How to protect your harvest in summer: TOP 3 ways

Russian gardeners have to overcome many obstacles on the way to a decent harvest. Andrey Tumanov, chairman of the All-Russian organization Gardeners of Russia, told 5-tv.ru how to properly care for country plantings.

High temperatures and a large amount of direct sunlight do not always have a beneficial effect on the vegetation of plants. Each culture has its own comfortable growing conditions. Their creation is part of the tasks of a good gardener who strives for the maximum number of vegetables, berries and fruits harvested in his garden plot.

“I think the current sultry sun is not very dangerous for the crop. After all, everything grows in the south. Take the Krasnodar Territory, Crimea. Everything is growing, even very well. The point here, in general, is not in the sun, but in the right care and in the right cultures. If you care, water, feed on time … everything will be fine with you. ”says the expert.

Three ways to protect plants in summer

The most important for plant protection is considered proper watering. It should take place in the cool time of the day, in the early morning or late evening. This will eliminate unnecessary evaporation, allow water to penetrate to the roots of the plant and saturate them with moisture. Wells and wells should be treated with caution. According to the expert, «using water that has just been raised from the ground» can be dangerous. Reason: its low temperature and low oxygen content.

“The best water heated in the sun. To do this, gardeners put barrels, pour water. This barrel will stand in the sun and that’s it, water it the next day. This is the best water or from some decorative pond. In general, there is such a concept: if frogs croak in the water, then this water is good for irrigation. So use it.»the expert advises.

Plants can also be protected with special mesh. Gardeners in various ways stretch over their site or some part of it. This not only creates the desired shade, but also additional protection from various pests.

Greenhouses at high temperatures turn into a real bath. In this case, various nets, whitewashing or even special reflective materials are used to save plants from the sultry sun. However, it is important here to do everything right and not create an additional layer that contributes to heating.

When implementing various shelters, it must be borne in mind that they should not block access to fresh air for plants.

Another way to protect the crop is mulching. In the heat, the earth warms up strongly, and moisture evaporates rapidly. To hold it, the soil can be covered with a protective layer, which is called mulching.

Sawdust or straw works best for mulch. Their light color will not only protect the beds from excessive evaporation, but also reduce the heating of the earth’s surface. In stores, you can also find special materials for mulching, for example, agrospan.

Usually gardeners cover the ground at the beginning of the summer season, and remove the mulch in the fall. So the beds all summer are protected from both overheating and drought, weeds.

When using natural materials, you need to lay them in a thick layer (five to ten centimeters). However, the mulch should not be too close to the plants. This has a bad effect on the development of seedlings and sometimes provokes rotting processes.