10 Most Strong Problems for Summer Garden: Everything You Need To Know
Summer season is a gardener’s best friend and worst nightmare. Plants begin to thrive as the sun grows brighter. However, several challenges turn your garden into a tough project. From relentless pests to scorching heat, I have collected the 10 most Strong problems for summer garden.
In this article, we will explore these and offer tips on how to deal with them. Nevertheless, no matter how experienced a gardener you are, understanding these problems is a must if you want to keep your garden alive. Let’s start.
10 Most Strong Problems for Summer Garden
Here are the 10 most Strong problems for summer garden and how to deal with them;
1. Weeds
Weeds are a gardener’s worst enemy, especially in summer when they double overnight. These unwelcome visitors have taken over my beautiful flower beds and vegetable patches.
Weeds bring unwanted competition with your plants and fight for water, nutrients, and sunlight. It should go directly to your plant and not this stubborn competition.
What to do About It
For me, the best-proven weed killer is quite simple – simply stay ahead of all of them! They are easy to pull, and you can cut down on how often they pop up by regularly weeding the spaces between your plants.
Furthermore, mulching (I use pine straw) or landscaping fabric are also viable options.
One challenging summer, I took a few minutes each morning to do some weeding before the plants started smothering each other. It made a huge difference.
2. Pest Infestations
As many know, summer heat also comes with many pests. These pests can be anything from aphids and whiteflies to caterpillars or beetles – the list goes on!
I once lost most of a whole summer’s tomato crop to an aphid infestation in about two weeks. So you can already imagine how dangerous they are.
What to do About It
For this problem, I chose to use integrated pest management (IPM) techniques. The pest population was kept in check by introducing beneficial insects like ladybugs and spraying them with neem oil. Furthermore, planting marigolds, which are known to keep pests away, was also helpful in this case.
3. Water Issues
Summer garden watering right can be challenging. Overwatered plants are prone to root rot, and underwatering can stress plants out, which makes them more susceptible to disease. Overall, you will face challenges in watering the right amount, mostly in drought season.
What to do About It
A drip irrigation system changed the game for me. I implemented irrigation systems, such as garden hoses and drip irrigation, to ensure that each plant gets the amount of water it needs.
Before that, when I watered over the top, I was less accurate and often watered the plants too much or too little. Furthermore, I water my plants in the morning to reduce evaporation losses and prevent diseases, and I never have to worry about under or overwatering.
4. Hot Temperatures
Scorching weather can damage the crops, wilting the leaves and causing sunscald on tomatoes and other fruits. Although all the plants suffer in such heat, I usually notice the worst effect on lettuce and spinach.
What to do About It
To protect my plants, I put shade cloths over the vegetable beds. This protected my plants and preserved the whole microclimate in the beds. On the other hand, mulching also helped retain soil moisture and kept the roots cooler.
5. Nutrient Deficiency
High temperatures can speed up nutrient depletion in soil, leading to deficiencies that affect plant health and yield. One summer, my zucchini plants showed signs of yellowing leaves, a classic sign of nutrient deficiency.
What to do About It
Regular soil testing and amendments became part of my routine. Furthermore, I used organic fertilizers and compost to replenish essential nutrients.
Furthermore, foliar feeding with a seaweed extract also provided a quick boost for struggling plants.
6. Fungal Diseases
Warm, humid conditions are perfect for fungal diseases like powdery mildew and blight. These diseases can spread rapidly, damaging leaves, stems, and fruits. Nonetheless, I once lost an entire batch of cucumbers to powdery mildew before I knew how to control it.
What to do About It
Good air circulation is key to preventing fungal diseases. I space my plants correctly and prune them regularly to improve airflow. Using disease-resistant plant varieties and applying organic fungicides like copper spray have also been effective.
7. Overcrowding
It is common among gardeners to get too excited about starting a garden and forget the ultimate size of mature plants. As a result, we plant everything too close, which causes poor airflow, high competition for nutrients and water, and provides the perfect environment for pests and diseases.
I learned it the hard way when my herb bed, where I arranged as many plants as possible, started to wither.
What to do About It
It is important to plan and space the plants properly. Now, I let each plant have the required distance by identifying the size of a mature plant. Thinning out seedlings and dividing perennials also helps to keep a good balance.
8. Fruit Cracking
Tomatoes and melons are among the summer fruits that tend to crack. However, it happens when the fruits grow too much too quickly, usually when there is some sort of drought.
What to do About It
The key is to water the fruits regularly, making sure the soil stays moist all the time. Harvesting in the early morning before the fruits have the time to maximize their size also works for me. Moreover, cutting back on watering as the days are coming towards the end of summer has also been a viable option for me.
9. Poor Pollination
Some fruits, such as cucumbers or squashes, have very low yields when not pollinated properly. As you should already know, high temperatures inhibit the activity of pollinators. As a result, I noticed a drop in my cucumber and squash yields during a particularly hot summer.
What to do About It
Attracting more pollinators to the garden can help. I plant a variety of flowers that bloom at different times to provide a continuous food source for bees and butterflies. However, hand pollination is also a technique I’ve used successfully when natural pollination is insufficient.
10. Soil Erosion
Heavy summer rain washes the topsoil and the important nutrients away from the garden. Nevertheless, I experienced this problem in a sloped area of my garden, which became bare and unproductive.
What to do About It
For this specific problem, I built terraces and grew ground cover plants to stabilize the soil. Additionally, adding organic matter that improves the structure of the soil and using mulch to protect it at the surface level was also helpful.
Wrap-Up
Overall, summer gardens can provide all sorts of difficulties for the typical gardener. Make sure to overcome those challenges which are expected in a stunning garden. Furthermore, remember, a thriving garden in the summer is not just about overcoming obstacles but also about nurturing and adapting to the environment.
With the proper knowledge and strategies, you can enjoy a bountiful and beautiful garden all season long. Happy Gardening!
