The extreme heat is not something I look forward to, but it is something I am always ready for, and also take advantage of! We usually have around 2 full months of crazy-hot temperatures in PA (recently MORE) each year, where the sun is blasting down upon us.

I expect and anticipate this! I personally don't like it that hot and keep my outdoor activities to a minimum during these periods, but I enjoy the helping hand from Mother Nature and I try to use up every ounce of the sun's energy during these hot days! I get the sun to work for me!

TURN UP THE HEAT—IN A GOOD WAY! 

I’ve been learning to work with extreme heat instead of fighting it. I use the sun’s power to dry out wood and materials, smother unwanted plants, speed up composting, create sun-baked walkways, and even burn out entire sections to clear space. 

But here’s the flip side: that same sun can torch the plants and areas you actually want to keep—so stay alert and protect what matters. Use the sun wisely—it’s one powerful ally!

SMOTHERING ON PURPOSE…it’s my favorite practice in the garden!

Smothering plants ON PURPOSE can be used to your benefit. Nothing kills a plant faster! You can smother plants you don't want. I do it all the time! Sometimes it's too hard to dig up a plant, so try smothering it instead! Remove what you can, and smother the rest!

Keep in mind, it might not kill it all the first year, but you can smother it again the next year, and will most likely succeed! Once you kill the plant or the entire section, you can bring it back to life with the plants that YOU CHOOSE!!

You can smother with all kinds of materials too! I use tarps, plastic, bricks, chairs, blocks, cars, etc., but I also grow my own smothering materials. Make sure to mulch and protect the plants you want to keep! Smother and kill the rest with the heat!!

GROW YOUR OWN SMOTHERING MATERIALS!!!

You can grow and use all kinds of smothering materials. Wood chips make the best smothering medium, but not everyone has access to wood chips!

The good news is that everything else you grow can be used, and will double as food and nutrition for your other plants as well! I have even used freshly pulled weeds (sometimes I don’t feel like drying them first) to smother other weeds out in the hot sun! Eventually it all will compost down.

Just start tossing loads of dried weeds, pulled fresh weeds, and mass materials like grass clippings, chopped up leaves, whatever you can produce in your own surroundings, to the ground where the hot sun is beating down! Grab handfuls of it and toss it anywhere you want to suppress more weeds from coming up. Tuck it in under existing plants, and pack it all around! Over time, your food forest will thank you!

HERE ARE SOME MORE TIPS:

I let simple weeds/herbs like clover and dandelion grow in certain areas, only to mow them down or pull them, then lay them out in the hot sun to dry. I am figuring out how to create my own materials with what grows best in my landscape! What is good for me, might not be good for you, so do some research! Most of the weeds I allow are herbs like sorrel, comfrey, dead nettle, and yarrow because they make great dynamic accumulators which aid in upping my soil nutrient levels.

I can create & allow an entire section dedicated to growing weeds/herbs used for smothering. Sometimes, I will take my lawn mower and chop them up, then collect them with a bag. Now, I have tiny pieces and can distribute it all over my food forest. I can dry it first in the hot sun, or just toss it around. Be sure to never collect poison ivy!

And lastly, BE READY WITH EXTRA WATER DURING THE HEAT!

I always make sure I am readily available when it comes to watering my plants during these hot, rainless months. Even though my food forest offers protection and moisture retention, there is nothing that will save a plant after receiving 98 degree, scorching heat all day long with no water!

When the ground around you is dry and cracking, it's too late! You never want your food forest, or any plant, to experience cracking, dry land of any kind! Consistent moisture is necessary and vital, especially when first forming your food forest!

If you need extra help, and would like a STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE to assist you while you are creating your edible & herbal paradise, don't forget to check out my Edible & Herbal Food Forest Guide. It will take you from a blank canvas, to a flourishing, biodiverse ecosystem in no time!

Always remember:

The Future Is Worth The Patience Of The Present

-Michele

The Homemade Gardener