HOT, DRY GARDEN TIPS
Gardening when it is so hot and dry can be a challenge but one worth the effort as a lush garden helps keep the house cool and provides a welcome oasis outdoors. Avoiding plant stress by keeping the garden well watered is important to reduce disease. Vegetables that get water stressed may also bolt (flower and set seed prematurely) while fruit may be small or drop before it ripens. Pay close attention to new plantings or recent transplants and those plants growing in containers or raised beds such as these often become water stressed. As well as watering frequently also give stressed plants extra shade with a shadecloth cover or a screen. To keep everything growing, water as much as possible (within water restrictions) and preferably in the cool of the morning and evening. Direct water around the root area. Check water is penetrating the soil and reaching the roots by feeling the soil with your finger or scraping away the damp surface. If the water is running off leaving the ground dry, apply a soil wetting agent and water again. Mulches help keep soils moist and reduce soil temperatures but don’t pile mulch on too thickly as it can stop water reaching plant roots, 5cm depth of loose mulch is sufficient.
Quiz answers: 1. Breaking Bad 2. Melbourne Demons 3. South Africa 4. James Cook 5. Bolivia 6. Angelique Kerber 7. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania 8. 1920s 9. True 10. Iberian Peninsula 11. Eight 12. The Princess Bride 13. 2018 Gold Coast 14. Angel Falls 15. Nick Cummins 16. Yankee 17. Two 18. Azerbaijan 19. 1941 20. Chrissy Teigen 21. True 22. Euro 23. Penrith Panthers 24. Amy Shark 25. Pirates of the Caribbean 26. Heracles 27. Renault Sport Formula One Team 28. Brisbane 29. Battle of Waterloo 30. Helium
Target Word answers: aegis, agile, agio, aisle, APOLOGISE, espial, igloo, ilea, isle, lipase, lisp, logia, olio, pail, pile, pilose, pogie, poise, polio, sail, sepia, silage, silo, slip, soil, soilage, soli, spile, spoil, spoilage.