nashville. I am still friends with lots of the on-air talent. I ran into a weatherman friend of mine last night at the baseball game, as he threw out the first pitch.
He verified what I thought I already knew. If you live in a city with a lot of concrete, steel, and asphalt pavement, then this will apply to you as well.
The official temperature gauge at any weather station that is NWS reliant must be placed in a grass field away from all man-made structures and construction. Therefore, many of the gauges must actually be placed on the outskirts of your town or even outside of your city limits.
There are two main reasons for this. First, it helps keep records on par. The 1885 temperature of your town and the 2015 temperature must compare apples to apples, and in 1885, your town did not have many man-made structures adding radiant heat.
Second, temperatures are vital to agriculture, and the coldest possible temperature is what matters most. Surprise frost and freeze conditions can be damaging to the industry.
What this means is that you may have more accurate weather data on your own property than the "official" weather readings for your town if you live inside an artificial heat zone due to concrete, brick, steel, and asphalt.
On average, you can add 3 to 10 degrees to the reported temperature based on how much sprawl there is in your city and how much infrastructure has been added. When I told him my neighbor's Weather Underground station has been hitting 105 with a heat index of 115+, he said that it did not surprise him.
So, this morning on the morning news, what do I hear? The weekend weather guy, another former co-worker, explains this in a 3-minute monologue. So, this Square Foot Gardening forum helped produce a 3-minute segment on the morning news.
Today will be the worst one yet this summer. At 10 AM, the heat index is already 104, and the temperature will climb another 5 degrees in the next couple hours to produce a heat index of 110+.
I just bought multiple rolls of aluminum foil, a case of bottled water, and a bale of mulch.
I have already placed the foil around the containers; the only bad thing is I can taste the aluminum in my mouth.
As soon as I finish this post and drink 20 ounces of electrolyte water, I am going to mulch and pin prick the waters and sink them in the containers. The roots are deep enough that it should not affect the bottle going in just below the surface.
About the heat and official temperature: I used to work as a sports reporter at our local ABC affiliate here in Nashville. I am still friends with lots of the on-air talent. I ran into a weatherman friend of mine last night at the baseball game, as he threw out the first pitch.
He verified what I thought I already knew. If you live in a city with a lot of concrete, steel, and asphalt pavement, then this will apply to you as well.
The official temperature gauge at any weather station that is NWS reliant must be placed in a grass field away from all man-made structures and construction. Therefore, many of the gauges must actually be placed on the outskirts of your town or even outside of your city limits.
There are two main reasons for this. First, it helps keep records on par. The 1885 temperature of your town and the 2015 temperature must compare apples to apples, and in 1885, your town did not have many man-made structures adding radiant heat.
Second, temperatures are vital to agriculture, and the coldest possible temperature is what matters most. Surprise frost and freeze conditions can be damaging to the industry.
What this means is that you may have more accurate weather data on your own property than the "official" weather readings for your town if you live inside an artificial heat zone due to concrete, brick, steel, and asphalt.
On average, you can add 3 to 10 degrees to the reported temperature based on how much sprawl there is in your city and how much infrastructure has been added. When I told him my neighbor's Weather Underground station has been hitting 105 with a heat index of 115+, he said that it did not surprise him.
So, this morning on the morning news, what do I hear? The weekend weather guy, another former co-worker, explains this in a 3-minute monologue. So, this Square Foot Gardening forum helped produce a 3-minute segment on the morning news.
Today will be the worst one yet this summer. At 10 AM, the heat index is already 104, and the temperature will climb another 5 degrees in the next couple hours to produce a heat index of 110+.
Razed Bed-
Posts : 243
Join date : 2015-04-01
Location : Zone 7
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Ah, aluminum foil... great idea! I tried shading my containers with cardboard, but didn't have very much.
Another thing I'm considering, is to build a PVC greenhouse-like structure over my patio containers to allow me to throw some shade cloth over the plants. I had almost all of my bell peppers destroyed by sun scald in just two days of very high heat.
I think all the plants there would appreciate not getting quite so much sun on really hot days.
Another thing I'm considering, is to build a PVC greenhouse-like structure over my patio containers to allow me to throw some shade cloth over the plants. I had almost all of my bell peppers destroyed by sun scald in just two days of very high heat.
![No](https://2img.net/i/fa/i/smiles/kopfschuettel.gif)
CitizenKate- Posts : 844
Join date : 2015-03-20
Location : Northeast KS, USA; Zone 6a
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Interesting post, RB.
Marc Iverson-
Posts : 3638
Join date : 2013-07-05
Age : 63
Location : SW Oregon
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
RB, I can walk bare foot on the patches of grass in the back yard, but I do a lizard dance on the brick and cement. So, it makes a lot of sense that rural areas will be cooler than built-over areas. Any chance to share that news report here? When I worked, I had to walk across an asphalt parking lot to get to my car. In the summer, it was so hot and stinky walking across it. When out in the field, standing on bare dirt was hotter than lawns, etc. My thought is that it is better to have light colored woodchips down if you can't have a lawn. I think they are rather heat neutral.
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
If only by taking the initial brunt of the sun's heat and keeping it away from the soil and roots, I bet mulch does just that for your plants unless it is very thinly applied. The longer the heat takes to radiate down, the further it has to travel, and the more spaces it has to cross before getting down to the soil, the less heat should get through.
Marc Iverson-
Posts : 3638
Join date : 2013-07-05
Age : 63
Location : SW Oregon
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
boffer wrote:mollyhespra wrote:...get some plastic 1/2 gallon-sized milk jugs, fill them with water and freeze them at night with a sturdy long stick sticking out the open top so that in the morning you could stick them upside down into the soil. As the water thaws it should drip down and the stick should keep the bottle in place so long as your stick is long enough...
That's clever!![]()
Have you tried it? I'm wondering if the stick is necessary.
I have some gallon jugs full of water that are filling space in a freezer. I think I'll stick a couple in a box tomorrow morning.
Lol! Thanks!
![happy2](/users/2912/12/27/03/smiles/410210.gif)
No, I've never tried it, myself. The idea came to me as I was reading RB's post about the ice chips. Generally speaking, I don't think plants like being watered with ice water, so I think I'd only try it under critical conditions such as what RB is dealing with.
mollyhespra-
Posts : 1087
Join date : 2012-09-21
Age : 58
Location : Waaaay upstate, NH (zone 4)
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Well, I tried it today on some empty squares.
I had one gallon milk jugs already in the freezer; they had the caps on. Mistake! I had to use pliers to get 2 of the 3 caps off, and that ruined the caps.
I stuck the jugs into the MM just far enough to support them.
I started at 9am at 80°. It was 90° at 2 and 6 pm.
All of the jugs had ice at 2; one jug still had ice at 6
None of them emptied more than halfway. It appears that a vacuum was created, and the bottom of all three jugs (the bottoms were on top) collapsed inward.
A small hole punched in the jugs' bottoms would release the vacuum, but also make a mess when trying to fill them for freezing.
I was just curious; I don't think I'll do any more messing around with them.
I had one gallon milk jugs already in the freezer; they had the caps on. Mistake! I had to use pliers to get 2 of the 3 caps off, and that ruined the caps.
I stuck the jugs into the MM just far enough to support them.
I started at 9am at 80°. It was 90° at 2 and 6 pm.
All of the jugs had ice at 2; one jug still had ice at 6
None of them emptied more than halfway. It appears that a vacuum was created, and the bottom of all three jugs (the bottoms were on top) collapsed inward.
A small hole punched in the jugs' bottoms would release the vacuum, but also make a mess when trying to fill them for freezing.
I was just curious; I don't think I'll do any more messing around with them.
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
sanderson wrote:RB, I can walk bare foot on the patches of grass in the back yard, but I do a lizard dance on the brick and cement. So, it makes a lot of sense that rural areas will be cooler than built-over areas. Any chance to share that news report here? When I worked, I had to walk across an asphalt parking lot to get to my car. In the summer, it was so hot and stinky walking across it. When out in the field, standing on bare dirt was hotter than lawns, etc. My thought is that it is better to have light colored woodchips down if you can't have a lawn. I think they are rather heat neutral.
Sorry Sanderson, unfortunately the station's website did not include this in their archived materials. It was a filler for the morning weather, so they did not deem this important enough to retain. The station is too busy keeping things like the pedal tavern below:
![Please Brainstorm on this Still0719_00000](https://mgtvwkrn.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/still0719_00000.jpg?w=321&h=181&crop=1)
I went outside very briefly this AM, as the heat index was already above 100 at 8 AM. The containers are holding on and giving it all they've got.
This will be a tough one today with the humidity. The current conditions in the 'burbs are:
Active Advisory: Heat Advisory
Elev 571 ft 36.05 °N, 86.93 °W | Updated 17 sec ago
Partly Cloudy
93.2 °F
Feels Like 111 °F
N
2.2
Wind from SW
Today is forecast to be Cooler than yesterday.
Today
High 97 | Low 76 °F
0% Chance of Precip.
Yesterday
High 103.8 | Low 71.8 °F
Precip. 0 in
Sun & Moon
5:45 AM 8:02 PM
Waxing Crescent, 12% visible
Razed Bed-
Posts : 243
Join date : 2015-04-01
Location : Zone 7
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
OK, boffer, there is the physics working there. I think if you were to need to do this, you would have to keep the lids of the containers. Vent the bottoms, fill, screw the lids on and freeze upside down. Then unscrew the lids, bury, and let nature take it's course....right?
![thinking](/users/2912/12/27/03/smiles/27650.gif)
Scorpio Rising-
Posts : 8801
Join date : 2015-06-12
Age : 62
Location : Ada, Ohio
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
There are also those bottles with a flip-out spout at the bottom. If they don't leak when turned upside down, they would be good candidates for the frozen water trick. They do cost a bit, though ... then again, I've seen them at the dollar store too ...
I wonder if the spout would get frozen in place, though.
I wonder if the spout would get frozen in place, though.
Marc Iverson-
Posts : 3638
Join date : 2013-07-05
Age : 63
Location : SW Oregon
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Most of the posts above are good advice. If you must have the pots on cement, put something under them, cardboard, thick newspaper, etc. Mulching thickly will help, as will the foil. I would suggest putting the pots close together, and mulch, or stuff paper down between the pots and ground. This should cool it off some what. Also,
on real hot days just throw a sheet over the pots, it should not hurt for a few days.
I have my whole SFG around a lg pine tree. Only the very outside beds get a full 8hrs of sun per day.
It is interesting that cities put their thermometers in grassy fields! In Charleston they have horse drawn carriages. The horses are pulled off the streets when it gets too hot. Guess where they put those thermometers! On a pole, about 80 ft. in the air! The horses must walk on the blacktop/cement, but the thermometer stays cool!
on real hot days just throw a sheet over the pots, it should not hurt for a few days.
I have my whole SFG around a lg pine tree. Only the very outside beds get a full 8hrs of sun per day.
It is interesting that cities put their thermometers in grassy fields! In Charleston they have horse drawn carriages. The horses are pulled off the streets when it gets too hot. Guess where they put those thermometers! On a pole, about 80 ft. in the air! The horses must walk on the blacktop/cement, but the thermometer stays cool!
littlejo-
Posts : 1575
Join date : 2011-05-04
Age : 70
Location : Cottageville SC 8b
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Oh, well, I guess the pedal tavern is more interesting.Razed Bed wrote:Sorry Sanderson, unfortunately the station's website did not include this in their archived materials. It was a filler for the morning weather, so they did not deem this important enough to retain. The station is too busy keeping things like the pedal tavern below:
![Very Happy](https://2img.net/i/fa/i/smiles/icon_biggrin.png)
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
How's about just poking a small hole in the cap and threading a double length of knitting wool through the hole so it becomes a wick when the frozen bottle is inverted.boffer wrote:mollyhespra wrote:...get some plastic 1/2 gallon-sized milk jugs, fill them with water and freeze them at night with a sturdy long stick sticking out the open top so that in the morning you could stick them upside down into the soil. As the water thaws it should drip down and the stick should keep the bottle in place so long as your stick is long enough...
That's clever!![]()
Have you tried it? I'm wondering if the stick is necessary.
I have some gallon jugs full of water that are filling space in a freezer. I think I'll stick a couple in a box tomorrow morning.
Wet the wool , fill the bottle put the cap on & freeze it with the wool in a straight line . You can slip the frozen wool down a short tube piece of say 5 inch long tube x 1 & 1/2 inch diameter ( waste water drain pipe ??? ) and anchor the bottle to a stick that you put in along side the tube, so the bottle is sitting on the tube & is held up in the air.
To set it up bring the frozen bottle out the freezer slide the frozen wick down the tube then sit the bottle on the top end of the tube.
Air will gently enter the bottle around the wool's entry point if it does not collapse , also if there is any pressure build up in the bottle the water will be guided down the wool to the bottom of the tube .
bing a gentler way of releasing the frozen water it should not be so cold down at the plant roots thus not causing is thermal shock .
plantoid-
Posts : 4099
Join date : 2011-11-09
Age : 73
Location : At the west end of M4 in the UK
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
Cheers molly ,mollyhespra wrote:Plantoid, with all due respect, those water retaining crystals may actually be toxic. Here's an article that goes over the science behind their use: https://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/hydrogels.html
RB, what if you did a modified version of the upside-down water bottle only get some plastic 1/2 gallon-sized milk jugs, fill them with water and freeze them at night with a sturdy long stick sticking out the open top so that in the morning you could stick them upside down into the soil. As the water thaws it should drip down and the stick should keep the bottle in place so long as your stick is long enough.
Or you could try getting some ollas though it may be too late for already established plants. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olla
I hadn't realised there was a bit of a toxic issue , thanks .
I do use them for the hanging baskets but because of having deep MM veg beds don't use it there .
plantoid-
Posts : 4099
Join date : 2011-11-09
Age : 73
Location : At the west end of M4 in the UK
Re: Please Brainstorm on this
What about running a drip system to your containers? Even the self watering ones. A drip system is really easy to install.
Partsgal- Posts : 17
Join date : 2013-06-28
Location : Wyoming
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