08/24/2026
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🌡️🔥 HEAT BLAST HITTING THE SOUTH PLAINS! 🔥🌡️
Lubbock & Surrounding Communities — Protect Your Garden!
West Texas heat can be tough on our gardens, especially when temperatures stay high overnight. A little extra care now can help your plants make it through the heat.
🌱 PROTECT YOUR PLANTS
💧 DO NOT OVERHEAD WATER! Water deeply, not constantly. Water early in the morning so plants have time to absorb moisture before the heat of the day. Focus water at the root zone rather than spraying the foliage.
🌿 Add or refresh mulch. A 2–4 inch layer of organic mulch can help keep the soil cooler and slow moisture loss. Keep mulch away from plant stems and trunks.
☀️ Give vulnerable plants some afternoon protection. Shade cloth, umbrellas, or temporary covers can help protect newly planted vegetables, flowers, and container plants from intense afternoon sun.
🪴 Watch your containers! Pots can heat up quickly and dry out much faster than garden beds. Check them more than once a day during extreme heat.
🌸 Don't fertilize or heavily prune during the heat blast. Your plants are already under stress. Wait until temperatures moderate before pushing new growth.
🌳 Check trees and shrubs. Newly planted trees and shrubs are especially vulnerable. Give them a slow, deep watering when needed rather than frequent shallow watering.
🍅 Harvest what you can. Pick ripe vegetables and fruit rather than leaving them on stressed plants during extreme heat.
⚠️ Watch for heat stress: wilting that doesn't recover by evening, scorched leaves, sunburned fruit, curled leaves, and dried-out soil are signs your plants need attention.
🌾 DON'T FORGET YOUR LAWN!
💧 Water deeply and less frequently rather than giving the lawn a quick sprinkle. Early morning is the best time to water.
✂️ Raise your mower height. During extreme heat, keeping grass a little taller helps shade the soil and protect the roots. Avoid scalping the lawn.
🚫 Skip fertilizing during the heat blast. Fertilizer can add additional stress when turf is already struggling.
👣 Limit heavy traffic. Heat-stressed grass can be damaged more easily by foot traffic, pets, and equipment.
🌱 Seeing some brown? Don't panic! Some warm-season grasses can go dormant during periods of extreme heat. Keep an eye on the soil moisture and give the lawn a chance to recover when temperatures moderate.
🐾 PETS: Keep pets off hot pavement and provide plenty of fresh water and shade. If the ground is too hot for your hand, it's too hot for their paws.
🦋 WILDLIFE: Keep birdbaths and shallow water sources filled with clean, fresh water. A little water can make a big difference for birds, bees and other wildlife during extreme heat.
💙 AND DON'T FORGET YOURSELF! Garden in the early morning or evening, drink plenty of water, take breaks, and get out of the heat when temperatures become dangerous. Your garden can wait — you can't.
🌱 West Texas gardens are tough — but even tough plants need a little help during a heat blast!
Stay cool, stay hydrated, and keep growing, Lubbock! 🌻💧
