Summer Survival

It is so hot here I read that you definately could fry an egg or maybe a chicken or two.  My poor birds are trying to keep cool.  This one I caught dusting herself, 

 Others I have seen seeking shelter under my covered porch.  Bless their hearts they still are laying eggs, though not as many as usual.

One of my cats I caught napping under a chair on the same back porch.  She's got the right idea.

Animals aren't the only things that need some shade in the extreme summer heat.

My plants need help too.  I just placed a thick layer of organic hay on top of the soil.  With French Intensive gardening the ground should always be covered either with plants growing or some type of mulch.  It keeps the nutrients in the soil for the plants and also moisture.  The great thing about this is as it deteriorates it is composting right in the garden.  One thing to remember, grass on top of the soil.  Never mix it into the soil because instead of adding nutrients the nitrogen in the grass will rob the plants of nutrients.  Always lay it on top.

The strawberries need some extra help.  These Sequoia varieties were planted last October 2009.  I really need them in a bed with more shade, so for now I am trying to keep them alive with hay and a shade cloth.  I even have a landscape cloth around the roots of the plants, but this heat is almost too much for them.  If they survive I will move them to the front bed in October.  Strawberries should be planted in the same bed each year, dont have to rotate them out like other crops.