Summer is a glorious gardening season, full of days drenched in life-giving sunshine. Alas, sometimes our garden gets a little too much of a good thing and the plants we love become stressed. That’s when I remind myself of the three W’s.

Water Wisely

When watering, long and slow is the best policy. Water tends to spread out faster than it sinks down into most soils. If you flood your garden beds, you’ll see runoff but the roots more than a few inches below the surface will still be parched. Long and slow watering allows time for water to sink ...

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Harvesting basil is the sweet summertime payoff after growing it. I love to gather armfuls of this spicy herb for use indoors. If you’ve got basil growing in your plot, here are four quick tips to maximize your harvest.

Wait until the plant has reached at least ten inches high before making your first cut. For the first harvest, clip stems just above the second set of leaves (counting from the bottom). New stems will form at this juncture, giving you a bushier plant.

Basil will benefit from regular clipping about every two weeks. New leaves have the best flavor. ...

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This month I’ll be preparing my Fort Worth garden for the onslaught of a Texas summer. Time to settle things in with a little extra mulch and make sure the water systems are working.

With temperatures rising my herbs are also preparing for hot weather. As the thermometer goes up, so does the central flower stalk on my cilantro. Leaf production stops as it bolts and sets seed. It’s one of several cool climate plants in the herb garden that won’t survive the coming 100 degree plus weather. Caraway, chervil, and even catnip can show similar behavior.

This ...

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