I expected today to be a good day since the forecast only showed a slight chance of rain for last night. Yesterday brought a one‑two punch: extreme heat at 100°F, followed by rain I slept through and didn’t see any signs of at home. When I arrived at the gardens, I was surprised to see puddles in the gravel roadway. I checked the gauge and couldn’t believe it showed 1½ inches. Even with all that rain, the ground is still firm enough to walk the gardens, though I avoid stepping inside any beds.
As I walked, it was clear the plants were not happy. Yellow squash and zucchini showed stress from the heat and sudden rain. Several tomato plants are completely gone with no chance for doctoring. The tomato I doctored yesterday died overnight, and the one I treated on Sunday is wilted but still has a chance to recover. One pepper plant is completely wilted with jalapeños still hanging on it, and I positioned the screen to block the harsh south and west light to see if it will bounce back. The okra, June tomato transplants, and cucumbers handled the weather better and look stable.
I lost three more July tomato transplants today, bringing the total surviving to 17 out of the original 22 I started with.
My to‑do list for today was:
Trim tomatoes of any bad leaves or stems to help control disease.
Add soil improvement to the June transplant tomatoes:
1 cup Black Kow
1 cup organic compost
1 tsp gypsum
1 tsp kelp meal
dried Bocking 14 comfrey
Transplant any zinnias or basil from the raised bed around the tomatoes.
Continue cardboard boxing of rows.
Weed‑whack the south fence perimeter now that the vacant plot next to RRR has been mowed.
The only things I didn’t get done today were transplanting—since the soil was still too wet—and weed‑whacking the south fence. I ran out of time because of Grandma duty, taking my grandson to his water polo lessons this week.
Tomorrow I hope to finish the chores I didn’t get done today, and I will spray the June tomatoes with BT (Bacillus thuringiensis, an organic treatment that is safe for ladybugs, bees, butterflies, and all beneficial insects) since I spotted some little fruitworms on a few of them.
Today I had a family member visiting from Alabama come see my garden. He has been studying how to garden and has bought a lot of things I don’t have, including a small grow greenhouse, at least I think that’s what he called it. We talked shop for a while, and I told him I am still learning, as everything I do is either a trial or a new experiment. I’m not always the best talker, and I should have said that all this experimenting is what helps me fine‑tune my garden style. It really is the phrase live and learn.