A Simple Inexpensive Garden Shade Hack for Seeds and Transplants: Cool the Soil for Your Summer Planted Cool Weather Crops

Cool weather crops can be planted in the spring and late summer for a fall garden. The problem with planting cool crops in the summer is that the soil temperature (the top couple of inches) often gets too hot and that can impact germination, kill newly germinated seeds, and even kill seedlings and transplants. The baking sun can raise the surface soil temperature to well over 100 degrees, temperatures cool crops do not like. Shade cloth can be expensive and it is not always needed or practical for small pockets of plants.

Garden Shade Hack 

The benefit of direct seeding cool crops, in August, is that they love the warm surrounding ambient temperatures and grow quickly. This accelerated August growth gets them set up for the cooler temperatures of fall, where they can finishing maturing and produce in our gardens before heavy freezes roll in. Early growth can make all the difference in fall garden harvests.

Root systems, in general, use soil temperature to regulate growth.  You can make a simple shade canopy for your crops. These idea can be used and expanded in many ways and is based on a simple umbrella. Soil that is shaded can be 15-20 degrees cooler and that is perfect for cool crops. When planting large beds with cool weather crops, a shade cloth is probably more practical. But this design is perfect for containers and limited planting in earth beds.

A Foil Baking Tray Creates Shade for the Garden

Materials List:

Branches or bamboo stakes

Clothespins

Aluminum foil baking trays or cardboard boxes

All you do is insert the branch or stake into the center of the tray or box and use the clothespin to stop it from sliding down from its position. You can adjust the tray or box up and down the stake as needed. Use this design in principle and adapt the design to your needs. The video is from my YouTube channel. Please use may secure Amazon Shop for purchasing clothespins and foil trays. Thanks!

A Clothespin Secures the Try on the Post

"Good Luck in Your Gardens"

Cheers!

Gary (The Rusted Garden)

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel The Rusted Garden Homestead

Over 650,000 Subscribers and Over 2000 Garden Videos Designed to Quickly Present Information!

Visit The Rusted Garden Seed and Garden Shop
for your Seeds, Starting Supplies, Fabric Pots, Neem Oil,
Peppermint and Other Oils, Calcium Nitrate and More.
The Rusted Garden Seed and Garden Shop