The dog days of summer can be vicious to many vegetable garden plants. When thermometers start reaching the century mark, and stay there for several consecutive days, it takes a beating on many plants in your vegetable garden.

Although it is extremely difficult to completely fend off those high temperatures, there are a few methods you can use to help ease their affects.

Here are a few important things you can implement in your vegetable garden to beat the extreme summer heat.

Use A Thick Layer of Mulch

Use mulch, mulch and more mulch in your vegetable garden. A quality mulch is one that performs several essential tasks – it helps preserve moisture in the soil, reduces weeds and helps to cool the soil.

An organic mulch such as straw, leaves, compost, or grass clippings work best because not only do they perform the duties above, but they also slowly break down to add organic matter to the soil.

In order to protect your precious vegetable plants during high temperature conditions mulch helps to conserve moisture, which can be critical for the life of the plant. It also shields the soil from direct sunlight which can cool the soil temperature by five to ten degrees.

The thicker layer of mulch you use the better it helps to protect the plants. Using a three to four inch layer of mulch will provide a good source of protection from high temperatures.

Water Deeply With Soaker Hoses

Once the temperatures begin to soar it is important to supply your vegetables with plenty of water. It is best to give the plant roots a deep soaking rather than infrequent, quick waterings.

This is best accomplished by using soaker hoses or drip irrigation. Allow soaker hoses to supply a steady drip of water to the plant roots. This will water the plants deeply and keep them happy all summer long.

Be sure to water your vegetable plants according to their requirements. There can sometimes be a fine line between keeping a plant well watered and over watering.

To read about my favorite soaker hose, check out my review of the Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose.

Another great way to water your plants deeply is by using 2-liter soda bottles and watering wells. These will get water directly to the plant roots where it’s needed most.

Keep Plants Well Fed With Compost

Many vegetables begin fruiting right when the hot weather begins to hit full swing. Because of this it is important to keep them well fed.

The best way to feed your vegetables is by using copious amounts of compost. Side-dressing your plants with compost will help supply essential nutrients your plants need during high temperatures.

This extra dose of fresh compost can mean the difference between thriving plants and ones that are barely clinging to life.

Provide Some Shade

Proving a little shade to your vegetables during the hottest parts of the day can go a long way towards extending their life. Giving some vegetables shade between 11 am and 3 pm can give them a little relief from the sweltering sun on hot days.

You can use an old bed sheet strung up on poles to block the direct sunlight from blistering your plants. When the temperatures are 100 or more this can be crucial.

The best sunlight for your plants is morning sun. The sun isn’t as intense and much softer during the morning hours.

Prepare For Hot Temperatures

It’s a good idea to be ready for hot temperatures in your garden by having the mentioned items on hand. It’s difficult to predict what type of weather you may have from one season to the next. One season may be extremely hot for long periods of time while the next season might be relatively wet and cooler.

Being prepared for possible high temperatures will give you the ability to reduce its affects much quicker.

Using the above methods aren’t a 100% guarantee your vegetable garden will survive intense heat, but they are a solid precautions to take for having a thriving garden even in extreme conditions.

There are many times that vegetable gardeners may run into issues with blights, mildews, leaf spots and other fungi that attack plants. These fungi can quickly damage a vegetable plant causing it to become unproductive or even dead.

Plant diseases are some of the toughest issues to identify and treat in the home vegetable garden, and they can seem to become an issue what seems like almost over night.

A major problem for many gardeners is finding an organic solution to many fungi issues. There are lots of products on the market to help fight fungi, but how do you know if it’s organic or chemical based?

To help find organic solutions for your vegetable garden fungi problems here are five natural fungicides made by Gardens Alive! you can use to help keep your vegetables stay productive, healthy and organic.

Plant Guardian Biofungicides

Plant Guardian Biofungicide helps to control bacterial spot, powdery mildew, rust, gray mold and leaf blight.

It can ber used on a wide range of plants such as roses, vegetables, fruits, nuts and flowers. It can also help promote a healthier lawn by controlling many lawn diseases like brown patch dollar spot.

Plant Guardian can be applied using a hose-end sprayer, or pressurized handheld sprayers.

Sulfur Guard Fungicide

Sulfur Guard Fungicideis used for disease and mite control on fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. It can also help prevent scab, powdery mildew, thrips and leaf spot.

Root Guardian for Soilbourne Diseases

Root Guardian is a preventive biological fungicide that can be used on fruiting vegetables, herbs and leafy vegetables.

The active ingredient is a microbe that provides protection to plant roots against soilbourne diseases.

Root Guardian works best when applied to seeds, seedlings, or transplants where soilbourne diseases might be an issue.

Soap-Shield Liquid Copper Fungicide

Soap-Shield Liquid Copper Fungicide controls diseases of a wide range of vegetables, fruits and flowers. Soap Shield acts to protect plants from infection.

Fixed copper has long been a fungicide used to control a wide range of plant diseases including powdery mildew, downy mildew, leaf spot and late blight.

Enz-Rot Blossom End Rot Spray

Enz-Rot Blossom End Rot Spray helps to prevent and control blossom end rot in tomatoes, squash, peppers and other vegetables that may suffer.

Blossom end rot is a disorder caused by a deficiency of calcium in the soil. Use Enz-Rot during periods of rapid growth, or after excessive rainfall on the foliage and fruit of the plant. It helps to restore calcium and prevent blossom end rot.

Always Identify The Problem

Always be sure to properly identify the disease before applying any fungicide. If the disease is not diagnosed correctly you may use the wrong treatment causing the issue to increase. This will surely result in a plant that lacks production or dies.

Garden’s Alive! offers a wide range of organic fungicides, pesticides and fertilizers for the home gardeners.

Click the image below to save $20 off any order of $40 or more. That could be half off your order!

One thing I always try to preach to myself and to other gardeners is the importance of using soaker hoses in the vegetable garden.

Soaker hoses are an ideal method for easily watering your vegetables by reducing water usage and directing water where the plant needs it most – at the roots.

But I have a confession. I have always hated soaker hoses.

You might be asking…”Well, why??”. I have always found most soaker hoses to be a royal pain in the patoot.

They come rolled up very tightly and when you try to uncoil them it’s like fighting a 50 foot boa constrictor. And don’t try to run a soaker around already established plants because they could easily become a victim of death by soaker hose.

Don’t even get me started on trying to roll the soaker hose up at the end of the season. It can be a nightmare just trying to roll it up so it can be stored. One thing is for sure – a soaker hose knows nothing about cooperation.

Constant holes and repairs were another issue I ran into frequently with most soaker hoses I used. You might be thinking, “Well, aren’t they supposed to leak?”. Yes, but I’m talking about a hole developing in the soaker hose causing a spray of water coming that resembled something like Old Faithful.

As I said, most of the time I felt there just wasn’t any good quality, affordable soaker hoses out there. I didn’t want to give up so I decided to try another type.

Finding A Solution

One day while scanning my local garden center, I came across a flat soaker hose that is supposed to be much easier to handle and easier to store.

Yeah right. There’s no way a soaker hose can be that easy to use.

This soaker hose was the Gilmour Flat 75ft Soaker Hose. The first thing I noticed about this soaker hose that is different than the others I’ve used is that it’s flat, instead of round like a normal water hose, and it’s made out of a type of fabric-like material instead of rubber.

It looked like it might be a lot easier to work with, and maybe it didn’t spring any holes like the rubber types of soaker hoses.

So I decided to give it a try.

Testing The Gilmour Flat 75ft Soaker Hose

I wanted to place a soaker hose around my tomato and summer squash plants to make it easier watering them this season.

The first thing I did after unwrapping the soaker hose was to stretch it out down the length of my garden.

I immediately fell in love with how easy the Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose was to lay out. I was also impressed by the length of it. I typically buy 50 foot soaker hoses and was surprised at how much longer that extra 25 feet is.

I was able to use the soaker hose to water not only my tomatoes and squash, but my pole beans and eggplant, too.

Because the Gilmour Soaker Hose is flat it made it very easy to get under already-established plants, like my yellow summer squash.

Once I had the Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose laid out around my plants like I wanted, it was time to hook it up to the water hose and give it a test run.

The Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose worked like a charm. Immediately the water started slowly dribbling from the hose just like it’s intended to. The great thing is I didn’t have not one leak all season long.

It is truly a “set it and forget it” garden luxury and one that I highly recommend for your vegetable garden!

Pros Of The Gilmour Flat 75ft Soaker Hose

1. Very easy to use and set up
2. Relatively inexpensive compared to other soaker hoses
3. Much lighter in weight than most rubber soaker hoses of the same length
4. Flat construction makes it very easy to roll up and store
5. Doesn’t kink up and get tangled as much as rubber soaker hoses
6. Fabric materials easily bend around sharp corners, making it easier to set the hose exactly where you need it most
7. Long 75 foot length covers plenty of garden area

Cons of the Gilmour Flat 75ft Soaker Hose

Your well into the vegetable gardening season and the bounty is starting to pile up. What should be done with all these awesome vegetables?

Of course, your excess vegetables can be given away to help feed the hungry, but what about those left after that? At this point it’s a good time to start canning and preserving your vegetables in order to enjoy them well into the winter months.

What’s better than having fresh tomatoes or squash that were grown in your vegetable garden the previous summer?

If you have never preserved vegetables before, trying to figure out what you need to get started can seem a little daunting. Here are five essential items you need to get you started canning and preserving your hard earned harvest.

Water-Bath Canner with Rack

A Water-Bath Canner with Rack is a great item to get you started canning your own fresh vegetables. It can be used to can salsas, jellies, jams and soups as well.

The Water-Bath Canner is ideal for someone just starting out and wanting to learn how to can and preserve.

Pressure Cooker/Canner

A Pressure Cooker/Canner is the only USDA-recommended way to preserve low-acid foods such as green beans or even meats.

A good pressure cooker/canner comes with a rack to hold the jars and instruction and recipe books.

Ball Home Canning Kit

The Ball Home Canning Kit is the complete package for the beginner preserver. It comes with everything you need to immediately get started on canning your harvest.

It comes with the water-bath canner, 6 jars, jar rack, canning funnel, bubble freer and many other items needed to get started.

It’s the first canning kit I ever bought and still use it today.

Ball 1-Quart Canning Jars

Of course you will need some canning jars for preserving your fresh vegetables and there’s none better than Ball. Ball is the world’s leader in providing high-quality canning jars. The Ball Wide-Mouth 1 Qt. Canning Jar is the ideal canning jar for all types of canning.

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving is hands-down the most complete book on the market no matter how much canning experience you have.

It provides over 400 canning recipes that will have you preserving like a pro in no time. The instructions provide reliable, safe methods for all your canning needs.

Get Started Preserving Today!

There’s no better time than today to get started on preserving your harvest. You went through all that hard work growing a great garden and now you can enjoy it all year long.

You CAN do it!

As summer slowly starts turning into fall, it is the opportune time to start getting ready for the fall crops. Most gardeners think that the garden ends with summer, but actually the fall can be the best time of year for planting.

In late summer many pests are decreased in numbers, and weeds begin to slow their pace a bit. The days are still long, and the soil is warm. There are less gardening activities going on so you have more time to spend on your fall plants.

Many vegetables actually taste better when planted in late summer, and harvested after the first frost, such as collards. When planted in the spring and harvested in the summer, these plants can become bitter.

What Can Be Planted Now For A Fall Crop

Much of what can be planted in late July and August, depends upon which zone you live in. The southern zones (zones 7 through 9) are much hotter, which means it can make it difficult for seeds to germinate. Try starting seeds indoors until the plants get their first two true leaves. If growing indoors is not an option for you, plant directly in the garden, but make sure you keep the seedlings well watered. You may need to provide some shade during the hottest parts of the day, or provide a layer of mulch to help keep the soil a little cooler.

If you live in a cooler climate, say zone 6 to zone 4, try using vegetables that have quick maturity rates. A vegetable such as spinach, which is usually ready to pick in 35 to 40 days, would work nicely.

Arugula Makes For a Good Fall Vegetable

Here is a short list of vegetables you can plant now for a great fall or winter crop:

• Lettuces
• Chard
• Kale
• Spinach
• Collards
• Mustard Greens
• Turnips
• Arugula
  

  Bok Choi Is Also a Great Fall Vegetable

• Bok Choi
• Carrots
• Peas
• Kohlrabi
• Radishes
• Rutabagas
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Brussel Sprouts
• Chives

There are many more than can be added to the list, but this is just a sampling.

Planning For Fall Crops

It’s always a great idea to put together a garden plan for any garden you intend to grow. The fall garden is no exception.

Planning for the fall garden can be a little trickier because you will need to work around existing plants in your garden, where as the spring and summer gardens are started with a clean slate.

This is where a handy garden planning tool like GrowVeg.com comes into play. GrowVeg really shines when it comes to planning a fall garden because it can track what vegetables can be planted at what times for your particular area.

It even supplies a succession planting chart to help you track all your plantings throughout the whole year.

GrowVeg is the most complete online gardening planning tool you will find. I never plant anything in my garden without using GrowVeg.

Give it a try today with a free 30 day trial!

I will be the first to admit I’m not the best composter in the world. For most of my gardening life I have ducked composting like it was the bubonic plague.

During my “early days” of gardening composting just seemed too complicated and just way too much work. Eventually, I broke down and began composting on a small scale because I understood the importance of it.

And I hated it. I never knew if I was doing it right.

Am I putting the materials in the pile correctly?

Is it wet enough?

Do I have enough browns?

When is the good stuff ready?

And Then I Read…

Chris McLaughlin’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Composting (Alpha/Penguin). If you have ever found yourself standing in front of a big heap of composting materials scratching your head wondering if you’re doing it right, then I highly recommend you pick up a copy.

This book breaks down the compost confusion in a way that’s easy to understand and really fun to read. Most books in the gardening world read like a car repair manual, but Complete Idiot’s Guide To Composting feels more like having a conversation with a good friend.

The thing I love about this book is how Chris tells the reader to throw out all the math and just pile up your compost materials.

Compost happens.

There’s no need to get wrapped up in formulas, ratios and calling NASA for help. Building great compost is simplified so it doesn’t seem like a hassle, and actually becomes an activity you look forward to.

The book offers very useful sidebars throughout, such as the very cute “Wise Worm”, which gives fun and informative facts during each composting subject. There also sidebars called “Prickly Problem” that help you to avoid composting mistakes, “Digging Deeper” provides more advice on composting tips, and sidebars that contain definitions on some tricky composting lingo.

There is also a section on teaching children how to compost and activities for teaching composting and vermicomposting in the classroom.

Composting is a very important, if not the most important, element of growing a healthy and productive vegetable garden. If you are confused by composting then The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Composting will help you to become a composting guru in no time.

Chris McLaughlin writes about gardening for publications such as Urban Farm Magazine and The Herb Companion. She is also a regular contributor on VegetableGardener.com and FineGardening.com, plus she’s the feature writer for vegetable gardens at Suite101.com and the editor for Home Gardening at Foodie Mama.com.

You can also find Chris online at her blog www.asuburbanfarmer.com and Twitter – @Suburban_Farmer.

As we are going through the tasks of caring for our vegetable gardens, it is a great time to find some ways we can not only grow amazing organic food, but also find ways we can grow a bit greener.

I don’t mean lush growth exactly, I mean do a little more to recycle, reuse and repurpose items that we use in our every day life. In other words, how can we grow a little bit greener? What are some little changes we can make to help save costs, save time, and more importantly save our planet as we grow our gardens.

Here are six steps we can take to grow a little greener in our vegetable gardens.

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose

Take products from our every day life and reuse them in the garden. For instance, use old soda bottles to water plants at the roots, use paper towel holders to create a cutworm-proof collar, add shredded newspaper to the compost pile.

Get creative, get inventive and before you chunk it in the trash ask yourself, “Can I use this for something in the garden that will save me time, save me money and make my garden easier to maintain?”.

You would be surprised at the things you can use for other purposes that end up being quite helpful.

Compost

Begin a compost pile! I don’t care how big or how small, if you just use grass clippings and shredded newspaper, whether you live in a mansion with twelve bathrooms or a 500 square foot apartment, you can compost.

No. Excuses.

If you live in a small dwelling, there are small composter crock you can use for vegetable peels and raw leftover vegetables for composting.

So, I don’t want to hear it. Stop moaning. Stop making excuses. Stop putting it off. Start doing it.

Stop with the Chemicals!

Stop using harmful, expensive chemical fertilizers. All the nutrients your plants will ever need is right under your nose – right in nature. If nature doesn’t produce what your garden needs then you are doing something wrong.

Remember that compost pile you just started? It’s all right there. Use that compost to make compost tea.

Use well-aged herbivore (grass-fed cattle, horses, rabbits, alpaca) manures to amend your garden soil. This will give your plants a nutrient-rich soil that will have them bursting with produce much better than any blue-powder concoction man can ever develop.

Just remember to compost the manures before adding them to your garden. Manures should be composted at least six months before applied to your garden soil.

Stop With The Chemicals…again!

Before you pick up that 20 pound bag of Dyno-Whopping Bug Killer at Lowe’s because you found a few Japanese Beetles buzzing around, try an organic solution first.

There are many pests and diseases that have an organic solution. If you find Japanese Beetles use a beetle trap to catch them, hand pick them off or spread nematodes to kill the larvae that live in the soil.

If worse comes to worse and a pesticide is the only alternative left, use an organic, targeted pesticide such as Diatomaceous Earth, neem oil, or insecticidal soap. Use it in a targeted manner. Don’t just start spraying what ever you see flying around.

Grow Flowers That Attract Beneficial Insects

A great way to organically attract the insects that are beneficial to your garden. If aphids are typically an issue in your garden, plant flowers that attract ladybugs and lacewings.

Plant flower in big groups to attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Not only will you attract the good bugs which gooble up those that want to destroy your hard work, but you will also beautify your landscape.

Share Your Bounty

If you have more produce than you know what to do with share with neighbors, family and friends. Donate some to your local food bank or mission hall.

Check out AmpleHarvest.com to find food pantries in your area where you can donate your extra produce.

Not only will you help to feed someone that is hungry and feel great about it, but you will help to reduce waste.

Look For A Greener Alternative

So next time you need something for your garden, try to find a more environmentally-friendly alternative. You will protect your environment, save some money in the long term and have a better garden to boot. Sure, it is a bit more work and it might take a little thinking, but don’t you think it’s worth it?

I hope so.

What are some steps you take to grow a little greener?

There is nothing worse than working hard to plant, water and maintain a beautiful crop of vegetables, only to go out one day and find a herd of rabbits that have destroyed most of it. Although rabbits are cute and adorable, they can be ferocious when it comes to dining on your vegetables.

Here are a few tips for keeping those pesky rabbits out of your vegetable patch.

Install A Rabbit-proof Fence

You can install a good fence around the perimeter of your garden made out of chicken wire, or similar fencing. This is probably the most expensive and most labor intensive of deterrents, but also the most effective. Remember to bury the fence 6 to 12 inches below ground so the rabbits can’t dig under it. This will also help to keep out any moles as well.

Deter Rabbits With Chili Powder or Blood Meal

You can sprinkle chili powder in a circle around plants to help keep rabbits away from your vegetable garden. The rabbits will get the chili powder on their whiskers and nose and usually stay well clear of your plants. You can also sprinkle blood meal around the perimeter of your garden. The rabbits will take offense to the smell and stay far away. Don’t worry – it doesn’t smell bad to humans. Both items will need to be reapplied after rain or heavy watering.

Use A Homemade Repellent To Keep Rabbits Away From The Garden

Mix 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons of garlic powder, and a squirt of dish detergent with 20 ounces of warm water. Shake the mixture well to incorporate. Let it sit outside in the sun for a day, then put into a sprayer and apply to plant leaves. This homemade rabbit repellent will have rabbits running the other way. The mixture will need to be reapplied after rain or heavy watering.

Use A Humane Trap To Capture Rabbits

You can humanely trap the rabbits then release them in another environment similar to the one they were in. This can be effective for a small number of rabbits. Personally, I would use this as a last resort. Although I don’t want the rabbits in my garden, I enjoy having them in my front yard. I don’t want to evict them, just keep them away from my vegetable garden.

Divert Rabbits Away From Your Vegetable Garden

One idea that works well to deter rabbits from the vegetable garden is to use a diversion. Take some cabbage or lettuce that you are not going to eat (it’s rotted or no good for consumption), and place it in a corner of your yard away from the garden. The rabbits will go after them for food instead of the vegetable garden.

Use A Liquid Fence Rabbit Deterrent

Liquid Fence makes a great deterrent to keep rabbits and other animals away from your yard and vegetable garden. It’s a natural product that is bio-degradable and safe for pets and children. Just place the Liquid Fence around the perimeter of your garden. It may need to be reapplied after rain or heavy watering.

Pets Are Great For Keeping Rabbits Away From The Vegetable Garden

One of the best ways to keep rabbits away from your vegetable garden is a barking dog or a cat. I have two small dogs in my yard (really they lay around the house most of the time) that love to chase rabbits, squirrels, or anything else that moves. Maybe the fence isn’t so expensive after this one, huh?

If you have some tips on keeping rabbits away from your vegetable garden please share them!.

The June Tomato of the Month is the Mr. Stripey heirloom tomato. Mr. Stripey is also sometimes called ‘Tigerella’. Mr. Stripey is an indeterminate tomato that can grow to a height of almost 9 feet and produces fruit that weighs over one pound.

The fruit is typically reddish-yellow with distinctive vertical yellow and red stripes, which is where it gets its name. The fruits are mostly more yellow on top, near the stem, but more reddish on the blossom end. Mr. Stripey tomatoes are considered to be in the Beefsteak family.

Mr. Stripey has a sweet, mild flavor that makes it perfect for sandwiches, salads and mixed with basil for a wonderful pasta sauce. The fruit matures in about 56 days and the plants feature small, dark green leaves.

The Mr. Stripey Heirloom tomato is a perfect addition to many vegetable gardens for the tomato lover.

The great thing about using power tools in the vegetable garden is they help to save time, not to mention make gardening tasks a bit easier on your body. Their are many power vegetable garden tools that make the most difficult tasks a snap. Of course, power tools are a bit more expensive than hand tools, but they are worth it for the savings on your back and knees.

Although power tools can with a higher price tag they generally last several years and are worth their weight in gold for saving time in the vegetable garden.

Here are five must-have vegetable gardening power tools you can add to your tool arsenal.

Mantis Gas-Powered Cultivator/Tiller

The Mantis Gas-Powered Cultivator/Tiller has become one of the most popular cultivators and tillers available to home vegetable gardeners. It is lightweight, easy-to-use and does a great job. The Mantis can till up a 500 square foot vegetable garden in no time and is small enough to get in between rows for easy cultivating. The Mantis will keep your vegetable garden looking great all season!

Black & Decker Cordless Garden Cultivator

The Black & Decker Cordless Garden Cultivator is like a dream come true for easily cultivating in your garden. This cordless cultivator runs off an 18-volt rechargeable battery and is very lightweight. I love not having to drag a cord around and worrying if the cord may accidentally damage surrounding plants. If you are interested in a tool that quickly and easily bust up the weeds, this cultivator might be the answer!

Weed Claw and Bulb Drill

The Weed Claw and Bulb Drill is not really a power tool in itself, but of course you need a power tool to operate it. This is a two-piece set that comes with a handy weed claw and a bulb auger. The Weed Claw easily and quickly snatches weeds up by the root and is perfect for grabbing weeds in tight spaces. If you have a weed growing right next to a plant, it will grab the weed up without damaging your precious plant.

The Bulb Drill is an auger that quickly creates a planting hole for bulbs and other plants. Although it is made for planting bulbs it work great for creating holes for seedlings.