If you have ever walked outside, looked at your garden, and thought, “It is way too hot to plant anything right now,” you are not alone.
In many areas, there is a period between growing seasons when extreme heat makes gardening difficult. Spring vegetables may be tired or finished, temperatures are climbing, and the next planting season has not quite arrived.
So, what are you supposed to do with your garden when it is too hot to plant?
The answer is simple: prepare your garden.
The time between growing seasons can be one of the best times to clean up your garden, pay attention to your garden soil, and get ready for what comes next.
1. Remove Spent and Struggling Plants
Start by taking a good look at what is growing.
Plants that are finished producing, badly diseased, or clearly declining may be using water and space without giving much back. Removing spent plants gives you a clearer picture of your garden beds and makes it easier to prepare the soil for the next growing season.
Healthy plant material can often be composted. Plants showing signs of serious disease may be better removed from the garden rather than added to a home compost pile.
Don't feel guilty about pulling a plant that is finished.
Gardening is seasonal. Sometimes making room for what comes next is part of the process.
2. Pay Attention to Your Soil
Once the garden is cleaned up, take a closer look at the garden soil.
Is it hard and compacted?
Does water run off instead of soaking in?
Does the soil dry out quickly?
Has the bed been planted repeatedly without adding organic matter?
Soil changes over time. Growing plants remove nutrients, heavy rain can move nutrients through the soil, and repeated watering may affect soil structure.
Before automatically adding fertilizer or another soil amendment, consider testing your soil.
A soil test can help you understand your soil's pH and nutrient levels so you can make decisions based on what your garden actually needs.
More is not always better when it comes to soil amendments.
3. Add Organic Matter
The break between growing seasons can be a good time to add compost and other organic matter to garden soil.
Well-composted manure or finished compost can help improve soil structure and add organic material to the garden.
Organic matter can be especially helpful in soils that are difficult to work, compact easily, or struggle to hold moisture.
The important word here is composted.
Fresh manure is very different from properly composted manure. Proper composting allows the material to break down before it is added to the garden.
At The Living Pasture, our Horse Poop Composted Manure comes from our own pasture and is composted, sifted, and packaged by us. It is a simple way to add organic matter back into garden soil.
Work composted organic matter into the upper portion of the soil or spread it over the garden bed and allow the soil and natural organisms to begin doing their work.
4. Protect Bare Soil From Extreme Heat
Bare soil exposed to intense sun can become extremely hot and lose moisture quickly.
A layer of mulch can help protect the soil surface, slow moisture loss, and reduce weed growth.
Depending on your garden, mulch options may include:
- Shredded leaves
- Straw
- Untreated wood chips
- Pine straw
- Other natural plant materials
Mulch creates a physical layer between the sun and the soil.
Think of it as giving your garden soil a little shade.
5. Don't Guess About Soil pH
It is easy to assume a struggling garden needs fertilizer.
Sometimes the problem may be related to soil pH.
Soil pH affects how available certain nutrients are to plants. A soil may contain nutrients, but plants may have difficulty accessing some of them when the pH is outside their preferred range.
This is one reason we encourage gardeners to test first and amend second.
Wood ash, for example, can raise soil pH and provides potassium and other minerals. However, wood ash is not appropriate for every garden or every plant.
If your soil is already alkaline, adding wood ash may raise the pH even further.
Our Live Oak Wood Ash is a natural soil amendment, but just like any amendment, it should be used with an understanding of your soil and the plants you plan to grow.
Nature gives us useful resources.
The key is learning how to use them wisely.
6. Start Planning Your Next Garden
While your garden is between growing seasons, start thinking about what comes next.
Ask yourself:
- What grew well during the last season?
- What struggled?
- Which plants had pest or disease problems?
- Did certain areas receive too much sun?
- Did you water more often than expected?
- Are you planning to grow the same crop in the same location again?
Keeping simple notes can make a big difference from one growing season to the next.
You do not need a complicated garden journal.
A few notes and photos on your phone may be enough to help you remember what worked and what did not.
7. Learn Your Local Planting Dates
One of the biggest gardening mistakes is assuming the growing season is the same everywhere.
It isn't.
Planting dates vary depending on your location, climate, and even the conditions in your own yard.
Gardeners in warmer climates may begin preparing for the next growing season while temperatures still feel extremely hot. Gardeners in cooler parts of the country may follow a completely different schedule.
Your local Cooperative Extension office is one of the best places to find planting calendars and research-based gardening information for your area.
Before buying a cart full of plants, check your local planting recommendations.
A little planning can save a lot of frustration.
Your Garden Isn't Doing Nothing
An empty garden bed may look unproductive.
But the time between growing seasons gives you a chance to slow down and pay attention.
Cleaned up, mulched, and improved with compost or other soil amendments, your garden can be in better shape for the next season.
Clear out what is finished.
Look at your soil.
Test before adding amendments.
Add organic matter when it is needed.
Protect the soil from extreme heat.
And start planning for the next growing season.
A healthier garden often begins before the first seed is planted.
At The Living Pasture, we believe in simple solutions for healthier soil and making the most of nature's resources.
Sometimes the best thing you can grow during the hottest months is better soil.
How to Prepare a Garden for the Next Season
To prepare your garden for the next season, remove spent plants, add compost where needed, mulch bare soil, and check your soil with a soil test kit or your local extension office before planting again.