Summer in the Garden

Last week, we were down the Shore for a little family getaway and the weather was almost cold the first few days.  It was a nice time away, but we returned home to the start of some serious heat.

We are in the midst of a rather impressive heat wave; it has been over 100 degrees the past three days and the humidity is high, so it feels like walking into an oven when you go outside. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and cool things off a bit. My flowers in the back patio are looking a little scorched, but there really was nothing for it. I'm hoping they rally with cooler temps.

Pre-scorching, obviously.

In practical terms, it means I'm out weeding and watering before 7 a.m. just to be in a tolerable temperature. This morning it was 93 degrees by 9:30 a.m.

 

The community garden where we have our big plot also has six sour cherry trees that in past years have gone unharvested.  The president of the garden association sent out a plea to pick so we were happy to help ourselves!

By the time the girls and I got there, the low hanging fruit was gone, but we were able to get a goodly amount with a regular ladder.  I made two pies with it!  Pro tip: a metal straw is brilliant for pitting them and made quick work of the job.

We've had a spectacular strawberry harvest this year (almost double the yield of last year) and I'm happy with how things are sitting with the vegetables I put in.  

I think we got around 60 cups this year!

I've already got two cucumbers well on their way; it will be the earliest cuke harvest I've had.  I planted four this year.  I also have another watermelon, but I got proper trellises for both the cukes and the watermelon to keep them somewhat contained in their respective corners.  

One of my tomato plants came with a green tomato on it that ripened in May, but that was a total fluke, and the tomatoes are just starting to flower a bit now. Two of them were volunteer plants from the perimeter garden that I was given, so they are a bit small at the moment.

The carrots finally took! It took two sowings to get it, but the second time was the charm (weirdly, it was the same situation last summer. First sowing, nada. Second sowing, a few. This year, I've got three different carrot patches going).  I have two peppers going and the one has a couple on it that are ripening v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.  

I moved my blueberry bushes to the community plot last fall because they were doing poorly in the back patio garden and the one especially is doing much better.  The other one was flagging pretty badly last summer, but it might rally yet.  I'm hoping another year in good sunshine will perk it right up.  

Taken in early May, when it was flowering.  The berries are looking quite nice at this point!

The raspberries in the back are coming into harvest now and we have quite a crop! I was worried we wouldn't get as many since last year's harvest withered since we were away, but it doesn't seem to have affected this year's crop much.

This was just the first picking.  We've had several pie tins already and there is so much more to pick!

And, drum roll please...the mulberry finally fruited!!  I'm so happy about it, as I absolutely adore mulberries.  Mine is a dwarf variety, and I put it in the back patio several years ago and despaired of getting fruit.  This year, we got a good handful!  

The fig tree died with the move to the big garden, but it was pretty leggy anyway and had never fruited, so I pulled it out and replanted with a healthy-looking plant from our local hardware store.  Here's hoping for some figs next summer!  Gardening is a marvel.  I learn so much every year, and it keeps me moving forward with hope. Plus, there really is no better therapy than putting your hands in the dirt!