TAHLEQUAH — People and pets may not be the only living things withering in the heat this summer. Many vegetables are failing to produce, despite efforts to keep them shaded and hydrated.

Some vegetables thrive in triple-digit temperatures, according to Roger Williams, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service agriculture educator.

“People who grow okra, squash and cucumbers won’t necessarily see their yields affected by this heat,” said Williams. “Tomatoes, on the other hand, haven’t produced fruit in quite some time. Shade could help with the tomato plants, but the heat is really sapping them.”

Local resident and avid gardener Pam Moore has had little success with tomato plants this year.

“They just won’t set fruit,” said Moore. “It’s impossible to grow tomatoes when the nighttime temperature remains above 75 degrees. I have these two plants, set side-by-side in one pot. One has produced a little, and the other is completed burned up. I have no explanation for it.”

Williams said a common misconception about gardening in extreme heat is that plants require an inordinate amount of water.

“It’s going to take a little more water, but you don’t want to overdo it,” he said. “Plants have to adjust to the heat, and overwatering isn’t good for them. It’s best to be a little conservative with water.”

Williams also said while foliage diseases wane in the heat, some garden pests become more prevalent.

“The kind of heat we’ve been seeing lately shuts foliage diseases down,” said Williams. “But spider mites and grasshoppers do much better in this weather. I’ve already gotten a number of calls about grasshopper problems.”

Tonya Sappington, Moodys resident, has already had trouble with grasshoppers.

“I have a part-container and part-bed garden,” she said. “The grasshoppers destroyed most of my bed garden. The heat almost got my containers, but I’ve moved them to partial shade during the day. My tomatoes are fine. My jalapenos are kicking butt. [Despite planting them, I have] no tomatillas, [and] one eggplant. Consequently, I’ve been purchasing from Barefoot Farms at our local farmers market.”

Local attorney and area resident Denise Deason-Toyne said her small garden has suffered this season.

“We have a very small vegetable garden,” said Deason-Toyne. “[We have] two tomato plants – one in the garden, and one in a pot – and cucumber and zucchini plants. Despite daily watering, the plants are withering in the heat. Besides the heat, the next big problem is that the little creatures have limited food supplies so they are coming in and helping themselves to little tomatoes - even unripened. So we have had one zuccihini and nothing else this summer.”

C. Jeanne Heida, contributor Associated Content at yahoo.com, lives in a desert region where temperatures often crest the century mark, and explained in a recent article how high heat damages plants.

“First, there’s the evaporation of soil moisture, which robs the roots of water,” said Heida.

“A heat wave will also dehydrate a plant by extracting moisture through the leaves and stem. Finally, the hot rays of the sun can sunburn the leaves, turning them a pale yellow to tan color, which eventually die and fall off.”

Heida indicated the key to protecting vegetables in a drought is to slow down the loss of water and minimize sun damage.

She recommends increasing the amount of mulch in the garden, and changing watering practices.

“Mulch is more than a pretty way to finish up a garden,” she said. “It actually serves an important function in shading tender roots from the sun and slowing the process of evaporations of ground moisture. [Also] during a heat wave, overhead watering with an oscilllating or other type of sprinkler head should be avoided. The combination of high temperatures and hot sun can evaporate up to 90 percent of that water even before it hits the ground. A better watering solution is to use a soaker hose system, watering through channels, or hand-watering the roots.”

Moore said she agrees with Heida’s recommendations about mulch and water.

“I mulch all the time, when I’m not watering,” said Moore. “The water alone is costing a fortune, but an obsession is an obsession, and gardening is my thing.”

Heida also recommends increasing watering times to twice a day until temperatures dip below 90 degrees, and to avoid watering between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., unless a soaker system is in place.

Adair County is famous for its strawberries, which resident Kathy Tibbits grew this year.

“I just had strawberries, onions, garlic and mint this year,” she said.

“A few scraggly mint plants are still alive. However, the wild polk is huge this year, and will continue to reseed the back yard. Blackberries were early, but are finished now. The fruit in the orchard is pretty dinky, but fine for the wild critters. I saw a woodchuck out there [Monday] morning, brunching on culls.”

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