How's your garden doing?

[Red Arrow]

I typically let my peppers ripen to red, except for orange Habos of course. My Cayenne peppers are doing well.  Serranos are doing OK if I get to them before the birds that eat the bottom.  Jalapenos are doing well, standard, Mucho Nacho, and Mammoth.  Red Habos are doing well.  Regular orange Habos are starting to produce after several plants got a late start due to gophers. I wound up replacing all of them and some of them twice.  Habos typically come on strong around September.  I had enough Hot Cherry Peppers to pickle 2 quarts.  Tobascos are slow this year.  Anaheim/Big Jim/New Mex 6-4 are doing better than the last several years but the burn ban makes me leary of firing up the roaster so I'll probably have to dry some. Poblanos are starting to turn red.   I've done two dehydrator loads so far.  Hot Banana peppers are plentiful for adding to frozen or canned corn off the cob.  This is the first year for me to have Chiltepin and Tepin (bird) peppers.  The Chiltepins are plentiful and are turning red. Two pots of Tepin plants are lagging the Chiltepins.

Okra was going gang-busters and I made a batch of Gumbo when I was getting about a pound of Okra per week about a month ago.  Now they are dying off.  I don't understand it because last year the Okra did really good all through the hot.  I got a few eggplants.  Tomatoes did real good for a while. Squirrels were getting the tomatoes so I picked all of them near the end of June.  We are just now almost out of fresh bag ripened tomatoes.  At least the squirrels didn't get them all.  The tomato plants are mostly dying.  Squirrels have shredded them but there are a few green areas.  If they survive until the weather cools, I might get another batch.

Edit:
I knew I was forgetting one variety.  Santa Fe peppers are doing a lot better than the last several years.

[Gaspar]

Habos have just started coming on.  I've had tons of tomatoes, but the yield has halted in this hot weather.  Cayenne and Jalapenos are very productive.





No bugs or disease this year, but the heat is really taking a toll on the tomatoes now.  I'll probably pull them in the next couple of weeks and put down some winter squash.

[Red Arrow]

Habos have just started coming on.  I've had tons of tomatoes, but the yield has halted in this hot weather.  Cayenne and Jalapenos are very productive.
No bugs or disease this year, but the heat is really taking a toll on the tomatoes now.  I'll probably pull them in the next couple of weeks and put down some winter squash.

How do you keep the squirrels from getting all your tomatoes?  I actually had about a dozen small green ones even just a week ago but they are gone now.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Cayenne are doing ok for being in a big pot, sitting on a concrete slab in direct afternoon sun....moved the pot yesterday to let it get morning sun, but afternoon shade.  Should be happier...or at least survive for a while longer.  No new fruit set in last couple of weeks - excessive heat for blossoms to pollinate.  Many are turning red, so will probably pick some tonight, and then more in a week or so.

[heironymouspasparagus]

How do you keep the squirrels from getting all your tomatoes?  I actually had about a dozen small green ones even just a week ago but they are gone now.

Eat the squirrels.  Grilled in small cubes, then mixed into a nice fresh tomato marinara sauce (tomatoes from the garden), then served over an organic whole wheat bowtie pasta?

[Townsend]

Eat the squirrels.  Grilled in small cubes, then mixed into a nice fresh tomato marinara sauce (tomatoes from the garden), then served over an organic whole wheat bowtie pasta?

Then go for a swim in the cement pond.

[RecycleMichael]

My pool is so hot I am thinking of throwing in vegetables and making soup.

[custosnox]

I'm ready to cry.  We have been so busy with the wedding that the garden has suffered, and with this happening during the heat, it just looks pathetic.

[Gaspar]

How do you keep the squirrels from getting all your tomatoes?  I actually had about a dozen small green ones even just a week ago but they are gone now.

I shot a bunch of them last year for going at the tomatoes and for chewing up the siding on my house.  Since then, they seem to have learned a lesson.  Haven't had a single problem with tree-rats this year.

[Townsend]

I'm ready to cry.  We have been so busy with the wedding that the garden has suffered, and with this happening during the heat, it just looks pathetic.

Soaker hose as a stop-gap for now?

[Red Arrow]

I shot a bunch of them last year for going at the tomatoes and for chewing up the siding on my house.  Since then, they seem to have learned a lesson.  Haven't had a single problem with tree-rats this year.

One of my friends did that too.  I would probably do more damage to the plants than the squirrels if I tried to shoot the squirrels.

[heironymouspasparagus]

I'm ready to cry.  We have been so busy with the wedding that the garden has suffered, and with this happening during the heat, it just looks pathetic.

As Townsend said - soaker hoses.  Get a few, and just leave them in place.  Attach a regular hose to a timer valve at the faucet, set it for 2 to 3 hours (maybe more), every other day or maybe 3 days.  Move the regular hose to the soaker.  Let's you do good, effective watering in under 5 minutes a day (move to different soaker each day, or 5 X number of soakers over the entire day if move them all on one day).  The point is to get the water down into the ground beyond the top 3 inches, and shorter, more frequent watering sessions are catastrophic - it will dry out and die.  You want moisture to get down to the 6" to 12" zone.  (Same thing applies to lawn, but for bermuda, why bother?  Let it brown, then come back with the first rain.  It is stupid to water bermuda grass here.)

Look under the mulch and if the ground is still moist - you are ok.  

Wilting leaves - if leaves wilt in the afternoon, but recover to normal overnight - the plants are fine and are getting adequate moisture!!  Look for wilting in the morning and if you see it, then soaker hose them!  The plants will look ragged this time of year, but if you can keep them alive for the next 3 - 4 weeks or so, they will recover and give you a fall crop (probably smaller than spring).

NEVER use a sprayer sprinkler!!  Soaker hoses!!!

[custosnox]

Soaker hose as a stop-gap for now?

Too poor for that kind of fancy stuff

[heironymouspasparagus]

Too poor for that kind of fancy stuff

Get just one and move it around, then.

75 foot Soaker Hose about $12.  Timer about $10.  You have a garden hose already?  Can get those for 5 or 6.

Will save that money in watering costs every month.  Plus your time...whatever you feel that is worth.

[DolfanBob]

Get just one and move it around, then.

75 foot Soaker Hose about $12.  Timer about $10.  You have a garden hose already?  Can get those for 5 or 6.

Will save that money in watering costs every month.  Plus your time...whatever you feel that is worth.

Dang! where you buying your hoses?