but it’s a Dry Heat
May 11, 2009 at 4:56 am
It has been about 90 in the shade the last few days, so the things that like cool weather are becoming crispy critters but the summer crops are taking off. The Little Marvel peas didn’t make it past the first hot days a couple of weeks ago and The Dwarf Grey Sugar peas were _very_ unhappy. So we fed the Marvel plants to the rabbits and let the sugar peas set as many more pods as they would to save for seed. The Bleushokkers have been very different sorts of peas. They are a purple shelling pea that were traditionally grown in Europe for soup. I had read that they could be eaten pod and all when small and flat. They were tender at that stage, but not sweet like other peas and actually didn’t taste very pea-like. So I tried them as raw shelled peas. They were actually a little bitter. Today I had some of them cooked, what a surprise. They went from being a bit bitter to sweet and starchy. Very much the sort you might make into soup. So half the row goes for seed saving & half for eating for as long as they’ll last. The green shellers, Maxi Golt, were ok, but no thrill so I didn’t plan to save seed from them. They hadn’t made any new flowers in a week so I pulled them up and fed them to the rabbits. All the Sugar Snaps are going strong, but I can see the signs of heat stress. The purple snaps, Sweet Magnolia are also still doing well. Again, half the row to eat and half for seed for next year so I can plant a bigger area.
The potted potatoes have also been drooping in the heat, but since they were in pots I was able to move them where they will get a little shade in the afternoon. So far the tomatoes on the patio seem to be doing well, but the Super Italian paste and the Polish Linquisa have started dropping blossoms. I found a peice of shade cloth to put over one patch, but really need some more for the rest of them. Tomato pollen dies when it gets to be about 90 degrees so the flower falls off instead of setting fruit. Hopefully a little shade in the middle of the day will help keep them a little cooler.
Different kinds of beans are sprouting up all the squash and melons are doing well. I’m just trying not to think about my next water bill.
Miracle with her sunflower plant in my back garden. The bed on the left is the greenhouse with snap peas. The one directly behind her was planted last fall with carrots, turnips, beets and purple broccoli. The only thing left are the beets which will come out soon so we can plant the baby corn. The trellises in the background aremore peas.
The potted potatoes have also been drooping in the heat, but since they were in pots I was able to move them where they will get a little shade in the afternoon. So far the tomatoes on the patio seem to be doing well, but the Super Italian paste and the Polish Linquisa have started dropping blossoms. I found a peice of shade cloth to put over one patch, but really need some more for the rest of them. Tomato pollen dies when it gets to be about 90 degrees so the flower falls off instead of setting fruit. Hopefully a little shade in the middle of the day will help keep them a little cooler.
Different kinds of beans are sprouting up all the squash and melons are doing well. I’m just trying not to think about my next water bill.
Miracle with her sunflower plant in my back garden. The bed on the left is the greenhouse with snap peas. The one directly behind her was planted last fall with carrots, turnips, beets and purple broccoli. The only thing left are the beets which will come out soon so we can plant the baby corn. The trellises in the background aremore peas.
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