64. Summer Garden

We left town for 5 days. Only lost one basil plant, a poorly placed container, not enough dirt to support a good sized basil. Everything else survived.

No tomatoes. I have heard lots of theories, but since it's affecting everyone I know, I'm going to blame the heat. I read something about how fruit won't set if the night temperatures don't get consistently below 75 degrees. Well, it's laughable these days because I don't think we've seen a seven in the tens place in a month? Today is the first morning it felt, well, normal, outside since the 4th of July parade.

So the Russian tomatoes, I can see why they're suffering. The Ozark Pink kind of ticks me off--it's from even further south than we are. Ah well. Some years are not tomato years. At least everyone is having trouble so I don't sit here worrying about my dirt or my watering procedures.

I had 4 bean plants that are spent now, but enough beans to freeze and eat over several meals. Peas of course are gone but they were fun, too. And the lettuce! Cilantro bolted I think the moment it sprouted, ah well, but the parsley and basil are hearty. Mint, in a separate undisclosed location, is making it just fine.

Now it's cucumbers and okra and jalapenos and small sweet peppers (maybe some variation of banana?). I lost one watermelon, baseball sized, to a water-crazed squirrel, but I have three more about that size, several little ones that may or may not take, and two about the size of Daisy's head. It's the first year for okra and watermelon. Both plants are kind of scary. The watermelon, if I didn't train it back and up the fence each day, would have covered my back gate by now. And the okra has huge leaves and fruits (I planted a cultivar that doesn't get stringy or woody even at 6 inch fruits).

I make pesto early next week. Tomato sauce? I bought 20 pounds of "seconds" from the CSA. Just freezing it this year. And we'll see about pickles. Looks likely.