I am reminded this is suppose to be a gardening blog. Unfortunately, I have lost all motivation in the face of a second summer of unprecedented heat. Funny how 107 degrees will do melt any amount of resolve.
So today we have photos of lovely flowers which in fact did exist at some point this spring in my garden - but I will not commit to saying they are still out there. Or, at least, they are not out there and alive.
This year even the gourd plants are lagging behind (and it's never too hot or dry for gourds), leaving me with the possibility that there will be no Swan Neck gourds, no Nest Egg gourds, no Dipper gourds.
There are a few tomatoes and pepper plants out there -occasionally I wave at them from the upstairs window and remind them they are on their own -it's too hot to even deal with them. They seem depressed.
Wild hollyhocks have overtaken the rosebed, along with a particularily vicious thorned locust tree. On a more positive note, the fig tree is growing at breakneck speed, and I have no idea why, since I rescued it from the dead plant bin at Lowe's two years ago, planted it and then forgot exactly where I put it, much less to water it.
It's just too freaking hot.
We did have these...
Fine, so they aren't mine. Wire grass ate my strawberry plants. These came from my mom's, She's having her own garden issues this year. Peaches didn't set, corn isn't filling out, lettuce is bolting much too soon - see? It's not just me.
Happily, blueberry season opened today, but I am forcing myself to wait until Thursday when it will be a cold frosty 87 degrees.
All I have to deal with there are the emus.
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Carole - Good to know we're not alone in gardening challenges this season. Having experienced record high temps in July here in SW MO, I'm wondering just how high the water bill will be in August! At a herb class just this week, the speaker answered questions about fig trees. She said the 3rd year is the "magic" year when they just take off. One question: Is your wire grass the same thing as our crab or Bermuda grass? Did covering the garden last year w/ black plastic kill it? Have fun in the blueberry patch, I'm off to water, big surprise!:)
ReplyDeleteI sympathize. Just yesterday I commented (there was my mistake) how we have, for the very first time, a blue hubbard squash that seems to be doing very good. Today I went out there and it looks like it had been srayed with Round-Up.
ReplyDeleteToo Friggin' Depressing!
Janice - Good to know this is the magic year for the fig tree - it just exploded and is incredibly healthy (no thanks to me). Wire grass may or may not be the same as Bermuda grass - some gardening forums say it is, others argue it isn't. It's basically a plant with nothing but runners that survives *anything*. I read about one guy literally using a flame thrower on his yard, and the stuff still came up. It's one reason I went towards layered gardening (lasagna raised beds), since the layers choke out the runners.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it appears it just slows them down, and eventually the runners appear up in the top layer, wrapped around the mulch layer. It loves Roundup for dessert, and every time it's cut, each small piece starts a new plant.
The area I covered with black plastic did kill it - there. The runners all went the other way and came up twice as thick in the rest of the yard. It's crafty stuff.
Carole - From your description, I'm sold on the theory that wire grass & Bermuda/Crab grass are the same thing. I have raised beds for all my veggies & my "experimental" annuals & the grass still comes up around the edges. I've tried "painting" Roundup on the grass to ensure no mass killing - not impressed. Apparently 4o'clocks can sense the mere presence of Roundup!:) The search for a cure continues! Stay cool, hear this heat wave is here to stay for awhile!
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