LADYBUG: DURING SUMMER HEAT: WATER, WATER

There's only one immutable rule to follow in furnace-blast heat such as we had in August: water, water, water.

Not since Aug. 5, when the rag-tag remnants of Erin brought us blessed relief, have we had any rain. That, people, adds up to one month and one day without rain, except, perhaps, in a few isolated instances.

In that weary, dreary spell of haze and heat, we have had a continuum of 90-degree-plus days. Most were 95-plus. Reminds us of the summer of '36 when the sun hung in a blazing torch that sent the thermometer readings day after day into the 100s.

Those were the days of the dust bowl. In late spring and on into summer, Oklahoma and other western states blew by. We stood on the Divide at State Teachers College and saw those billowing clouds of dust roll in from the west, dirty and hot. It was a miserable summer.

You can look it up. Maybe some latter-day, enterprising reporter will check the 90-degree-plus days this summer, their consistency and their number. Maybe even go back to the 1936 file and other mid-30s years when the dust bowl was building. There was no air conditioning, and a panting population sought relief in fans and a brief respite at the Broadway Theater, where air conditioning consisted of 500-pound blocks of ice put into a big hopper on the roof with large fans blowing over it down through ducts into the theater. It made no difference what was showing; respite from the heat was the purpose. Oh, yes. It cost a quarter to see the picture. The cool air was the bonus.

This, though, is supposed to be about gardening, and it is, with a little history thrown in. As noted at the outset, watering is the only remedy for shriveling plants and even then the heat can win out.

At our place we had our sprinkler on hour after hour to save the petunias, the creeping myrtle, the lizianthus (though they like the heat and drought up to a point), the shrubs, the trees and assorted other plants. Ground crews trying to save the lawns have had sprinklers going from daybreak to dark. Regardless, the grass, probably like yours, has turned brown. Some trees and shrubs have died. But we all persist.

A few observations that might be helpful during these torrid days:

-- When you water, do so thoroughly. Let the water run deep. Watering the surface does more harm than good. The water must penetrate to the root system.

-- Be sure water drains from the bottom of the basket. Otherwise it will accumulate around the roots and drown the flowers. Some baskets contain a near waterproof liner that prevents water from flowing out. Punch these with an icepick or some sharp object.

-- If you water a recently planted tree or a shrub, let the water trickle for an hour or so into the root system.

-- If you have been brave enough to start a fall garden, keep it watered. Put newspapers over the newly planted crops during the heat of the day to keep them from wilting. Uncover at night and replace covers at mid-morning.

-- Mulch applied to the soil is good to retain moisture and prevent weed growth, and in time it decomposes, contributing to soil improvement. A good mulch should let rain seep through but be tight enough to smother sprouting weeds. Organic mulches decay toward the bottom where they meet the soil, benefiting the soil through the release of nutrients. Mulch also helps by insulating the soil against extreme temperature changes and rapid drying.

Authors who write about "the lazy days of summer" never witnessed a hot, dry August like the one we just had.

~Mary Blue is a resident of Cape Girardeau and an avid gardener.