0:00Hi guys, it's the middle of July and here in the south it can be really really hot and so we're going to talk

0:06about tips for keeping your c crops happy in the summertime and keeping the the farmers and the farm hands happy. So

0:15what do you guys do for managing this intense heat?

0:19Well, it's nice to have a creek or pond nearby to keep the farmers happy.

0:24Yeah. Um, but I I think one of the simplest things to do, although it may not be simple depending on your labor force, but is to adjust your schedule.

0:36You know, it's it's 8:00 in the morning and we've been filming for a couple hours already. So,

0:45you know, our farm schedule in the summer is 6:00 to 8:00 in the morning and then a break for breakfast and then

0:54going till noon and then taking a break in the heat of the afternoon, coming back at at 4 or 5

1:05to 8, you know. So, just really taking advantage of the cool of the morning and evening. Um, that's

1:13that's critical in my mind. I love to wear 100% cotton. You know, I find if

1:21I'm wearing polyester, I tend to overheat much easier.

1:27So, that's my personal opinion. I think drinking cold water, you know, you want

1:33to avoid extremes with this, but it just seems to me if I can have some ice in the water that it kind of cools me from the inside out,

1:43which I find helpful. Um, widebrimmed hat,

1:50pace yourself. I to me I think this is key. You can't work as fast and hard in the heat as you can when it's cooler.

2:00So, you just have to, you know, it's kind of the slow and steady wins the race. You remember that?

2:08You heard that a few times growing up.

2:10I still don't feel like I've fully uh embraced that motto, but Well, there's probably some truth to it.

2:19You know, you just plot along. But um if you're pacing yourself, you can keep going much longer than those who push hard and then are totally wiped out.

2:31Yeah. And heat stroke is a real thing. I mean, we we know a farmer who died died from heat stroke.

2:38Yeah. Um it's serious.

2:41So it's it's nothing to to play around with for sure. So with the entirety of

2:47your workforce, either family or uh employees that are living here on the farm or very close to the farm, you're

2:55able to take off that 4 hours in the middle of the day. But if you had and we often go to the pond,

3:00yeah, just just take it easy in the heat of the day, it's great. And then in the evening, you're harvesting for deliveries the next day or whatever. And and yeah, it's a it's a great schedule.

3:09Um, so I guess maybe if people aren't really in a position to take advantage of that, they should consider it.

3:16Yeah. Yeah. You know, I could see if employees are driving in or whatever, it could be complicated, but it works for

3:25us here. Yeah. Um, wetting your hat I also find is helpful. just, you know,

3:32especially if it's like a cotton floppy brim hat or something, just getting it wet and then it's cooling your head and as it evaporates.

3:42So, those are just a few tips for the people. As far as the plants, shade

3:48cloth, I think, is in the south is pretty critical. Mhm.

3:54Um, we use 30% shade. Um, staying on top of your irrigation is huge. You know,

4:02you the plants have to stay hydrated.

4:06So, really being on top of your irrigation game. And then,

4:12you know, focus on crops that thrive in the heat.

4:16Mhm. You know, the the one major um exception to that that we try to do is

4:23lettuce year round. And that takes some work in the heat of the summer. It can be done.

4:30But for the most part, you know, your okra, your tomatoes, your peppers, they your sweet potatoes,

4:39they thrive in the heat. Corn, sweet corn. Um yeah. So really just, you know, when it's hot, grow stuff that likes it hot.

4:51Yeah. Yeah. I mean, makes sense. I don't.

4:55So, do you put 30% shade over all of your tunnels pretty much regardless of what you're growing? Do you ever And do you ever do a 50% shade if you're doing cooler weather?

5:04Well, we do we do use 50% shade on our lettuce for the first couple weeks,

5:11covering it with 50% shade.

5:14But what we found when we put 50% shade on our tunnels,

5:20uh, stuff just was a little bit too leggy and the lettuce wouldn't form good solid heads. That was our experience.

5:29They were just kind of loose and floppy.

5:33And uh, so yeah, we have not had good experience with 50%.

5:40you know, maybe for just like baby greens it would be fine. Yeah.

5:47But and and when you're irrigating, do you try to irrigate in the mornings and the evenings and not in the heat of the day where you're going to get a lot of

5:54evaporation or do you not really I mean we don't we don't really water

6:02water metering is not a concern here. So yeah, I guess that's the bottom line. We we have a great supply of water, so

6:11we're not concerned about conserving water necessarily. Um yeah, if if that was an issue,

6:19especially out west where it's so dry and there's so much evaporation, you would probably want to avoid that.

6:28But um yeah,

6:31great. Okay. Well, I think those are some good tips and there's something to be said for the fact that you do definitely get used to being out in the

6:39heat. Um, if you're if you're used to air conditioning, it will be a shock.

6:45Uh, but once you get used to it, it's it's not all that bad. Yeah, you like the heat.

6:51Plug away. I I my my favorite season is the summer. I don't like the cold, so

6:58you just get used to it. them. All righty. Well, I hope some of these tips were helpful for you and uh will be a

7:06positive impact on your growing this summer. And until next time, happy growing.