Gardens could take hit during Sask. heat wave

Saskatchewan has experienced some hot weather since Friday.

Environment Canada expects both Regina and Saskatoon will continue to see highs between 25 and 34 over the next few days.

One thing that can take a beating during these hot spells is gardens.

Rick Van Duyvendyk with Dutch Growers said gardens are vulnerable to the heat, especially tomatoes that are just forming.

“If you go wet, dry, wet, dry, wet, dry with your soil you will get what you call ‘blossom end rot’ into your tomatoes, (that’s where) the end of tomatoes turn brown or black, so try to keep it a consistent moisture,”  Van Duyvendyk explained.

He said watering should be done in the morning because when you water at night, the moisture just sits on the leaves.

“The leaves will get wet (in the morning) but then the sun will be out to dry the leaves off right away and the water won’t sit on the leaves all night long,” Van Duyvendyk said.

Watering at night can leave water sitting on leaves which creates issues like mildew.

“If you got things like pumpkins, squash or zucchini, even tomato plants, you get what’s called ‘powdery mildew’ on top of your plants and your leaves will start turning white,” Van Duyvendyk explained.

Mildew can also affect annuals.

“If (mildew) does happen, you can use a product called garden sulfur, it’s a very safe product to use, and it will help clean that up as well,” he said.

According to Van Duyvendyk, the best way to stop powdery mildew is water at the roots rather than water over the top.

When it comes to a green and healthy lawn, he said lawns need one inch of water per week.

For trees on lawns he suggests a good deep watering once a week, on top of the inch of water per week for the lawn.

Van Duyvendyk said to let the hose trickle for about an hour at the base of the tree.

During heat waves, like the one forecast in Saskatchewan, Van Duyvendyk says you’ll need to use about two inches of water to keep lawns green.