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Gardening day began early since the heat was headed up to the triple digits. Monet LOVES when mama works in the garden. She is often on guard. Or supervising. The fence is new from the middle of last year’s garden, and it seems to be doing a wonderful job of keeping wild bunnies from free-grazing the crops.
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First up was harvesting about half of the onions. They are de-greened (I’m sure there is a fancy name for that) and drying in the shop. Only one has gone to seed!
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The carrots are doing well. Last year, the wild bunnies* ate off the tops as fast as they grew. I didn’t get anything but stringy roots. This year, ta-da! Now. Next year’s goal is to THIN them so I can get normal carrots. I think of all the crops growing in the garden, freshly harvested carrots smell the best. Mmmmm.
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It got hot fast. Monet and I recovered in the breakfast nook aka shade patio west of the sunflowers. The mornings are lovely in this spot. The afternoons are brutal. Bountiful SUN. For the sunflowers.
“We” (Monet???) also harvested another large bowl of peas, 4 zucchini (2 days ago, I only saw 1), and wax and green beans. Tomatoes are coming. The kale is doing fine. Herbs are great. Sadly, there’s a bumper crop of weeds, especially crab grass. Yuck. I harvested a wheelbarrow full of weeds as well.
Now we’re hiding from the sun. But I’m thinking a swim with the grands would be a good fit.
How’s your garden doing this year? How are you staying cool?
*Our wild bunnies came from people dumping “formerly pet” bunnies in the neighborhood. They are adorable when small, but destructive when adults. Digging holes, eating everything, attracting predators, and reproducing like crazy.
Two things.
- People. Both does and bucks can be altered by a veterinarian! I did not know that, but now I do. The “neighbors” have six pet bunnies and all but one have been spayed or neutered. Practice crowd control.
- People. Life in the wild is fraught with predators. We have personally witnessed a run-by cat (not Monet) who snatches baby bunnies and hauls them off for a meal. This happened several times. There is a hawk nest not too far away, and every year the parents raise one or two baby hawks. The raising involves teaching them to hunt. Guess what they hunt? Bunnies. I once saw something weird over the fence and went to investigate. A hawk had landed on a baby bunny. I scared it off and the bunny ran off. It was okay, but later a cat got it. Before you commit to having a pet bunny, remember how long they live. Don’t be a dumper.
July 17, 2023 at 1:53 pm
I don’t have much in my garden. A few tomato plants, potatoes, basil, eggplant, peppers, and star flowers/borage. I have herbs in a wood crate. It’s been so hot lately (95F) with no rain, but there’s an abundance of mosquitoes. Your vegetable garden is beautiful.
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July 17, 2023 at 3:19 pm
Thank you, Eleanor. We’ve been over 100 the last few days, but supposed to be dropping before it swoops back up. We’ve also had an influx of mosquitoes! Usually they don’t bother us, we have so many frogs. I think maybe the frogs have caught up with the mosquito growth though, at least it seems so! And I hope so! I’ve never tried eggplant or potatoes. 🙂
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July 18, 2023 at 11:10 am
OMG! 100. I can’t stand the heat. I water my plants every morning but it doesn’t help much. The tomatoes are withering away before riping. My potatoes are okay, and my string beans, well. Forget it. Only my herbs are doing well. Maybe I’ll be luckier next year.
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July 18, 2023 at 2:35 pm
LOL You sound like me. I get pretty cranky around 3-5 in the afternoon, the peak of the temps. Yuck. I spent 9 years growing up in the Arizona desert, but I can’t tolerate the heat like I used to.
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