Posted on 07/23/2022 5:37:13 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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I’m here in Zone 5A (New Hampshire).
Vegetables are doing good (lucky we have an old swamp in back to use to water the gardens, otherwise we’d be running our well out this summer).
Fighting Voles all summer this year. Wish there was an easy way to get rid of them.
Official forecast:
"The Heat Index today will climb throughout our afternoon hours past 100° and it will be even hotter tomorrow if you can believe it. Please restrict outdoor activities if possible, drink plenty of water and wear sunscreen as well as re-apply as necessary. This weekend will be brutal."
We are into some heat in west Michigan too. I started just going to the garden every other day to pick and maybe tie some still growing plants. And pull a few weeds. Everything is growing great. If anything we planted so much in the same place there’s not a lot of weeds. Stuffed a bunch of shishito peppers with a cheese blend and filled the jar with olive oil. Made a few jars of refrigerator pickles and already gave one to a neighbor. Second crop of romaine coming up nicely.
Luckily the deer and groundhogs haven't discovered it yet -
so mum's the word - keep it under you hat - loose lips sink salads, etc....
8:57 AM - coffee is approaching typing fingers -
typing difficulties soon to be resolved, hopefully.
/s
cats are lethal on moles, voles, rats, mice and ground squirrels
it would be impossible to garden here without cats
Weather forecast from Weather.gov:
Sunny and hot, with a high near 103. Heat index values as high as 108. South southwest wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Hate to heat up the house, but probably a good day to can tomatoes.
Provided they have water the fig trees are doing just fine in this heat! ( Note....I do not use any black pots. Over 100 degrees F results in potting medium of > 130 degrees and even figs do not do well with that! White pots? 115 degrees. Mine are also subwatered and have a 1 1/2 gallon reservoir. )
The only produce I have going on are tomatoes ... Sungold in particular ... several quarts already. I have 2 ripe Celebrity tomatoes - most are still very green. There are some jalapenos, but not enough for a batch of poppers, plus I need red ones for jelly.
Blooming, but nothing yet: cukes, bell peppers & bush beans.
Zinnias are doing great & so are some giant sunflowers I planted a couple of weeks ago (about 18 inches tall). I did plant a 2nd bed of zinnias - should be ready, along with the sunflowers, in the fall for the birds to pig out on the seeds.
In my new coastal North Carolina location I have two fig trees that are 12’ wide and 12’ tall. What to do with a daily harvest of 30 to 50 figs? They only last about 48 hours fresh
Zone 7A here is burned up. We had some respite on Thursday when we hit the jackpot being at or near ground zero for what they called a microburst thunderstorm. Town got almost 6” in two hours and I recorded 2.5” but my gauge is sheltered. There was not a single drop of runoff. None. It may have stood on the ground for a bit but even the ditch out front is dry yesterday and there was ZERO water in it after the rain.
At least the pond is back up just a bit and I can keep the lantana, periwinkle and impatiens alive. The garden isn’t doing well, even almost too hot for okra. Not much will grow in temps steadily over 100. Looks like at least 5 more days of that and then a little respite but the damage is done.
I mowed 3.5” high yesterday for the first time in 3 weeks. Most of it just got a trim. We got one cut of hay on June 28 and I think that will still be it for the year.
I had the seed catalog out the other day thinking about what to plant next year since this year is coming to bust. The flowers try to do their best but they have just been beat up by the heat by this time of year and it is 2 to 3 weeks early this time.
I had planned to plant several trees this fall but with ground moisture so scarce I may not. In ‘16 I dug holes 5’ deep that were bone dry.
We may not lose trees now that we have had a nice rain.
I have a stalk of celery - I rooted the stump in April, then put it in a pot, then the garden. It is about a foot tall. Just for fun. Should be picking Chinese long beans soon.
If you don’t feed them too much. My cats are too lazy except for one that goes to the pasture. Solid black cat that turns to tints of brown in the summer. I don’t see how the little guy stands the heat. He is an outdoor man and mighty hunter.
We planted some heritage type this year and they did OK. Big, good flavor but ugly.
Celebrity variety is my go-to. Determinate and well mannered producing well shaped consistent and tasty tomatoes.
I made some cages this year out of field fence. They are taller and smaller straight diameter compared to the commercial funnels. They can be wrapped around the growing plant like a clam shell then wired shut. They provide really good support. I wire the cage to a section of cattle panel held up by T-posts.
Some varmint got to the 3 or 4 just turning red tomatoes that were lower on the plant (maybe a rabbit), so now I have to do something to keep the other dozen or so from being partially eaten. It’s gonna be hot here today, too, so I need to get out there and get working before I can’t .
My neighbor’s parents are from China ... they garden like crazy plus raise chickens & rabbits. I cannot believe all the spots on their property where they are growing all sorts of plants .... they obviously have VERY green thumbs, too.
Anyway, the neighbor brought me some produce a while back - garlic chives & “celtuce”. The garlic chives (a bag full) were all used up in various ways - love garlic & chives & the combo was a good one.
The celtuce - here’s a link. That all got used up as well. The leaves were even good - mom used them in a salad when she ran out of lettuce. The stems were peeled & the crisp stalks took the place of celery. It’s a cool weather crop - would love to grow some for next year. I’ll have to see if I can find seeds - per article, Burpee has them (I haven’t looked yet).
Getting to Know Chinese Lettuce, aka Stem Lettuce, aka Celtuce
https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/celtuce-chinese-lettuce-recipes-tips-article
Sorry to hear that.
Hope you start doing better - and the moisture situation improves.
My tomatoes are doing so well that the chipmunks ate them all.
Bait for the traps (black oiled sunflower seeds) will be
implemented today along with (thawed frozen) strawberries
and peanut butter.
The deer are leaving the lettuce alone - so far - but the pepper
plants - they eat. The whole plants - flush with the ground.
Want some chipmunks? They are so cute. I'll trap some and
ship them to you. But shipping the deer presents a problem / challenge...
/sarc
Good Luck!
At the top o’ the thumb here in WI, and my first tomatoes are blushing. Decided to use Bonide rot stop product since they are in containers and it has been hot and dry here. Potato plants in grow bags are seeing a little Japanese beetle activity (tried diotomaceous earth and can’t say if it worked or not) and starting to show signs their life cycle is coming to an end. My small outdoor pvc pipe hydroponic system has beautiful lettuce, kale, beans, peas and is sucking up solution in the heat!
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