Weather: Cloudy, Heat Advisory with a low of 77°F and a high of 96°F.
Even with the heat advisory, I was still able to get what I planned for the day done. The first thing I fixed was my hose. I had to buy bigger clamps so they would tighten properly. That only took a few minutes.
As I said before, I reused my landscape fabric that I pulled out. It was still whole, just a little hairy with remnants of weed roots. That didn’t bother me — who cares. I cut 5½ feet, taped the long edge to the hose with basic duct tape, and then wrapped the entire hose and zip‑tied it on.
You might be wondering why I did this, and it’s because the sun’s UV rays will break down the hose again. This way, hopefully, it won’t degrade. And during the winter, the whole unit pops off the holder and I store it in my garage.
Once I fixed this, I got back to my usual watering routine. The Fitt HiFlo hose worked great, but it didn’t reach all my veggies, so I used a bucket for the areas it couldn’t reach. I watered the typical fall bed and the calendulas first, since they get watered twice before I leave for the day.
I’ve settled into a new routine. I start with a high‑energy or sweaty chore, take a hydration and snack break, then switch to a cool‑down chore like watering before moving on to the next high‑energy task. Doing it this way keeps me from draining myself in the high heat.
My high‑energy chores were cutting weeds with the mower and/or weed whacker in the Back 40 tomatillos row, the Pickle Patch in front of the tomatoes, and the walkway by the blueberry bed. After each area, I took my break and then watered a section, starting in Rudy’s Radish Ranch. With the heat drying the top layer so quickly, I’ve been checking everything with my moisture meter. Even when deeper soil shows moisture, the surface is dry, so each plant gets a gentle “3 Mississippi” watering on a low full stream. The stream doesn’t disturb the mulch or soil — just enough to keep the feeder‑root zone moist.
Since I started doing this several days ago when the intense heat began, the plants have noticeably perked up, especially the eggplants and peppers.
Here is a photo that I completed in front of the tomato bed, and I boxed it until I am ready to lightly till.
While working on this, Diane came by. I mentioned to her that another gardener was going to be gone and he said to get people to pick his okra till Sunday. Diane was thrilled as her okra wasn’t producing yet and she was going to bring it on her Labor Day trip. I brought her over, and since she has never picked okra, I told her that 3–6 inches is usually good, and if it’s questionable, squeeze lightly — if it makes a crunchy sound, it’s tough or fibrous, and later when you try cutting it with a knife it won’t cut cleanly. I helped her pick and then locked up the plot.
Since I needed to check my rows, I went over to the plot I am row captain over and made sure it was free of cages, hoses, and other items. It had been abandoned, and I wanted to flag it for mowing.
I discovered that the next plot was using this plot for their own private weed-dumping area. Instead of taking the vegetation to our designated drop-off, where the county picks up once a month, she was dumping it here. I contacted her to remind her of the rules.
With those chores out of the way, I finished my remaining tasks, and I think Fredericus’ family was out in full force. I saw one in my retractable hose entrance and another on my lawnmower. They both hopped to safety. I am seeing them more this year, and I wonder why. I love seeing them. Both were in survival mode — darker in color from the heat.
It was about 10:30 a.m., almost when the heat advisory starts, and I didn’t need a clock to tell me I was ready to go home; my body did that for me. So, I finished with picking 6 good‑sized India cucumbers and yes, okra. Because I was feeling tired, I decided to put off bringing veggies to my friend till tomorrow.
I made a lot of progress today getting beds ready for tilling for my cover crops.
Tomorrow I will lay boxes down the tomatillos row to help snuff the weeds out before tilling and sowing more seeds in the fall bed. I might work on the rabbit fence for the fall bed.
Till tomorrow—keeping it real in the Pickle Patch.