Keep-It-Alive-Till-Harvest Mode
We’ve had three weeks of temps in the mid-to-high nineties, with humidity to match, and heat advisories all the time. You can imagine what that does to a garden. I’m babying most things along until I can harvest whatever’s still surviving out there. Cukes and watermelon in the containers have just about had it. I do have several cantaloupes almost ready to harvest, and keep checking every day to see if any are ripe. The Gold Bar Melons do keep chugging along, but even they are looking a bit weather-worn. They better taste good, because they have set a bunch of fruit. My volunteer tomatoes still have a bunch of fruit ripening, even set a few new fruits.
Haven’t gotten so much as one zucchini; I think it’s a pollination problem, or the heat. I do hand pollinate, but still no fruit set. No green beans, either. They either get some dreadful disease and die, or something eats all the blossoms and half the leaves before I see green bean one. I did plant some Contender bush beans that are still looking good; I’m still holding out hope. Probably futile, but you have to be an optimist to try and garden, especially down here!
The jalapenos, on the other hand, seem to be enjoying the heat. Got several fruit, which is way more than I had last year! The Fruit Basket bells in the hanging baskets even have a few fruits.
So all is not lost, but it’s still very discouraging. I think that I’m done with self-watering containers. Haven’t had much luck at all to date. I’ll probably do like Annie’s Granny and use them in the raised beds like she has. They might work for a fall garden, but the summer heat is just too much for any plant to survive.
Still house-hunting, too, which kind of messes up fall garden plans. Don’t want to start fall veggies, only to have to either haul baby plants if we do find a house, or leave perfectly good veggies in the garden. What would you do?
Not much else to say, I guess. I’m pretty much in “Survive-Till-Cooler-Weather” mode myself. I have had quite enough summer already, even though it’s just barely started. Sigh…
Aww, that’s terrible. I don’t know what I’d do. I guess I’d try to build a small hoop house, and cover it with shade cloth that could be removed for a few hours a day when it’s maybe not quite so hot, and pulled back over stuff during the hottest part of the day.Then I’d build some deep boxes in it, and line them with rigid insulation, then plant everything in containers that could be moved if necessary, and set them in the insulated boxes. That would keep the roots in the pots/containers cool, and I’ll bet you could grow a lot of stuff.
I didn’t have any luck with the SWCs, as you know. They’re working great as bottomless planters.
Now that is a good idea. I may just do that when it’s time to plant fall stuff, in about a month or so. Even if we do find a house, no way the garden would be ready by then, no matter what. Thanks! You do have the best ideas!