The hot weather is killing me.  We’ve had 5+ days of actual temps of 100 with heat index of 105-110.  Seriously, yesterday I couldn’t do a thing, I had to take a nap.  My a/c is running from 10am till 10pm never stopping.

This heat has taken a toll on my garden.  The only thing producing anything worth eating is the okra plants and the pepper plants.  The farmer’s market is sparse, way worse than even February!

Here’s the totals of July’s harvest.  Keep in mind we were gone for a week and my dad came to harvest.  They have persnickty opinions about cukes that are “too big” to eat, so mostly they fed my garden harvest to my rabbits LOL.  This is just totals of what I harvested and ate.

Tomatoes:
Paste 2.5lbs
Creole 3lbs.  I pulled all the tomato plants out of the ground 7/22.  I had planted some from seed before we left on vacation, they sprouted and were looking pretty good, then 100+ temps hit and they died.

cucumbers: 6.5lbs

cantaloupes:  6 melons:  The darned raccoons probably got just as many.  Next year, I’ve got to figure out a way to keep them out!

watermelons:  2 melons:  Terrible tasting melons.  I thought they were ripe, all indications were there, but they were NOT ripe or just didn’t develop flavor.  The one that was perfectly ripe was full of worms.  Gross, too much rain and too much heat.  Next year, I must plant in a better amended bed.

banana peppers:  3lbs  ho hum, so tired of banana peppers.  I only have one plant, but it’s producing tons

okra: 2lbs: Finally, they are producing, all the plants.  Ones planted in the new bed grew so big, but no fruit.  Took about 3 weeks longer than the ones planted in the old bed.

Volunteer squashes:  Since I figured out why my squash look great, then all of a sudden die (squash borer), I’ve tried to fight that off as much as possible.  I’ve got two, what I think are butternut squash vollys growing in the bed.  They look great.  The pumpkin I planted finally spouted.  I don’t know if it will grow big enough to make fruit before fall gets here.

Seed starting for fall:  I began 2 cabbage, 2 cauliflowers, and 2 broccoli plants on 7/25.  I use those little peat pellets to start seeds.  I never could figure out why other people’s seeds pop up out of the peat and sit on top of the peat, growing out new leaves, etc.  Mine always seed to come out of the ground, grow really really long, flop over and just look bad.  Then, I had a lightbulb moment.  Even though you’re using peat pellets (or seed starting mix in a pot), you still need to plant to the correct depth.  I was just placing the seed at the very top instead of pushing the seed down into the peat.  I replanted these on 8/2.  We’ll see if that’s my problem.

Fruit:  Fig cuttings Mr. V gave me are doing great.  They seemed to have taken root and are making lots of little branches with leaves.  The blueberry plants I bought from Lowe’s in April are not faring as well.  One died when we were on vacation.  I have not seen any lemons on the tree, I doubt it’ll make any.  That harsh winter was tough on that lemon.  The oranges are getting larger.  Putting down that bag of leaves under the tree is helping to keep the grass down and the ants out.  The Japanese plums are getting taller.  I don’t know if it will set any fruit this fall.

Chickens:  Chickens arrived on 7/30.  While I thought I was getting 3, 3month old chickens, I actually got 3 1 year old hens.  Of course, I have to get my chickens in the hottest days of the summer.  Poor things are molting and are just miserable.  I bought a 7 gallon waterer and they have plenty of shade, but they are still suffering.  We did get 1 egg in July LOL.

Here’s a photo of the garden on 7/31:

As you can see, the okra plants are huge.  The empty beds are where the tomatoes were.  I’ll be filling those in through out August and Sept.  I’m amending the soil w/rabbit poop & compost when it cools off to 95 at 7:00pm at night.

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