The Heat, the Rain....and the Skeeters!
Well, hello again. It’s been an eventful month in both a good way (the Denver fling was amazing!) and not so good way (I was knocked out with the flu for a good chunk of time). So much for “flu season” (eye roll). I have never felt so tired and achy before…makes me wonder if I’ve ever had the flu before or just really bad colds.
Echinacea "Cheyenne Spirit" (started from seed a couple of years ago) is doing amazing
...as are the weeds but let's ignore that bit, shall we 😄
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We are now in the midst of the sweltering summer heat which always puts a bit of crimp in how much I do outside. But there’s an even worse menace this year than the heat, thanks to the very wet weather we’ve been having since spring. Mosquitos. I have never seen them as bad as they are this year. You can’t avoid them - even in the middle of the day, in full sunlight, in the middle of the yard, I’m being bit. It’s the absolute worst! I hate putting on bug spray & usually avoid doing so, but it’s at the point where I can only be out there for maybe 10 or 15 minutes before I’m so frustrated I come back inside. I keep thinking it will get better, but I should face reality…and head to Costco for a bulk pack of spray.
But while I could do with a bit less rain and the ensuing mosquito breeding grounds this creates, many of my plants are very happy. The cucumber harvest has been steady for a couple of weeks now. I'm only growing 3 plants this year as usually we are inundated with cucumbers by August. I'm also the only one that eats pickles at my house, so only one of these is a pickler. The rest of the trellis is being used for melons and a squash (still waiting for signs of fruit on both of these).
The two slicers I'm growing this year are "Chelsea Prize" and "Summer Dance"
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One spaghetti squash is maturing - and it looks awesome! I'll definitely be trying this variety again next year,
but planting 2 or 3 in a bed to get more pollination action happening.
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I only have two tomato beds this year and am growing basil down the side of one of them. I've been doing this for a few years now and it works out perfectly.
Frequent picking is key to keeping basil going over most of the summer.
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Chico III - one of the new varieties I'm trying this year
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Both Red Russian and Red Ursa kale were planted this year
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Aspabroc does not produce large heads, but it gives you a ton of
side-shoot type pickings with long stems that are absolutely delicious.
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Pepper bed - doing ok but nothing spectacular.
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One guess is that the Mykos I used when I planted them (a leftover batch from last year) has lost it’s effectiveness. Or perhaps the delay in transplanting them outside this year due to our late start to summer stunted them in some way.
The potatoes are starting to die back a bit (right on schedule) and simply judging by the foliage, they are doing a LOT better than last year.
Since I took this photo something rummaged through the bed and ended up flattening some of the foliage.
On the bright side, they didn't dig too deeply and nothing seems to be dug up.
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I'll be digging into this bin very soon to see if there are any baby potatoes under there...
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A bumper crop of strawberries this year means
we now have several bags in the freezer for winter smoothies - hurray!
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It's funny how I didn't notice the wonky irrigation line
going off to the side until I saw this photo
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Speaking of onions, that’s one veg that I’m concerned about – for some reason, they are not bulbing up like they should be.
The onions should be bulbing up quite a bit by now....
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There's still a good month and a half until I absolutely need to harvest, so I'm not totally giving up on them just yet. Goes without saying, though, that this is one bed I'll be examining on a daily basis with fingers crossed.
I also planted several beds with dried bean varieties, all of which are doing very well.
The beans look great...the bed, not so much |
Our potatoes are doing better this year too. We have two onion beds both given the same conditions. One is growing well and the other is hopeless. Mosquitoes love biting me too but at present it’s the ants that are giving he most grief.
ReplyDeleteEvery year there are mysteries in the garden - why did this plant do so poorly compared to others or from years past? Sometimes I find clues when I compare my notes in different years but often, it's really anyones guess as so many things can affect how a plant grows.
DeleteA great variety of vegetables!
ReplyDeleteI am growing 'Burpless Beauty' cucumbers, and they are producing abundantly.
If my tomatoes were doing as well, I would be doing a happy dance!
Have a wonderful week!
Thanks Lea :) When you are in the midst of a good cucumber year, you know it - they can produce like crazy! Fingers crossed re: your tomatoes. With all the rain we've been getting, I have a feeling we are in for a shorter tomato season as disease will likely set in sooner rather than later.
DeleteSo, good and bad...and mostly good, now that you're feeling better. Having the flu during the summer--that doesn't sound fun. Sorry you had to deal with that! Hopefully, you'll cool down soon. The heat (and humidity!) seemed relentless here until Sunday, when we knocked down to "normal" summer weather. I hope that happens for you, too. How fun to try seeds from Portugal--those tomatoes look tasty!
ReplyDeleteEvery season has its ups and downs - I'm always grateful when the ups outweigh the downs ;). The tomatoes do look good, don't they? Can't wait for that first taste - shouldn't be too much longer! The past couple of days has brought more rain, which has lowered the temperatures...but all that moisture means the mosquitoes are out in full force. Can't seem to win this year!
DeleteIt looks as though you could feed an army! I've been plagued by biting/stinging bugs too - spiders, fire ants, and mosquitoes. While fire stings are the most unpleasant, identification of West Nile Virus in nearby Long Beach has me more worried about mosquitoes. I've been relying on one of those silly mosquito deterrents with a fan that attaches to your belt loops but I'm thinking I need to switch to a spray. Supposedly, there are at least 2 species of mosquitoes active in SoCal now, including one that's routinely active during the daylight hours. It's always something...
ReplyDeleteWest Nile, which has also been found in Southern Ontario, is one of my fears as well. Interesting about the species of mosquito - I have noticed that the ones this year seem smaller than usual (although no less of a nuisance!) I should see if we are also being invaded by a foreign species that, as in your case, is more active during the day. We've tried a few different things to deter mosquitoes like candles, etc. (although I've not heard of the fan gadget), but unfortunately, it seems as if the sprays are by far the most effective. I tackled an overgrown area a few days ago that was literally swarming with mosquitoes - in that a cloud of them would fly up when you disturbed the plants - and I barely noticed a thing with the spray on. Needless to say it was straight into the shower once I got inside!
DeleteGlad you had a good time in Denver and that you're feeling better now, flu is terrible when you get it properly and takes a long time to fully recover from too. Your veggies are looking great and that's good news about the leek moth. Yum, that strawberry looks delicious and what a great haul, your strawberry bed has definitely come into its own this year.
ReplyDeleteI'm always thrilled when I see an improvement on past difficulties in the garden. I'm thrilled about the strawberry bed recovery but what really tickles me is the lack of leek moth damage on the garlic as this could mean (hopefully) that from here on in, I don't have to worry about netting the bed. Netted beds are lifesavers when it comes to keeping certain pests at bay but they are also a pain to deal with, especially when it comes to weeding. On less netted bed is a big win :)
DeleteHello there "Mistress of the Vegetables" ! LOL
ReplyDeleteYou are an amazing veggie gardener Margaret ;-) ... Funny enough the first plant I grew as a kid was from a garlic clove .. but being just a kid , I would dig it up occasionally just to see how the roots were progressing .. needless to say I have stopped that ? LOL
Sorry you had the flu with the fling (now that sounds odd eh ? LOL) ..
That had to be miserable .. I have had some sort of thing happening too but couldn't be sure it wasn't this damn heat wave , which we are having a break from now . IT was actually only 15 this morning (5 AM) !!
It was like a preview of Autumn which I can NOT wait for !
I understand your reluctance with the bug spray .. and the frustration .. hard to handle but your veggies are looking amazing and you are gong to have BUMPER crops ! Well done you !!
Hi Joy and thanks! Ha - I can relate to your garlic story...I've been known to do that as an adult ;)
DeleteYes - HURRAY for cooler temperatures! It was 18C this morning (have no idea what it was at 5am 'cause I'm not an early bird, apparently ;) and it was sooo refreshing! I'm with you on those autumn temps - I just wish we had a longer spring/fall season with those gorgeous moderate temperatures where you can spend the whole day in the garden and barely feel it...well, other than the usual aches and pains, that is ;)
A bonus crop of potatoes - that's hard to beat! I grew Aspabroc this spring and it really did well here. I too love the tender stalks. The garlic sure looks healthy from here.
ReplyDeleteI really love the Aspabroc. I find it has quite a different flavour than regular broccoli that's almost sweet (which really surprised me!). Can't wait to dig into the compost pile & (hopefully) find some nice baby potatoes :)
DeleteEverything looks very productive and happy! You must build stuff right for those beds to last so long.
ReplyDeleteThe beds were deceptively easy (and inexpensive) to make - in fact, it was a one person job other than moving them into position. I'm thinking a post on how I make them may be in order soon...
DeleteI'm pleased to read that you had a good time in Denver … although shame about the flu.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see all of your vegetables in your photographs, you do have a good variety.
My good wishes.
All the best Jan
Thanks Jan - Denver was wonderful and so much of what grows there is surprisingly similar what we have here in southern Ontario. One thing I love about garden travels is how you are always surprised by one thing or another.
DeleteYour farm looks excellent! I love that you have potatoes growing out of the compost pile. :o)
ReplyDeleteThanks Tammy - the compost potatoes are a wonderful surprise. Still have to dig them out, but I'm hopeful that we may get a couple of meals from them :)
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