My plants are dying!

It's so damn hot here and my plants are suffering because of it. The ground is nothing but sand, so no matter how much soil I've got down there, the sand mixes with it in days and ruins my water retention forcing me to water my plants 2-3 times a day or they'll get mega-droopy and shriveled... Ugh.

Does anybody have any recommendations for curbing this issue? Maybe some sort of shading might help? The heat is killing my peppers, watermelons, and pumpkins - not to mention my bonsai's are probably going to go soon too.

number one place coco in the bed of your soil---dig down and place coco fiber mat down to help retain moisture and will still drain and roots can permeate if so desired. Or bury your plants in pots so they are in their own capsule of soil. Get outside netting from garden supply and create a canopy to bring it down 10-15 degrees in the shade. Do your homework and brush your teeth before bed.

lol...that's funny. Anyway, ya I find that fine mesh netting is handy and I regularly use sheep shit as a topper around my outdoor plants...I find the water goes through and then gets trapped around the sand layer...this gives it time to soak in. I know what you mean though. Some of my plants, even though soil was placed in grow holes, have developed a sandy top layer that exists in my forest...once it hardens the water just rolls over top. So I apply a thick layer of sheep shit, also good fert...

Novie

CANADA

I would dig that same hole up and throw a plastic tarp in the under your soil to keep the water in & just stab it a couple times for holes for drainage

how about some bark mulch, get a good layer of mulch on top

So many great ideas... Thanks guys.

It sounds like my best option right now is to dig these bastards up and put SOMETHING underneath them that's going to help retain moisture, plus get some kind of netting to put over the top of them.

You've got some sound advice. Hope you can beat the heat man. Good luck!

Coco coir FTW!

Shit holds water like a champ.

RAISED BED FOOL ITS THE ONLY WAY TO GROW! Think about it you want your plants up off the ground a bit incase you have to get under them. This also would leave you room to just put down some loose stainless netting.

Well, I just got back from Home Depot and bought myself some screen and PVC pipes to make a shade thing. I'll be putting it together after breakfast and will probably take a picture after.

Okay, so the screen didn't really work too well. I just got a big tarp at Walmart that seems to work really well. We'll find out tomorrow if it actually helps with the heat though.

Next I think I'm going to try to mix in some moisture control soil with the current soil. My plants just won't be able to take being dug up right now... it'll kill them for sure after almost a week of wilting all day long then perking back up at night.