Hot Hot Hot!

Can I say that again? Oh my gosh it's hot! We have been suffering with 100+ temperatures since the middle of June and it's really beginning to take its toll. The garden isn't looking to good due to the heat and the lack of rain. The zucchini plants and the squash have given up but the tomatoes are hanging in there.

This time of year it may seem impossible to grow anything but we do have a few plants that seem to be doing well despite the baking temperatures.  Being new to gardening we are still learning a lot and one of the big things we learned this year is we need to start earlier and we need to learn which plants do well in the heat so we can still have something growing in the summer. Sweet potatoes do very well in warmer temperatures and ours have taken off. They love the heat and have been growing quite well. Maybe we will get a decent sweet potato crop this year.

Several of the herbs seem to be enjoying the warm weather as well. The sage plant had taken off when it was cooler but its growth seemed to have slowed as the temperatures got warmer. I harvested the taller stalks and now it is growing vigorously again. Despite the temperatures the mint is doing great! One of the plants in particular is well shaded and has been growing like mad. I have already had to harvest some so it can continue to grow. Some of the other herbs that are thriving include the thyme, marjoram, lemon balm, and bee balm.

Recently we went to a feed store that we had not been to previously. We found tendergreen bush bean and wando pea seeds. Both of these are supposed to be heat tolerant so this may be something we go ahead and try this year. If we plant them soon, they could be ready by fall. If we don't try them this year we will definitely put them on our list of summer plants for next year.

I can honestly say that we have learned some valuable lessons this year with our garden. You can read all you want to, but by getting in there and doing it you will learn more than any book can teach you. Hopefully we can take our lessons from the spring and have a more successful fall garden.