Hot, Hot, Hot and still growing

Although the drought is not as severe as last year, the lack of regular rain and excessive heat do take a toll on the plants. I have been trying to soak them every 2-3 days and give them a drink with the watering can if they are too droopy between times but it just has not been enough to keep the okra and eggplant producing. So this week a bit more water and they have really responded even at 100 degrees. I think that the neighbor's tree sucks up so much of the water--there are surface roots that might have to be severed.

I took a chance and planted some black eyed pea seeds that a neighbor gave me and now am almost ready to pick some. The Malabar spinach is thriving and the herbs are doing really well under the oak tree. Chard it still going but is now ornamental as it is just too bitter to use. The purple beans are blooming and setting tiny beans and doing nothing more. I was hoping to have beans longer than 1" for eating, oh well. 

The peppers in the greenhouse have been giving us a steady handful of peppers. Nothing to shout about but then beats none at all. The ones in the back garden have lots of buds but no fruit yet--tree roots again pulling  the water.

I am investigating ways to construct beds that will keep the roots out but let the plants have the depth they need. I also started seeding for fall and have broccoli and cauliflower in grow trays as well as chard and beets. Looking forward to more of the fall stuff soon. 

An oft forgotten task:cultivating and lessons learned

 We have been blessed with quite a lot of rain in the last couple of weeks yet when I checked on some of the plants they are dry several inches below the surface. An Oh My moment hit. We mulched with compost and have not cultivated it much since it went on weeks ago. It has a wonderful crust to keep the moisture below but is not letting rain soak through  well enough. Soooooo.... I spent a hour out in the bed this morning cultivating the top layer, adding a bit of bone meal around the eggplant, tomatoes, and okra,  and watering the plants good from my rain water stash.

The eggplants are blooming again and so are the okra. Peppers have buds and we have had a constant supply of peppers--not enough to put up but enough to eat every day or so. Lots of little beans setting on the plants and blooms. Now if some will get big enough to pick again. Oh, the heat!


The malabar spinach (left) tower has taught me another lesson--do not make the tower higher than my fingertips as it is hard to pick the leaves when I cannot reach them!  I am finally seeing a few more bees around the Mexican petunias too--not nearly like last summer though. 

Creating an herb garden to accent the yard

 We have been talking for a year about doing some kind of plantings around the oak tree at the corner of our front yard but have spent way more time on the other beds. I did put stones around the tree and put down weed cloth topped with grass clippings and some weedy grasses. Last weekend we finally put down a load of compost/mulch and got it spread out. Suddenly it was plain that if I grouped all the herbs there that they would help water the tree and get a bit of protection from the blazing sun and heat we started getting this week. 

I wound up moving the plant stand too so it would be closer and open up the path area to the chairs a bit more. This may be our permanent grouping or we may move things around a bit more. I'd like to pot a couple of the coleus to get a bit more color in the area but need to monitor the sun a bit more yet for that.  I am getting lots of comments from people walking by on the garden and the mix of flowers and vegetables. The bamboo teepee is attracting a bit of attention now that the malabar spinach is climbing well.