It Got Up To 95°F Today

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Bob Bauer
May 22, 2017 (Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 2 minutes

May 22, 2017

It got up to 95° today so off came all the plastic, out went the mini greenhouses, and in came the shade tunnel. I don't think lettuce likes summer heat so now it's got some shade. The beans finally greened up. They have been yellow for so long that I thought they needed nitrogen. They needed heat..

They might be the most heat loving plant in the garden because the first zucchini has six 5" fruit on it, the tomato has three fruit, and the peppers have blossoms. It's a good thing father's day is close at hand because the straw is getting depleted. Even though my gound has been amended for twenty years, cracks are starting to form where the moisture is leaving the soil. I scrape the ground and fill in the cracks, and then cover with straw, weeds or compost..

May 23, 2017

The "slow to bolt" Perpetual Spinach has gone ahead and bolted already. It's May 23rd. I'm a bit disappointed. It's planted in the greenhouse so it has gotten warmer than the row planted outside. I cut off all the tops, removed a side panel on the greenhouse and soaked the soil. Maybe I can extend the harvest for awhile. It tastes just like spinach so I was hoping to enjoy it all summer..

I've got regular spinach in the garden too, because I don't think you can have enough spinach. I know you can have enough cantaloupe because I planted five hills last year. Did you know cantaloupe gives you gas? My wife does. This year I'll find out if you can have too much lettuce. It grows faster as the temperature rises and I have five rows in various stages of maturity, and half a pack of seeds left..

May 24, 2017

In May you can direct seed basil, beans, cucumbers, cantaloupe, okra, pumpkin, savory, spinach, squash, sunflowers, and watermelon, so I think I'll go ahead and plant my last three hills of cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew melon. I planted a hill of each on March 31st and another hill of each on April 29th so they will all be spaced out a month apart. This way we can keep up with eating them, and not have to give too many away. The corn all came up without being planted under plastic so I'm sure the melon will too..

The plastic got on my nerves with it's bright reflectivity, and now that it's gone the garden feels and looks more peaceful. The straw mulch is a bit bright now but maybe I'm being over sensitive..

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