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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2013)
September 2013 FEATURES The Southwest Portland Post • 5 Lack of rainfall during summer months can cause heat stress in plants GARDEN MIND By Rebecca Hart Ahhh... the summer draws to a close and we decide to slow down a bit, maybe go rest in the garden. Right? Yes? Is the garden a paradise? Is it lush and green? Or is it crispy around the edges, looking parched and a little brown? If you’ve been busy and the summer sun and dryness caught you off guard, it could look like your garden has seen better days. Portland typically gets around 36 inches of rain annually, which seems like a lot. This is why residents can be forgiven if they mentally recycle that chestnut ‘it rains all the time.’ What can happen, when that dusty recollection of non-stop precipitation translates into practice, is many Port- landers neglect to check in with the garden. And in late summer we notice that not all plants are faring so well. Pseudo-Mediterranean Climate Occasionally you hear someone refer to our summer weather pattern as a pseudo Mediterranean climate; in Decem- ber you could laugh about that tag. But the sky actually delivers ample rainfall only in about nine months, not twelve. For 90 days, come summertime, we see little or no measurable rain. This extended dryness, which lures people outdoors in droves, comes with longer days and hotter sun, and that is what people mean when we get compared to Tuscany. And it’s this annual drubbing by drought that spells trouble for urban gardeners who haven’t transitioned to the idea of patterns or cyclical garden dryness. So yes: things can get parched if we don’t pay attention. And the transition quickly goes from dicey to death in short order, if we don’t take measures to evaluate and correct the problem. So, beware! Solutions The first course of action is to assess any damage. Learn to recognize the evidence of heat stress and act quickly to mediate the situation. Stressed plants will have a limp look, a bit ghostly, sometimes crispy. Crispy is not a good thing in plant foliage. On woody material you can scrape into the bark (with a fingernail) to see if the underlying layer is green, which always gives the gardener hope. In my yard, if things have gotten away from me, and it still happens if I get busy or travel, I like to weed -or trim- the area first, before watering. Unless things are really in peril, in which case I water first and ask ques- tions later. Competing plants –like weedy grasses- which are unwanted should be removed and recycled at first opportunity. Sometimes if the soil around plants (Continued on Page 6) Garden “deep – root” watering spikes can help water dry spots during hot summer months. (Image © Lee Valley Tools Ltd.) GARDEN TOOLS: I am fond of useful tools, and I can affirm that these devices, the Deep-Root watering spikes, have saved my plants a time or two. Can be used in either open garden or in pots. The device works by delivering water from an inverted soda bottle via graduated spike, which then gets inserted into soil around a plant needing water; this gets water down into the root area using basic grav- ity. Uses plain water and an empty liter soda bottle. Useful if you go on vacation or merely to provide water to target plants, perhaps those outside of a sprinkler range (parking strip), or for new plants that may need extra attention. Can also be used with a dilute fertilizer solution for targeted feeding, too. Note: This product is marketed through the Canadian mail order company Lee Valley Ltd. For inquiries about this item, visit Lee Valley Tools Ltd. www.leevalley.com. – Rebecca Hart How does your garden grow? Please send comments to us at The Southwest Portland Post (see Page 2). Your favorite gadget or method may end up in a future “Garden Mind” column. PCC Community Ed offers dozens of non-credit classes in Southwest Portland and hundreds more throughout the district and online. Start exploring today! www.pcc.edu/communityed
