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.
We’re at 102 now with a high of 103 expected. 102, 103 same difference.
Heck of a year to try and get serious about growing. Started getting close to 100 in May. That pretty much finished the cold weather crops whether they were ready or not.
Now I’m just keeping the tomatoes alive but they’re in a state of suspended animation. Blossom drop. Green maters not growing or ripening. Vines are still growing and I’m pruning suckers all the time and also pruning down low to reduce leaf area so they don’t suck up so much heat.
I was told here once it cools down, they’ll start producing again. I figure mid September. LOL By that time, the vines might be 20 foot long. Probably a good thing I went with lean and lower trellis system.
I started six varieties to choose 1-2 from that I like the best to grow again next year. I’ve gotten a dozen Barry’s yellow cherry, one yellow pear and one chadwick cherry but I don’t think it was quite ripe. All I really know so far is the Barry’s are ok tasting and do better than the rest in the heat. Yellow pear has more flavor and does half way decent in the heat. Tappy’s and Brandywine red slicers, not so good in the heat. The other two cherries, plants look ok with the heat but all green maters that won’t ripen in the heat and those maters have been like that for over a month. All new blossoms drop.
Will be cooling down after another day of 100 and then I’ll fertilize them to give them a boost. Watered two days ago and will water tonight. Not watering a whole lot. Just enough. Don’t want to have tomatoes start splitting or start getting blossom end rot. I’m mulched so twice a week watering will be fine after the cool down.
Growing a whole lot of nothing this year. At least I started a ton of things from seed for the first time. Started over 20 different things, 6 each of most. Many were things I’ve never tried and most of those, I didn’t like. A few things I do like and would have grown were it not for the early heat wave but didn’t.
Also started four types of pepper plants but killed them and had to start them again. Between that and the heat, I’ve been able to taste one shisito that probably wasn’t quite ready but ready enough. Will be growing more of those and I might get some started asap and do them in pots.