• Originally published July 10, 2008 at 12:53 a.m., updated July 10, 2008 at 12:53 a.m.

What a welcome relief the rainfall has been for many of us in our area. There is nothing like a good rain, it seems to clean the air, lower the temperature, and, of course, it makes our lawns and plants look greener and happier. Be grateful if you are one of the lucky gardeners to have had some rain; many gardeners I talk to have hardly received any rainfall, and some haven’t received any at all.

If the summer heat, and going so long without any wonderful rain, has your tomato plants looking bad, there are some things you can do. Cutting them back now from 15 to 18 inches will encourage new growth. With feeding, enough water, and providing them with some afternoon shade, these established plants can take you through the rest of the summer and into the fall. This is only something you’ll want to try with healthy tomato plants. Don’t bother with plants that are infested with insects.

For tomato plants that really look bad and you don’t think cutting them back will help, just pull them out of the garden. In the next couple of weeks, many of us will be planting our fall tomatoes. Maybe you’ll decide to start over with fresh new plants.

When planting your tomato transplants this time of year, remember, they are baby plants that will need some relief from the heat. There are various ways to accomplish this. Some gardeners use roofing shingles or pieces of cardboard to shade the plants. Some put tomato cages over the little plants and wrap shade cloth or N-Sulate fabric around the cage. Anything you can come up with to provide some heat relief will work.

For those plants that are still growing relatively strong and aren’t bothered by pests or disease, let them be. Don’t be concerned if the plant has stopped producing. This is natural for most tomatoes when temperatures are high. When the weather gets cooler, the plant will again produce, if it is kept healthy.

July is always a great month for solarizing your garden. Solarizing is an easy way to clean up a garden space before replanting. If your garden is finished for the season and needs to be cleaned out, try letting the heat work for you. Trim any vegetation that’s in the garden as close to the ground as possible with a weed eater. Take your garden hose and lightly moisten the whole area. Get a piece of plastic large enough to cover the entire area. Lay the plastic over the garden and weigh it down with bricks, rocks, boards, or anything else that will keep it in place. Let it alone to “cook.” In four to six weeks, remove the plastic, and rake up all the dead vegetation. Add some good compost and natural fertilizers, and work them into the soil. Your garden is now ready for fall planting.

If you have fig trees, remember they need to be kept watered and mulched to stay healthy and to bear fruit. Last year, I had a wonderful fig crop thanks to all the rain earlier that summer. This year my crop doesn’t seem to be as good. Even with all my efforts to keep the bush well watered, the heat and drought seem to have gotten the best of it. The rain has come a little too late for my figs. But I think even a few small fresh figs are better than none.

Keep a look out for aphids on your pecan trees. Releasing lacewings and ladybugs on a regular basis will help you to keep the bad guys under control.

If your flowering annuals that were planted in spring are starting to suffer from the heat, replace them. Periwinkles, pentas, purslane and portulaca plants are sturdy plants that are adapted to the hot weather. These annuals could take you through the rest of the summer with lots of color, if you keep them fed and watered.

Until next time, let’s try to garden with nature, not against it, and maybe all our weeds will become wildflowers.

Laurie Garretson is a Victoria gardener and nursery owner. Send your gardening questions to laurie@vicad.com or in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77902.

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