The Most Obnoxious Thing In The World Is To Listen To Others
Drone On About How Much They Love The Heat!
I hope you have all managed to cope with this spate of extreme hot weather if you think it is hot outside you should have a greenhouse to make you really appreciate the break down of this Heat Dome. This all has come about do to a strong ridge of high pressure that traps hot air under it and it is a rare occurrence for our area. They normally occur in July or August and usually much further south of us. The last significant heat wave for BC was in July of 2009 and it set record temperatures that will be broken during this wave and also resulted in several fatalities. The temperatures have been 14 to 16 degrees higher than normal. This high pressure ridge is do to break down later this week, unfortunately the Heat Dome event is usually followed by Thunder Storms as there is significant built up energy. This is cause to worry as with the dry spring and the vast amount of water evaporation in our forest lands this could be a significant fire hazard. This heat can cause significant health issues especially for infants, the elderly and people with other health issues, it is hard on our forests and the evaporation of water from streams and rivers and the increase in water temperature can be deadly for fish, massive and rapid snow melt from higher in the mountains is causing flooding problems in some areas. One should reduce the amount of time spent out in this heat, reduce physical activities and be sure to drink not only just water but drinks that can help replace the electrolytes that are lost when one gets dehydrated. Watch for the signs of heat stroke such as dizziness, confusion, nausea, muscle cramps, loss of consciousness, and seizures. If the first symptoms occur get the person out of the sun and reduce the body temperature with cool water and encourage them to drink water. If the signs are more significant one should call 911 as extreme heat stoke can kill.
This Heat Dome also causes significant stress on our plants. I was shocked to see that even the weeds are wilting. This is not the time to put new bedding plants out as it will be significantly harder on them. Do hots water the plants during the day as the water will burn the leaves. Water very early morning or evening and water deeply. The plants may look weak and be wilting due to the heat not the lack of water. They will perk up in the evening with the cooler temperatures.
My apologies for my absence at the market but with the extreme heat I cannot be away from the greenhouse for any length of time as some emergency watering is required. A little for the plant and a splash for me too. I doubt that I will attend the market this coming week as well but look forward to being back once this Dome has Departed! Stay safe and stay cool.
Happy Gardening
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567 • samanthanason@hotmail.com