The hottest time of year has arrived. Over 90 degrees yesterday and today. Expected to hit triple digits in a week or two. So, no question the lettuce is going to bolt. No real harvest this year of lettuce or spinach. Glad the carrots are going. That's it for cool weather crops.
Still one of the worst things about the environment here is how dry it is. Humidity is only 5 percent. That means the temperature doesn't drop very effectively when the sun goes down and there is no such thing as dew in the morning.
Took a long time for me to realize that the temperature doesn't affect me as much as the low humidity does. Trips out of state and to different areas which were hot but more humid demonstrated that to me.
Doesn't help in the house so much but for the garden, the irrigation schedule helps simulate cooler temps and morning dew to a good degree. I have timers set for late afternoon and early morning.
Good side of the increased temperatures are the warm weather crops are perking up more. Not sure we'll see a crop of cilantro at all. Tomatoes are picking up speed a bit. Potted zinnias are gaining size.
The increased heat helps with the area I've been solarizing. I can pull the plastic off and start planting out this week. May have to harden off a couple of things which have been in partial but not complete sun so far. Have to give them a trial before planting them out.
Finally got a new filter for the pipe going to two zones which hasn't had a filter for a while. Though when I check the filer still in place, it was pretty much clear. Seems suspending the pipe higher and adding a cap seriously increased the water quality. I did still insert additional material to the center of the filter to help remove as many minerals as possible.
I'm seeing more effect from the weed killer now. This weed killer can be a bit slow but it's thorough and effective. I'm seeing fewer and fewer immediately evident weeds everywhere. For the moment, it's looking like I may bring the weeds finally under control this year.
One thing I can state I have accomplished. I have areas which are growing where nothing grew previously. Some of those spots I wasn't completely sure I would ever see grow anything but weeds because it was almost pure clay. Still fighting weeds there and the weeds which are growing indicate the pH is still too high. But that's improving all the time.
Now I need to get out this week and trim the grass while watching out to not injure toads. I also need to take the chain saw out, trim lower branches of the remaining elm trees. Then take the cordless drill, drill some holes and pour some pure acid in them. At this point, the larger the fruit trees become, the more the elms will limit their growth by crowding roots and stealing nutrients.
Still one of the worst things about the environment here is how dry it is. Humidity is only 5 percent. That means the temperature doesn't drop very effectively when the sun goes down and there is no such thing as dew in the morning.
Took a long time for me to realize that the temperature doesn't affect me as much as the low humidity does. Trips out of state and to different areas which were hot but more humid demonstrated that to me.
Doesn't help in the house so much but for the garden, the irrigation schedule helps simulate cooler temps and morning dew to a good degree. I have timers set for late afternoon and early morning.
Good side of the increased temperatures are the warm weather crops are perking up more. Not sure we'll see a crop of cilantro at all. Tomatoes are picking up speed a bit. Potted zinnias are gaining size.
The increased heat helps with the area I've been solarizing. I can pull the plastic off and start planting out this week. May have to harden off a couple of things which have been in partial but not complete sun so far. Have to give them a trial before planting them out.
Finally got a new filter for the pipe going to two zones which hasn't had a filter for a while. Though when I check the filer still in place, it was pretty much clear. Seems suspending the pipe higher and adding a cap seriously increased the water quality. I did still insert additional material to the center of the filter to help remove as many minerals as possible.
I'm seeing more effect from the weed killer now. This weed killer can be a bit slow but it's thorough and effective. I'm seeing fewer and fewer immediately evident weeds everywhere. For the moment, it's looking like I may bring the weeds finally under control this year.
One thing I can state I have accomplished. I have areas which are growing where nothing grew previously. Some of those spots I wasn't completely sure I would ever see grow anything but weeds because it was almost pure clay. Still fighting weeds there and the weeds which are growing indicate the pH is still too high. But that's improving all the time.
Now I need to get out this week and trim the grass while watching out to not injure toads. I also need to take the chain saw out, trim lower branches of the remaining elm trees. Then take the cordless drill, drill some holes and pour some pure acid in them. At this point, the larger the fruit trees become, the more the elms will limit their growth by crowding roots and stealing nutrients.
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