Keep Yourself and Your Plants Cool This Summer & Duluth Trading Giveaway!

Warm days are here to stay, hooray! As the temperatures rise, staying cool becomes all the more important. Here's how we keep ourselves cool in the summer:

1) Don a hat - a lightweight hat keeps sun off the face which keeps your whole body cool. In addition, it shades your eyes which prevents eye strain and headaches.

2) Wear light-colored, breathable clothing - Clothing made from materials like wool and bamboo are naturally breathable. New woven synthetics can match their drying power. The folks at Duluth Trading gave me a chance to try out some of their clothing made from lightweight, wicking fabric. The Armachillo shirt I'm wearing in these pictures has clever vents along the back to stay even cooler.

3) Work smart - Carry tools with you to prevent running back to the garage, stay in shade, and work in the cooler morning or evening if possible. Many women's pants don't have enough pockets but the quick dry work pants from Duluth Trading have plenty of places for hand tools, seed packets and cellphone.

Keep your plants happy and productive this summer by ensuring they stay cool too. Here's how:

1) Water at the soil surface because it minimizes evaporation. If you water on a sunny day on top of plants, the droplets can be like little magnifying glasses and cause sun scortch on the leaves. Push your hose or can to the bottom of the plant for best results.

2) Water deeply every three to four days instead of lightly every day. This way, even the deepest roots get to soak up a drink and you aren't spending as much time watering.

3) Mulch or plant short plants under taller ones to retain moisture. We're experimenting with planting carrots and lettuces under our tomatoes and peppers this year to keep down weeds, give us a secondary crop, and act as living mulch for water retention.

Want to have your Summer Solved? I have a $50 gift card to Duluth Trading Company for one lucky person. Enter to win in one or both of these ways:

1) Leave a comment below about how to beat the summer heat or anything else that's on your mind.

2) Like Harmonious Homestead on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did, or already do.

Duluth Trading Company is offering free US shipping for orders over $50 now through June 30, 2013. Just enter code “T13PRCG”.

Giveaway rules: The giveaway winner will be chosen by random.org from all valid entries on Sunday May 12 at 8 pm and winner will have 24 hours to respond by email. The gift card giveaway is open to anyone who can receive the card at a US or Canadian address. 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

How and When to Water Your Vegetable Garden

With proper watering, an edible garden will thrive without necessarily increasing your water bill.  Here's how to most effectively give your garden the moisture it needs:

1) Use reclaimed water from a rain barrel first, if you have it.  Also consider other sources of reclaimed water - your child's swimming pool, water used for rinsing vegetables or thawing meat in the kitchen, or blanching water allowed to come to room temperature.

2) Water only when needed.  If it hasn't rained in a day, feel the soil.  If it is damp just below the soil, wait another day or two.  If it is dry for the first inch or two, get out the hose or watering can.

3) Water deeply.  Soak the soil at the base of the plant thoroughly.  I typically leave the hose on trees and large shrubs for five to ten minutes.  Each 5x5 raised bed gets at least five minutes of watering too.  Watering deeply allows the soil to hold the moisture for an extended time and gives the whole root base a chance to absorb water.

4) Water at morning or night.  If you water in midday, it evaporates so quickly that the plant loses its chance to absorb the moisture.  We typically water in the evening after dinner so the plants have all night to do their thing.

5) Pay special attention to containers.  They will need watering more often than beds, up to once a day in hot weather.  Place containers closely together to help them retain moisture and not dry out too quickly.

6) Watering is a great chore for kids.  They love to use the hose!  If you are using rain barrel water, remind them not to drink it.

Do you have any tips to water well?

Heading to Cape Cod

Alex is already in Boston for a business trip.  Lil and I are on the road to meet him.  Then we'll stay a week at Alex's aunt and uncle's house in Marion MA, a small town on Buzzard's Bay. I have so many blog posts rattling around in my head.  I hope the internet connection is fast enough and I have enough free time to let some loose here.

In the meantime, I'll be worrying about my garden back home.  Veggies don't take a vacation.

The peas were not quite ripe, but I think we'll miss them at their peak.  I asked my lovely neighbor Jan to watch over things and water.  Weather.com tells me a thunderstorm is soaking the beds for me today.

Cheers!