Why does my full-sun garden need shade?

Hi folks! There’s no denyin’ that July is really intensely hot for not only us, but for your warm-season garden. The thing is, “full sun” in Texas doesn’t really mean “full sun” in the sense of 10-12 hours a day - and this time of year, we get that and then some during our longest and hottest days of the year, which occur in the month of July.

So what can we do to help out our plants? And how do I know it’s too much?

Plants get stressed this time of year no matter what. But the truth is, “full sun” plants needs about 5-6 hours of direct sun at a minimum. During the cooler months of March and November, they would probably love 7 or 8. Yes, I’m talking about you, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, eggplant and just about all summer greens and herbs. Then you have the oddball; the okra. Okra is related to the hibiscus, which of course is a tropical crop. Okra is like that crazy friend of yours who throws on a long sleeve shirt to go take a jog at 3pm in the middle of June. It’s like that person who chooses to mow their lawn at noon, saying, “it’s only 92 right now, there’s a nice breeze, it’s not too bad!” But unless you have a garden full of only okra, your garden may need help if it gets more than 8 hours of direct sun per day.

And how do you give it shade?

The answer really is as simple as “almost any way you can figure out.” There are shade cloths you can purchase at garden centers. They are rated by the amount of UV and heat they block. The ones you want for your garden are something in the range of 40-60% coverage. The sun shades or sails that people use at playscapes and pools are more like 80-95% coverage. If you have coverage over your garden for most hours of the day, you want to be sure to get something 50% or less. These can be set up with PVC pipe, across fencing, or just draped over a large arch trellis if you have one.

Again, this advice is only for gardens getting upwards of 9, 10 or more direct sunlight hours. Most of the gardens we design and install, we take this into account. I like placing gardens near the home or another structure or trees, which allows it a little reprieve naturally for at least a few hours of the day.

In the meantime, we hope you are enjoying some time in the shade with family this summer and are getting excited thinking about planning your fall garden, which is right around the corner!