AngelsGarden's Blog
AngelsGarden's posts about: heat
Aug 20, 2007 | 10:07 AM PST
Tags: Fire ants , eggplant , compost , heat
The temps are moderating a little. I have miss being in the garden, working and feeling strong from the exercise. Frankly, the garden looks terrible!!! Since I've not been feeling well, and the heat so intense, I have just stuck mainly to housework. But when I got up this morning it was only 71F, so by the time I got back from taking my daughter to school it still wasn't too bad.
I went out to have a look around. Collected some eggs, eggplant, peppers and the first cucumber from my second planting.
My compost pile is ok to spread around in the flower beds, even though its not completely broken down, I did find the occasional egg shell. I even found a banana sticker. I spread four 4 gal. buckets around in one area. I will keep at it until the compost bin is empty of usable stuff. Then I will put in the spent plants that need to be cleaned from the garden. I can also start adding grass clippings again along with the fall leaves.
I also took the pitch fork and loosened around the eggplants, then pulled them up. They weren't doing very well anymore. Fire ants had decided that they liked them. They were climbing the stems, eating holes here and there. They especially liked the flowers and the fruits, right were they connected to the plant.
I set the sprinkler for the peppers and melons then came inside. It was good to get back to gardening, but enough for this morning.
If you look really close you can see a couple of fire ants in the center of the black area where they have been chewing.
Aug 10, 2007 | 6:40 PM PST
Tags: Cantaloupe , cucumber , heat , peppers , fall garden
What a weird time it is. It is so hot right now. I feel like I am hibernating indoors. It has been upper 90s and its just too hot for me to be out. Right now its 8:30pm and its still 87F.
Even though I haven't been doing much out in the gardens, things go on without me. Either good or bad, lol. The veggie garden in seriously weedy!
I planted a second crop of cucumbers awhile back, they are doing good even in this heat, climbing and flowering. Maybe soon we will start to get some cukes. Hope the heat doesn't affect that too much. I also planted some cantaloupe later than normal. That now has babies on it.
The peppers are producing a good amount for us. We don't use a ton of peppers but it seems they never go to waste. We know alot of people that love to have our extras. I am going to try to freeze a few after I chop them up so I can use just a little when I need it. Some of the hot peppers I can dry or pickle. I would also like to try roasting some and blending them into some tomato sauce, then if I can freeze it in small portions.
Some really cool things are happening in the flower beds right now. The hardy rose has produced one bud. Yipee!!! Now I can see what color they are. Also the Dr. Ruppel clematis has sent up a new shoot that has shot up to the top of the trellis and has at least 3 flower buds on that. Its so exciting. I really hadn't expected these clematis to produce any flowers until next spring.
I am starting to think of what veggies I want where for the fall crop. I want to plant onion, peas, some herbs, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, salads, cabbage....what else...I know there is more! I am also consulting my info on companion planting. I will have to cover some of the crops with fabric row cover to keep them a bit cooler until more 'fall like' weather comes along.
I am collecting seeds along the way as I can for next year. So far it has gone really well. All of them have dried out really quickly because of the heat. Its exciting too knowing that I don't have to buy some things next spring.
I am anxious to get back to work on all of my 'projects' outdoors!!! I can't wait. For now I am trying to keep up on housework, reading through the info on Companion Planting and organizing seeds and things like that. Not to mention that the kids go back to school starting Monday.
Hope everyone is staying COOL!!! Be Careful!
