Finding Shade in the Garden

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Bob Bauer
July 26, 2016 (Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

July 25, 2016

Every summer during a heat wave I get a case of the Cinderellas. Too much to do and only me to do it. Everything in the garden needs picking, watering, trimming or weeding. I have to remind myself to just come back in the evening, when it's cooler, and everything will be alright..

The sunshine used to feel good on my skin, sensual, now it's an irritant. Shade feels palpable, not just the absence of sunlight, but an entity entirely of its own. I can don a wide brimmed straw hat and a long sleeved light colored shirt for most summer gardening, but a heatwave requires shade..

July 26, 2016

I got a Haxnicks Easy Tunnel for my birthday and it's a perfect product to cover your summer lettuce with. (Insert pic. here pilgrim:) ) It's easy to use because it unfolds like an accordion and has attached hoops that poke in the ground. It gives lots of shade, protects plants from birds and insects, and increases the humidity surrounding them..

I had planted some broccoli a little too close to the greenhouse and the reflected light was too much for them. I've put the tunnel on them and hopefully they won't cook before I can get them harvested..

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