Where I am located, this year is likely to be the hottest and driest summer in living memory , being realistic, I know things will fall, plants are going to die and working to exhaustion trying to save them is not what gardening is about, sometimes there's nothing you can do.

Today marks the transition from summer to fall planting. After a few days in the mid-90s, the spring peas are coming out and the fall garden is going in. I’m replacing them with beets, radishes, and another round of peas, along with adding fresh mulch to help conserve moisture and feed the soil. Over the next few weeks, once the garlic and potatoes are harvested, I’ll seed the beds with an oats and alfalfa cover crop to keep living roots in the ground and continue building soil for next season. Every harvest is another opportunity to improve the soil for the crop that follows. 🌱

What’s the best amendment for increasing soil water-holding capacity? I don’t think there’s a single winner. Each amendment serves a different purpose. Seems fitting to discuss when summer heat waves are happening all over. 🥇 Biochar – Holds roughly 3–6× its weight in water, creates habitat for microbes, and can continue improving soil for centuries. 🥇 Sodium alginate – Can absorb 200–300× its weight in water, making it an incredible short-term moisture reservoir. I think it has huge potential as a bare-root dip or transplant gel, especially during hot summer planting. 🥉 Compost – Improves water-holding capacity while feeding biology and building soil structure. 🥉 Calcium bentonite – Can absorb several times its weight in water and permanently increases water-holding capacity, especially in sandy soils. 🌱 Humic acid – Doesn’t store much water itself, but it improves soil function, nutrient availability, and biology. The rest—coir, cellulose fiber, kaolin clay, and peat moss—all have their place depending on your goals. For me, the biggest lesson is this: don’t chase one amendment. Stack functions. Build carbon. Improve soil structure. Feed biology. Capture water. Then use specialty amendments where they provide the most value. If you could only choose three amendments to build the most drought-resilient soil possible, what would they be?

I know a few of us have chickens so here are a couple tips. When the weather climbs into the 90s, water, shade, and airflow come first to cool our chickens. Chickens do not sweat like we do. They cool themselves by panting, holding their wings away from their body, and moving heat through their combs and wattles. Once these basics are in place, a few herbs and moisture-rich plants can add another layer of summer support. Fresh spearmint and lemon balm are commonly offered during hot weather. They are traditionally cooling herbs, and many chickens enjoy pecking at the fresh leaves. Purslane is another excellent summer plant because it naturally holds a lot of water while providing good nutrition. Chickweed, broadleaf plantain, and mallow can also make good additions when foraging or when finding them growing around the garden. One thing we want to remember is that herbs are not a replacement for good flock management. They are simply one more piece of the system. A handful of fresh herbs, a patch of edible weeds, or a few moisture-rich garden plants can help support the flock, although the foundation is still water, shade, and airflow. The goal is not to overcomplicate chicken care. It is to notice what the flock needs, use what is already growing around the home, and add support in a steady way. What herbs or garden plants do your chickens seem to enjoy most during the heat?

Once we understand Brix as a clue to plant energy, the next question is a practical one. How do we raise it in the garden? The first thing I would say is this. We do not raise Brix by chasing a single product. We raise Brix by improving the conditions that help the plant photosynthesize, feed the soil, take up minerals, and build stronger tissue over time. We start with sunlight. Leaves are the solar panels of the plant. If a crop needs full sun, give it the best light you can. Crowded plants may survive, but they may not gather enough light or move enough air to stay strong. Sometimes raising plant health starts with spacing, pruning, trellising, or thinning so the leaves can do their work. Then we look at water rhythm. Roots need moisture, but they also need oxygen. Soil that swings from bone dry to waterlogged will stress the plant. When roots are stressed, the whole plant is stressed. Mulch, compost, organic matter, and steady deep watering help keep the root zone more even. Next, we keep the soil covered and alive. Bare soil loses moisture, overheats, crusts, and feeds fewer organisms. Mulch, cover crops, living roots, compost, and perennial edges all help protect the soil food web. A covered soil holds life steadier, and steadier life in the soil helps the plant hold a stronger life. We also need to watch nitrogen. Too much quick nitrogen can make plants look dark green and lush, but that growth can be soft. Strong plants need nitrogen, but they also need calcium, magnesium, sulfur, potassium, phosphorus, boron, zinc, manganese, and the rest of the mineral team in balance. If we only push growth, we may invite pests. If we build balance, we help the plant mature its tissue. Compost and biological inputs can help, but they are not magic by themselves. They work best when the basics of air, water, cover, roots, organic matter, minerals, and diversity are already being cared for. A refractometer can be useful if we use it with observation. Take readings from the same crop, same plant part, and same time of day. Brix changes through the day, so one reading does not tell the whole story. Trends are more useful than a single number.