The last three days have been increasingly more hot than the previous. When I first transplanted the seedlings the high was 82 the next day. Over the weekend each day was a little hotter until today, it is already 93 degrees. I think that normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I decided to try the no-dig bed concept which has me concerned for the plants towards the end of the day. I have noticed that one of the great features to this plant bed turns into a negative when it gets very hot out.
The no-dig bed drains very well, which is good for keeping the roots from getting waterlogged, but unfortunately it dries out very quickly. My planting bed is always damp to the touch in the morning and by the time I get home from work it is powder dry. Pushing my finger into the bed, it is consistently that dry all the way through the first peat layer (several inches). Tonight when I get home I will do a deeper assay to find out what layer the moisture is being conserved. I am primarily concerned about the plants establishing strong roots into a moisture laden layer before I back off on the watering.
I have already lost one plant to the heat, but the rest are doing very well. I read some of the other grow logs where it was postulated that over watering was occurring so I deliberately waited longer last night to water the plants, and now I am convinced this is not my problem. I have had the habit of watering around 5:00pm after checking the moisture of the bed and seeing the plants visibly wilted. Generally by 9:00pm I will check again and see that they have visibly stood back up and are looking healthy again. Last night I waited until 9:00pm before watering. When I finally watered the plants were still wilted and drooping and did not look well at all. Checking this morning the plants looked great, and stood back up (all except one which doesn't look like it will make it).
For now I will continue watering around 5:00pm and I am considering watering in the morning to give the plants a moisture base to better make it through the day. I am still undecided on that approach however. They kept promising rain this weekend and it never came. I really put off watering, because I thought I would overwater and kill the plants. Seeing as how fast that bed dries out, I am really not that concerned any more.
Okay, now for some pictures