Gardening During a Heat Wave

Bob Bauer

August 16, 2016 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

August 14, 2016

I've learned to keep a cup in the garden next to the hose because I will drink 3-4 cups of water an hour if it's there. That in itself might be the biggest benefit from gardening. We see how much our plants thrive with water and realize that we should drink more. I've also learned to keep the cup in a sealed zip lock bag so the slugs, tree frogs and worms don't get in it..

Why earthworms would climb all the way up a bench to get under a cup is a mystery to me. I put my picking bowl upside down over the bag so the birds don't drop on it, and keep the branches over the bench trimmed back so they can perch elsewhere. I keep a bar of soap in a zip lock bag for when they don't..

August 15, 2016

It's too hot to garden today, even the weeds are wilting. You know it's hot when the blackbirds stand in the shade with their beaks open and their wings spread. I saw bumble bees crawling under the leaves at the sides of my pathways to find some cool moist shade. The Malabar Spinach thought it was home and grew an inch. The zucchini snickered at me..

I've stopped gently slicing their fruit from the vine now and just grab, pull and twist. I was pick'in but I wasn't grin'in . Got a slew of tomatoes though which I had read couldn't ripen in temps over 85ÃÂ°. The internet is full of lies, statistics, and damn statistics..

August 16, 2016

Gardening in the heat is more about sitting in the shade than getting anything done. When your eyelids stick together every time you blink it's time to sit. When I lean back just right my heartbeat rocks me. I close my eyes and listen to the wind. Rock on..

Grandpa's learn to listen to their heartbeats because we know that most of them have passed. We learn to be still and listen to the bees. We get to ponder the significance of truth, and marvel at its simplicity, so hidden by the excitement of a busy world..

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