COLUMN: A 'hot' time at the Farmer's Festival

I asked a friend how he was doing he answered with one word: “HOT.” I jokingly replied that I could see him all over the Internet in his “speedos” and the word hot. He rightfully quipped that neither he nor I needed to be mentioned in the same breath as the word “speedo.” If you are hot, just think of the poor farmers who have to work outside continuously. They cannot quit just because it is hot or we all would starve to death.

We just had the Farmer’s Festival in Lake City to recognize all farmers. At the end of the parade, Amanda McNulty from the TV show Making-it-Grow, Jack Schuler, president of ArborOne, and I awarded prizes to the winners of the S.C. Farm of the Year contest. The small farm of the year was Thompson Farm & Nursery of Conway, and the large farm of the year was McLeod Farms of McBee. Thanks to these and all farmers because you can tell even from a distance that I love to eat.

If it is not hot enough for you, yet, it most likely will get hotter. I think, however, that our weather is moderating. When I was young I remember that we judged the summer heat by the number of consecutive days it was higher than 100 degrees F. I remember nightmare summers with 20 or more consecutive days where the actual temperature was more than 100 degrees. It has been a long time since we have had many consecutive days with that type of heat.

In those days we did not know anything about a heat index. The heat index uses temperature and humidity to indicate how hot it actually feels. We have always and will always have high humidity in the South. Sometimes I joke around and say heat indexes are for wimps who cannot take our summer heat and humidity. When it comes to garden or outside work, however, high humidity levels are important because they prevent perspiration (sweat) from evaporating. This evaporation of sweat is what cools our body. So be careful about overheating when the humidity is high, even in the early mornings. Also, plants have a similar but more drastic response. We call it transporation in plants. Without transporation, plants do not cool properly, get the water and nutrients they need, or live and grow properly.

So the moral of the story is to irrigate properly. Water established plants deeply but less often. This encourages deep rooting and drought tolerance. In other words, water only once or at most twice a week, water deeply, and for a long enough time to get about 1 inch of water per week. Put out rain gauges or cans and measure the amount of water applied. If it rains ½ inch or more, do not irrigate. Plants that have been recently planted, however, are not established and require a totally different irrigation regimen. Always water non-established plants frequently with a small amount of water at each watering, apply water directly to their limited root system, and continue until the plant is well established.

To learn the specifics on gardening, we have both free and for-sale publications at our office in the back of the public services building on the corner of Third Loop Road and South Irby Street. You may also visit our Home & Garden Information Center through our website at The Clemson University Cooperative.

To learn more about decorating, gardening and country living, watch our Emmy Award-winning television program, Making-It-Grow (MIG). MIG can be seen at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays on regular ETV or on the web at www.mig.org.