GardeningGuy wrote:

Do you guys have any advice in helping my garden to withstand heatwaves?
We are having 3 days of 100+ degrees F. The flowers on my peppers are
drying and falling. tomatoes seem fine. Cucumbers look good. muskmelon
are getting dry. I try to keep them well watered but am sure not to over
do it. Is there anything else I should do?

GardeningGuy

I'm wondering the same. I should invest in a soil thermometer,
*note to self, hit Home Depot on the way home*. Tomatoes might
start to feel the heat too. Some resource input I remember says
90 - 95 degrees F and they start wilting...??? My cuc's never got
past the seedling stage.

Some South West gardeners use a shade covering about 20% +/- to block
sun. Lattice or netting overhead. But that's a bit of a job eh?

Controlling soil temps. Some straw mulch, six inches thick and drip
irrigation underneath would reduce soil temps probably 5 - 10 degrees.

I'm in San Jose, Ca. Temps getting towards the low 90's here with
the inlands seeing well over 100 F. There's one last semblance of agriculture
here in the Silicon Valley. Freshly bailed alfalfa, or is it straw.
I'm wondering if I should see if he's selling them. This right next
to a 1,000 unit condo/mini city on First Street.