Garden Hacks--3

I am indebted to so many gardeners who have shared their collective wisdom and experience with me over the years. They are family members, neighbors, master gardeners, garden writers, bloggers and gardeners on social media. Sharing this knowledge motivated me to begin my blog, ten years ago and now over 1300 posts later.

I’m offering occasional posts of garden hacks I use. Some I’ve learned from others. Some I’ve developed to solve a problem. Here are a few of my favorite garden hacks useful this time of year with summer lettuce.

I like salads and I like to grow lettuce for my salads year-round. But I’ve struggled over the years with losses due to birds, bolting and heat waves. These failures are documented in numerous posts including Summer Lettuce, Finally, Growing Summer Lettuce, and Summer Lettuce Retrospective.

The photo above shows my contrivances to protect the lettuce from birds and too much sun. I grow summer lettuce in the shadiest part of the garden, but even there, the sun and heat can be too intense. Growing lettuce varieties intended for the summer is essential. My posts above identify some of those.

The above arrangement is for the warmest days when extra shading is needed. I’ve grabbed what’s at hand and you can devise your own set-up. Shade cloth positioned above the lettuce could also work.

On cooler or overcast days I remove the garden trays.

In this photo you can see the garden trays pegged on the sides to prevent entry by marauding birds. Screening would work too.

In the summer I grow my arugula in a 12-inch container and usually get four cuttings. Arugula seems more tolerant of the heat. I noticed recently I was getting some worm damage and saw the likely moth culprit landing on the leaves. Propping the garden tray over the container made it more difficult for the moths to access the arugula while letting in plenty of sun.

For those of us gardening in Southern California and much of Northern California, we’ll contend with summer heat through September. Then there are the hot Santa Ana conditions that can begin in October and show up intermittently through the winter months. You still have time to set out some summer lettuce transplants and protect them from the heat.