Fire

As you may have noticed, I have an elemental theme going on with my blog posts. That or I really like 70's pop groups. Anyways, when discussing fire in the garden, I could talk about the regenerative effects wild fires have on natural eco systems. More practically, I could talk about the benefits of wood ash. However, when it comes to fire, what we really n
eed to talk about is the sun. I cannot over emphasize the key role that sun plays in the garden.

The only way to succeed in gardening at all is to know what light requirements your plants have and make sure they get it. You can learn how much light your plant needs by reading the seed packet or plant tag. If a plant needs full sun, that means AT LEAST 6 hours of direct sunlight. You can't skimp on this! Watermelons and pumpkins in full shade will die. Some plants, like peppers or strawberries, might live but have no energy to produce fruit.

The opposite is important too. Some plants need shade and can't tolerate sun. If I had a dollar for every burnt up, brown hosta that was left out in full sun, I'd take a vacation to Europe.

Important take away - gardening success mandates reading your plant tags and seed packets and following their light requirements. You can't skip this.

The sun also plays an important role in keeping plants dry so they don't attract mold or fungus.

The good news here is that sunlight is free and abundant. As I'm writing this sitting in my air conditioned room, the sun is outside feeding my garden essential nutrients and energy. If you do just a little research ahead of time, you can have the sun working for you and your plants.