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A Useful Guide On How To Maintain Your Outdoor Area During Heat Waves

Mitch Avatar By: Mitch | Last updated July 29, 2022

Family outside on a hot day


Introduction

Heat waves can be deadly. The scorching temperature on the outside can cause severe damage. Maintaining the inside of your home is surely necessary, but the outside holds equal importance. There are several things outdoors that are susceptible to damage such as your vehicle or your garden. 

Tackling heat waves can be quite an issue on account of the soaring temperatures during the day. It's important to take care of yourself. You can only do that if you're able to take care of the environment by taking precautionary measures. In this article, we'll provide a useful guide on how to maintain your outdoor area during heat waves.sun beaming down during a heatwave

Dry Grass Clippings for Plants

When we talk about the outdoors, the first thing vulnerable to heat is plants. Plants and grass, no matter how much you water them, will die if exposed to high temperatures. Prolonged exposure to the heat will burn their leaves and the dry soil will destroy the roots as there won't be enough moisture to sustain them. 

To prevent this from happening, you can layer the plants with mulch or grass clippings. This will have an amazing effect. As the dry grass covers the soil, it prevents the sunlight from directly hitting it. This is incredibly beneficial as it keeps the soil moist and creates thriving conditions for the plants. Moreover, once the soil stays moist, it decreases the rate of evaporation of water from the soil. As a result, you'll need to water the plants less frequently. 

Water Your Garden Early in The Morning

Even though plants need a lot of water during heat waves, watering at different times of day will produce varying results. You need to water your plants first thing in the morning. There are plenty of reasons for that. For one, the high temperatures during the day evaporate the water from the surface rather quickly so it doesn't reach the deep roots. 

Secondly, if you have a sprinkler system, it won't be of much use during the day. This is because most of the sprinkled water will be led astray by, or get lost in, the wind. The small amount of water that actually reaches the plants will quickly evaporate due to high heat. This is why it's necessary to water your plants or shrubs first thing in the morning when the sun is low.

Provide Shade to Your Outdoor Area

Providing shelter or shade to the outdoor area will be necessary for a heatwave. There are a variety of reasons for providing shade. For once, if you have an open car porch, the scorching heat will damage your vehicle's paint. 

Secondly, the plants in your garden will require something to safeguard them from the heat. Experts at https://www.urbanorganicyield.com/ suggest using shade cloth. They come in various shade factors ranging from 25% to 90% shade. Be careful while selecting the shade cloth because giving too much shade can be detrimental for some types of plants. It all depends on the tolerance of your plants, and how much they can handle the sunlight. Make sure it's evenly spread so it's effective.

Ensure New Transplants Are Safe

Even though you should add new plants after the heatwave has passed, if you've planted new ones, you'd better ensure they're safe. They have small roots which don't go deep into the soil like other plants so they're much more vulnerable. Even though moving a transplant is risky at times, you'll have to ensure they're in the perfect spot. 

You can either provide the necessary amount of shade required for them by a shade cloth or you can move them to a safe location. Ideally, you should move them closer to taller plants. If not adjacent to them, you can move them in close proximity to taller plants. It's important that you keep them there as long as required for them to properly grow up. Once they're of the right age, you can move them again to your desired location.

Keep Taller Grass Than Usual

As the heat rises during the day, no matter what precautionary measure you take, it becomes difficult to protect your outdoors completely. One thing that's really helpful is keeping taller grass. Tall and dense grass will cast shadows around the place, thereby ensuring that the base of the plants or ground stays at a lower temperature than the environment. 

As less sunlight passes through, the probability of the plants dying also decreases. The majority of people don't cut their grass much during heatwaves. This serves as a great protective layer. Moreover, you can use a shower hose to keep watering the plants at different intervals. This won't have any negative consequences as a shower hose usually bathes the plants in water rather than getting absorbed in the soil.

Rows of tall grass

Protecting your outdoors can be quite a challenging task during a heatwave. The first thing you need to do is to ensure your garden and porch are safe from sunlight. Temperatures during the day can rise to dangerous degrees.

You can protect your garden by adding a shade cloth. Ensure that you have sufficient knowledge about your plants and provide them with the necessary shade. Moreover, water them every morning to ensure the soil absorbs as much of the water content as possible. 

Use dry grass or mulch for protecting plants from direct sunlight. Moreover, try to keep taller grass during heat waves to ensure the temperature of the ground is slightly lower than that of the environment. This will be of great benefit to your outdoors.

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