I'm useless in the heat these days! DH says it doesn't bother him (which worries me....!) so he waters pots in early morning. We've had almost 3" of rain in the last week! Tuesday was relatively cool so I did a quick- and-dirty weeding of paths (weeds were most visible on the paths!) with a scuffle hoe. All the in-ground plants will have to do without water until this heat is over; pots will get watered in early a.m. when we get back from early-morning dog-walkie; weeds will undoubtedly be bad by the time it's cool enough to work out there again!

I work in the morning for a couple of hours, and like beesneeds I tend to follow the shade. Because of ticks I have full clothing coverage with everything tucked in and permethrin impregnated clothing along with a sun hat and sun glasses. I may go out for short stints later in the day as needed to get things done, but if so it’s for a very short time and I tend to follow the shade.

I love the portable patio umbrella idea.

Bees, I’ve often thought of the neck chillers but just never got around to picking one up. I really need to. That would really help along with spraying my feet with the hose. The idea of using your umbrella is a great one! If I had a smaller area I would use your idea. But I have too many beds/hills to tend, so just lugging that around would wear me out lol!

There is absolutely no way I could garden completely covered up. Kudos to those of you who can, but I for sure would suffer from heat exhaustion! The older I get, I find I just can’t tolerate it anymore. It saddens me as I love to be outside :(

FM you poor thing! Maybe try mixing some tea tree oil with water to mist on before venturing out. I’ve used it the past to keep the bugs away. Needs to be reapplied depending on how long you are out there, but it works. I also find it very refreshing! There are also other oils that repel bugs depending on your preference.

Talk about weeds lol! I’ve had stacks of bagged mulch in my driveway waiting to be put down on the weekend...for too long.! They have either been too hot or raining!

Babs so sorry you have to battle ticks!

Sunscreen: currently using Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen (Broad Spectrum SPF 55). First actually non-greasy sunscreen I've used on face. Not finding it running into eyes. Recommended to spouse by a dermatologist.

Yes sunscreen is a must!

I wear it faithfully everyday.

I don't know how some of you garden at all with those conditions. We're currently experiencing an extraordinary spell of sunny weather, forecast for tomorrow is 83f, but there is a breeze and we have no bugs to speak of. I just wish it would rain for a bit (in the night) so I don't have to keep watering the allotment by hand. We're not allowed hoses. But it's quite good weight training refilling and lugging two watering cans up and down for an hour or so.

Gardenho, YOU have to watch out for ticks, too!! It is an epidemic. You do not want to get a tick disease. Wearing clothing and spraying are SO much easier than being sick with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia for the rest of your life. Take ticks seriously, especially in the north and east.

https://www.michigan.gov/som/0,4669,7-192-29942_34762-468369--,00.html

Susan I do, thank you. Just never by being fully clothed, especially now as our summers just keep getting hotter.

I truly enjoy gardening.

If it were a requirement to be fully clothed, I couldnt do it. For me, that would take all of the joy out of it. I need to be comfortable in order to enjoy it. To be sweltering and feel like I’m suffocating is not enjoyable to me....at all lol!

I know how you feel. I wear sleeveless shirts but wear long leggings tucked into socks. I spray all exposed skin and clothes with essential oils. I hate it but I already have Lyme, chronic, so now I put on the sweatband and spend as much time as I can stand in the garden.

This heat? I garden in the morning, pick a few weeds, deadhead flowers and pick some veggies. That's it for the day. Thank goodess we had an inch of rain Thursday! I'll be watering container plants by Sunday, in 98 degree heat, lugging watering cans from the sink so I don't have to spray my body for ticks, doing the hose watering.

Susan I’m so sorry to hear that. I know how debilitating it can be.

Thank goodness you can get out there and enjoy and tend to your garden, and I sure hope you continue to.

I have to wonder if it took them long to diagnose you or was it right away?

It’s sad as many drs are still so clueless when it comes to tics and the many diseases they carry. Many suffer too long before finally being diagnosed.

I can only hope that’s wasn’t the case for you?

I was going to start a post asking about watering during very hot temps, especially containers and window boxes, but I think it will be ok in this thread. Is it okay to water after the sun goes down? or better early in the morning? Which is safer for the plants?

Otherwise, I tend to stay inside when it's in the 90's.

It’s better in the morning. Helps prevent powdery mildew. Of course you can water at night if need be, just try not to water (the foliage) from overhead.

Hot weather: David Tomlinson's case for watering in the evening, specifically with our summer climate: in order to avoid the loss of water to evaporation during the day.

I'm sure the decision also involves things to do with the garden itself and it's maintenance, but we almost invariably water in the evening and have no resulting problem with powdery mildew (latter noticeable with our number of garden phlox).

I'm with you GardenHo.... I find this oppressive heat to be unbearable. Ironic that for the past 20 years I have worked in greenhouses and garden centers with no AC. Guess I just adapted to it.... But the extreme heat has always bothered me. I still work for a large landscape/garden center only now I work indoors in AC. I really don't think I could ever go back to working 8+ hours a day outdoors or in greenhouses. As far as gardening goes... I just face the heat and go out and do it. I have too much to do to ignore it or wait until it cools down. Like you, I cannot wear long pants, long sleeves, etc.. I'd probably die of heat stroke... Fall right into my compost pile and decay away and no one would be the wiser!! Sometimes I'm barely decent when out in my garden... A well worn t shirt and a pair of boxer shorts! I do have to slather myself with mosquito repellent however. The mosquitos here in Wisconsin are terrible. They all but pick you up and carry you away to Oz. When I finish garden chores I come inside, peel off my sweat soaked clothes and treat myself to an icy cold shower. It make me feel human again. The rest of the nite I stay indoors with the AC. I do have a little trick I use if I am going to be out in the heat for any extended period of time. I have a Dramm hand held watering nozzle... The kind with the adjustable spray head. I attach it to a 6 foot shepherds hook with a zip tie and turn the nozzle to "mist". Then I place it close to where I am going to be working. When I get to feeling overheated I go stand in the mist to cool down. It's enough to really feel cool but not enough to actually get you wet.... Unless you stand there for awhile. It invigorates me enough to keep me going. That and a big pitcher of iced tea!

Sunny watering times has always been a controversial topic. It’s said watering at night causes more fungus to grow, especially with our humidity. If watered in the morning the sun dries them, thus preventing fungal growth.

I personally water when I can, but prefer to in the morning.

Scott your Shepard’s hook setup is great! I may have to try that! And I agree, an after gardening shower is the best! Although I like mine hot! :)

To aswer your question, Gardenho, it took over a year to get diagnosed with Lyme. My doctor is clueless and since they go by tests, and the Lyme tests are false negative 50% of the time, she just rolled her eyes at me and said to go to a neurologist (who diagnosed me with fibromyalgia).

Went to a Lyme specialist who had me fill out 10 pages of symptoms and abilities. Lyme is a clinical diagnosis. I was on 3 months of antibiotics and probiotics and a ton of immune supplements. I remain with cement legs (I was a dancer and hiker, but no more), exhaustive fatigue, and 24/7 muscle and joint pain.

So now I try to warn others. SPRAY YOUR LEGS FOR TICKS, not just your skin for mosquitoes.

That’s so unfortunate, I’m so sorry.

It angers me that the drs are not up to speed on this and so many are now suffering, when early detection could easily prevent it. Too many eye rollers out there!

I sure hope they can come up with something soon to combat your discomfort.....and one day you can dance again :0)

Hugs!

Ticks are one of the big reasons why I completely cover up outside. Nasty little things.

And watering... I water at ground level instead of from above. And have watered in the evening before. I don’t think there’s a problem with it since sometimes it rains in the evening and that’s ok. I wouldn’t overhead water while the sun is beating because it does not usually happen in nature, and the water+sun can really cook plants.

I get up super early and am standing at the door waiting for sunrise to water. I try to follow the shade around and I am not above going back out in the evening to finish up if need be. I remember one year watering at midnight because that was the only time of day it was tolerable, but the bugs are so bad at night the extra clothing cancels out the lower temperatures.

Who's gardening? There is a World Cup on (which requires my sofa presence until 9pm...

On domestic strike (with the armless idiot)...so slacking off on the garden is just a bonus, really.

Heat index 105 today. Biting deerflies and mosquitos. Yes it does drain every last ounce if energy. Early morning, and in the evening before sunset. Do not want to be in the sun today.

SWPA Watered my wall hanging baskets good late yesterday afternoon and went out at 11 am and they were wilting already. Jeeze, Usually I only water them every other day unless it rains. I guess me and the garden hose are going to be real good friends until this heat wave passes.

Jay I’m right there with you... just minus the deerflies thank Goodness.

I have moved most of my containers to a shady area until this heat wave passes. Way less stress on them, and me lol.

You may want to do the same...

I have pretty much abandoned everything but keeping up with watering. We've been over 100 for two weeks. Today I am chipping away at weeding a bed and coming in for frequent cooling off breaks. Come on rain!

Cooper you have my sympathy and I sure hope you get rain soon!

I would love to move my wall baskets, but they are wrought iron, heavy and bolted to the house. Same with my window box but that gets some shade. My other planters are too big and heavy to move. The only things I can move is my ferns. They are in semi-shady area. I can move them under a tree.

Scott—I use my Dramm watering nozzle on the mist setting to wet my shirt down really well. That lets me work outside in heat that would otherwise knock me down. I don’t usually wet all of my clothes, but I’d like to. There’s very little humidity here—don’t know if a more humid environment would slow the evaporative cooling effects of wet clothing.

It's like this for 4-6 months where I am. Any day that's "only 90" is a cool one.

I'm heading out now for a walk. Even this early, the air is heavy with humidity. Shady for a lot of my route, so will be tolerable. I was out yesterday off and on getting some light work done - weeding and planting a handful of things, nothing too labor-intensive. Took longer than usual, I just can't haul *ss in the heat plus I had to take frequent breaks. After I clean the horse stall this morning, I'm done for the day out there -- one day of working in the heat is enough, it's a good day to stay inside and get some housework done. My

A/C is acting up though -- the breaker keeps tripping, it's only a matter of time until before it goes completely kaput. So I'm treating it gently - I'm running it now before the beastly heat sets in, will turn it off when it cools off in here (or leave it off if it trips); I've had the curtains and shades shut for the last couple days, that does help keep the inside temps down so not a huge deal if the air is running during the day (get cool then keep cool). It's been working so far with only a few trips the last couple days, hopefully I can baby the system through the summer.

Everyone complaining about the heat should try southern Nevada for a week, where I remember it being 124 when I was there as a teen. And as for oppressive humidity, try Florida in the summer. There's a reason why most of the southeast is rated climate: Humid Subtropical.

I do admit, that my ideal climate would be higher altitude tropical. Constant cooler temperatures. However, that's not in the cards, so I'll just take what I have.

Dbarron up here in Michigan being surrounded by the Great Lakes and tons of smaller lakes (where I live) can make it feel like the subtropics, like right now!

Its times like this when gardening is unbearable....

I just came in from torching weeds in my lane way for over an hour before the heat set in. 47 C - almost 117 F with the humidity today. It was pretty much the same yesterday.

The deer flies were vicious this morning and the mosquitoes are not much better, especially in the evenings.

I spent a lot of time running my wrists & elbow joints under cold water and I am sure I will be doing the same today. Since I work outside everyday I just move a lot slower in the heat.

It’s brutal. We’re hitting our usual 100+ temps every day — started in May, too early! —with no end or rain in sight. And the sun is so much more intense down here.

I try to do my outside chores in early morning or late evening, but if that’s not possible, I just take a lot of breaks and stay hydrated. If I’m out in it too long, I start getting queasy, shaky, seeing spots ... I had a heatstroke years ago, so am even more sensitive to it now.

People around here have been setting off fireworks already, there were 4 grass fires due to that yesterday. We’re under a burn ban, but it doesn’t apply to fireworks (a county official said it can only happen on the state level, they can’t ban them locally).

Yeah, I had a heatstroke in Nevada when I was 16...not much fun is it ?

I'm glad it's much wetter up here in Arkansas, but of course that makes it more humid, but the winds are drying things fast and fires may be bad by the 4th.

I try to garden before 8:30 am and after 7 pm. Unfortunately with winds drying things, my pot farm needs about 3 waterings a day. Oh well, I guess it's good to feel needed.

"...up here in Michigan being surrounded by the Great Lakes and tons of smaller lakes (where I live) can make it feel like the subtropics, like right now!"

^^ This. A lot of people don't realize how ridiculously humid it can get here in Michigan. Although, if you're on a lake that's big enough, the breezes are lovely :0)

GG, SHUT IT. Just kidding. :D

Wanna come visit? Besides warming you up, I could use your expertise and ideas. For next year, that is — I. Am. So. Done. I just finished putting mulch down in my biggest front bed and am drenched.

Yeah, where can we go that’s it’s 80 all year? I agree that 60, although sounds nice right now, is too chilly for my blood. I’ve been to Wa state in the summer several times (Ellensburg, Yakima, Seattle, and on to Victoria via the ship) and the water (swimming in lakes) was the coldest I’ve ever been in!

I’ve never been anywhere that has dry heat. At least we aren’t as humid in D/FW as Houston ... I can’t breathe down there.

Miz G, the water here is always cold, even in late summer when we do get some higher temps. I learned how to water ski on Lake Washington simply because it was too cold to fall in so you tried your best to stay upright!! If one were to fall overboard in Puget Sound, hypothermia - even in midsummer - can set in in mere minutes.

My sister used to live in southern California and I visited often. That was dry heat - very low humidity - especially if you traveled inland. However, I don't recall the Pacific that much further south being significantly warmer than it is up here :-)

WOW it’s Blazing out there!

Went out a little late to check my pots and very few needed water, even in this heatwave! You can better understand the humidity now....

Surprisingly everything looks very good out there. I’m basically only watering the new shrubs and containers. I’ve evidently/thankfully done some good watering....

Those are awful temperatures - are people dying? Usually elderly or ill, at least in the (rare) EU heatwave. Massive sympathies from here in East Anglia. It is 36C in my garden (where I am not) at the moment (although it is a tiny walled furnace) but my only tasks are languid deadheading and nightly watering. The allotment is a delicious 24C or so for the last hour of dusk watering time around 9ish.. The blackbirds have relieved me of too much pesky harvesting...yet have ignored the dozen large redcurrants (representing hours of back bending toil). Tying in tomatoes and picking sweet peas are my most onerous tasks there. No rain for weeks is testing my no-water gravel garden (the baptisia is an alarming state).

Apart from optional stuff like taking cuttings, this is generally a bit of a coasting time in my garden...at least for another couple of weeks.

Agree with gardengal48, wish we could take little of your heat here in the PNW. Sopping wet today. My cucumbers have been in 3 weeks and look absolutely the same as when planted. No growth and very sad looking. The raspberries are mushy or moldy. Etc, etc.

But still, I would much rather have this cool and wet weather than oppressive heat. I hope that it cools down this week for the rest of you gardeners.

We've had a cool season so far, which I've appreciated considering our lack of rain. But, now your heat wave might be the reason we've gotten up into the 80's, which should make my plants happier. All my sympathies to you all. I remember far too well...FAR...TOO...WELL...the days of 100+ temps and searing humidity in the Southeast, and I don't want to experience it again.

Stay hydrated, everybody, and take it easy. It was always so sad during a heat wave to hear of a person dying by heatstroke from doing something they did every day of their lives. Sometimes you think you're perfectly fine, but caution is always the best route with the temps you all are enduring. Soak yourselves in water more than your plants, and sit and enjoy the sweat!

Cope - I actually thrive in the heat! I walk around with as little clothes as possible and with some ice cold alcoholic drink in hand. My body feels much more fluid and happy - I’m like a dancer that way, my body demands heat or it seizes up. So bring it on baby - the bitter ice cold will return soon enough!

No rain here. In fact, it has been so dry lately I had to water yesterday as thing were looking decidedly wilty :-) And despite the coolness my garden seems to be doing well - tomatoes are forming, raspberries too (although not yet ripe in my less than full sun location) and my sweet peas are looking superb!! Gonna go out soon and pick a bunch!

Deanna it is very sad. I always think of the homeless, elderly, and people with lung disease during these times. So rough on them....

Alcohol and this heat? Ugh...no thank you.

Yes, I also think of the homeless out during the bitter cold, crowding over the subway vents to try to stay warm. Truly distressing.

And yes, absolutely alcohol and this heat! Pouring me some rum and some grapefruit juice now...

Nothing better than an ice cold beer or a frosty Margarita on a hot summer day!! Although I lean to unsweetened ice tea by the gallon for daily rehydration :-)

Sure an occasional one is tasty but that’s not the visual I get.

I see LL frolicking in the gardens...with one glued to his hand at all times LOL!!

It is 95 or thereabouts here and I am hanging out indoors with my friends’s dog for whom I am dogsitting. We spent a couple of hours outdoors this morning before 9, but since then each time I have opened the door to see if she wants to go out, she has stood in the doorway and then headed back into the AC. Smart dog!

To give you an idea of the humidity here.... We had a thunderstorm roll through last nite and the sidewalks are still wet after almost 12 hours. I saw my neighbor hanging her clothes on the line this morning. Good luck with getting those dry!! I had hoped the storm last nite would break the heat. It did, for awhile... The temp last nite dropped to 74... But rebounded quickly today with even higher humidity.