August has arrived.

And with it, the 100 degree temperatures. Not for long though, as they should begin their regular descent to the 90s this month by into the 80s by late September. Yay for Fall!

 

 

But not so fast. I've had a great summer with plenty of flowers in bloom, including tomato blossoms (which usually stop mid-June). In fact, I've had enough tomatoes this year to make three gallon size bags of tomato sauce. The last time I bought a jar of Ragu was in May! This summer has truly been a blessing and I've enjoyed actually having tomatoes in the summer....not December. Although, I 'm sure I will still have December tomatoes too.

 

 

I've also developed a fond love for my grill, using it for just about every meal I possible can. I've gotten into the habit of preparing pizza crust and side items like beans and rice on the weekends to free up dinner time by throwing something on the grill and heating up the side dishes.

 

The Cucumber/Melon/Gourd patch is growing quite nicely in this heat. Last month, I came home to discover a nice cucumber that had grown after our week of rain. I picked it a little too early, as most of the inside was not yet developed. The part that was still made a nice cucumber sandwich though.

 

I recently tried my hand at making hummus and it was delicious. Sadly, I didn't grow any chickpeas this year, so mine where store bought. I'm not sure how homemade hummus connected with pesto in my mind, but it did. My basil took off after all the rain we recently had and its been growing by leaps and bounds ever since. Which is how I arrived at Pesto. I purchased some pine nuts early this week and plan to make my own non-dairy pesto this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Still hoping to get more Zucchini and an actual pumpkin this year. Both plants have taken a beaten from the heat in the past two weeks. I purchase some more Cotton Seed Compost for nutrients and a couple bails of straw to keep them weed free and hold in the moisture.

 

How is your summer garden growing?

Rainy Week

This past week we had what seemed like non-stop rain from Sunday through Thursday, then the sun came back out on my Friday off. All of this rain was great for the garden, the Texas drought situation and it brought temperatures down considerably.

 

 

I'm guessing we got at least two inches of rainfall, although it may be much higher than that. As you can see below, we saw quite a bit of rain.

 

 

 

 

Non-Stop Rain

In North Texas, rain is not common and non-stop rain is a rare, special treat. I realize its only Monday, but it has pretty much been non-stop raining since early Sunday morning and it looks like it could keep going for another day or so.

The temperatures have cooled off, I haven't had to water my garden .... its been nice. This summer is turning out just great.

 

How has the summer been for you so far ?

 

The Elusive Squash Bug

I'm not complaining, seriously.

I am just shocked that I haven't experienced the Squash Bug this year. I used the term elusive above because Squash Bugs have been anything but in past years. They fly in to town around the last week of May or first week of June and redefine the term pest until you've maimed all of your Zucchini, Squash and Pumpkin leaves.

That is just how it happens, at least the last two years in a row.

                   

 

This year I was ready. I've watched my Squash and Pumpkins like a hawk. I took the picture above last week when I spotted what I thought was a squash bug at work one evening. The shape is right, but the coloring is little on the pale side. I thought I noticed a squash bug just the other week in my garden. He managed to get away, but left no eggs behind and I've seen nothing since. Perhaps the cooler weather this spring pushed backed their timing or maybe they forgot where I've live :)

 

Has anyone else in the North Texas area seen Squash Bugs yet?

Summer has arrived

                      

 

We are still a little less then two weeks out from the official 1st day of Summer, but it looks like we will feel like summer this week with temps in the 90s. Its been a really nice spring this year, with plenty of rain and the temps have stayed in the 80s with a nice breeze. A Gardeners Dream. I almost don't want it to change.

 

 

 

Weather holding

The weather seems to be holding in the 80's this coming week with a slight bump into the 90s on Wednesday. I'm not complaining!

Record Low for tomorrow morning

March 1st

Didn't happen, exactly. For months I have been planning for a March 1st planting day. My unofficial last frost date arrived and I woke up to frost on the roof tops and an 18 hour weather forecast that predicts 31 degrees tonight that will feel more like 22 degrees. 

When life hands you lemons, or just really cool weather............you make popsicles (?)

Or in this case, you put your brand new cold frame to use and call it a day.

Four more days to go!

Friday, March 1st is my self declared last frost date, and its just around the corner. The actual last frost date for my area is March 15th, but I'm living dangerous this year and starting two weeks early. It looks like the temps will be staying in the low to mid 40s at night from March 1st on which is pretty common for this time of the year.

Over the past two weeks I've been preparing my raised beds for Tomatoes and all the other goodies I'll be growing this year.

Will you be planting on schedule this year?

Snow/Ice Garden

I woke up to 19 degrees this morning and a leftover White Christmas. Beautiful

Just in time

I harvested my Tomatoes this week and NOW there is a chance of snow. Blessed!

Did it freeze last night?

According to the The Weather Channel it doesn't appear so, but sure enough this morning there was a light glaze of frost on the rooftops.

I found this excerpt from a website called About Frost while Googling the matter:

But the low temperature was only 35°F, How did frost form?

What is important is not what the temperature was at the thermometer but what the temperature was where the frost formed, and if frost formed the local temperature was below freezing.
A thermometer indicates the temperature where the thermometer is, usually a few feet above the ground. Because cold air sinks relative to warmer air and because the ground can cool very quickly the temperature at ground level can be cooler than a few feet higher where the thermometer is, eventhough the thermometer indicates a temperature that is above freezing, it can easily be below freezing a few feet lower. 

So it appears that we had our first frost of the season last night. I really need to a get a ground thermometer and start tracking temperatures in the garden.

and one month later it is

or at least it feels that way. I believe the official first day of Fall is September 22nd, so almost there.

 August was a relatively cool month, for about two weeks. We had lots of rain, 2.82 inches according to NWS which is the highest since March and just odd for August. I welcomed it though!
We also had a severe storm that did tornado-like damage, but turned out to just be fast, straight line winds. A lot of fences were down in our area, a billboard was bent over and twisted and my neighbor had a metal pole go straight through the body of his truck.

Yes, August was an interesting month. I began fertilizing with a variety of liquid fertilizers around mid-August in preparation for Fall Tomatoes. I did this last year around late September and had a large (for me) harvest of green tomatoes right after Thanksgiving. I ended up pulling them right after the first frost (laziness) and allowed them to ripen indoors. I plan to do the same this year, only I want them to be red before the frost.

My cucumbers did not survive August despite the rain. To be honest, I got really lazy with the rain. Even when it stopped it took me another two weeks to start actively watering the garden. I kept waiting on another storm to do it for me.

Now, I'm good though. I just finished weeding the old cucumber bed and will begin planting Beets, Radishes and Beans in preparation for next week.These veggies will produce throughout the fall and early Texas winter (think 60s) while giving plenty of nitrogen to the soil. I plan to plant my Tomatoes in that bed next spring and growing nitrogen rich plants now will prepare the way.

The weather should stay nice the rest of the week with a cold front coming late in the week. The rain might hamper any weeding and planting needed, but I would like to have that finished today in our high of 89 weather. 

Name this vegetable

My labels are really mixed up this year. First I bought two plants that were labeled Okra and turned out to be cucumbers, then the plant labeled cucumber turns out like this -

 I knew something was up when I spotted several female flowers that didn't look like the others. At first I just assumed they were a different variety of cucumber, like Armenian Cucumbers which I like. Then they started growing wider.......and turning yellow on top. I noticed them this afternoon and I have wondered if they are spaghetti squash, but the plant is just like a cucumber.....only not.

 So, I Google cucumber varieties and I came across the Lemon Cucumber (below). I'm still not sure if this is what I have, so if you happen to know leave me a comment please :) This is one of the best parts of gardening, trying to figure out what it is your growing!

                                                                   (Furney's Nursery)

 Also, my watermelon is growing strong.

And there is plenty of rain in the forecast for the DFW Metroplex this coming week. My garden is going to love it!

(WFAA)

More Cucumbers

I came back from New Orleans to find several cucumbers had grown in my absence. What a treat!
Also, there were two Zucchinis ready to pick as well. 

                                                                       (WFAA)
The temps have dropped for this week, last week we had highs in the 100s. The temperature in New Orleans was in the mid 90s last week, but with the humidity it actually seemed hotter. Being a Carolina Girl you would think I wouldn't have notice the increased humidity, but I've apparently spent far too long in the dry North Texas air.

Happy 4th of July!

Say it ain't so!

                                            (wfaa)

It appears we will finally hit 100 degree weather next Monday. Typically we hit this around Memorial Day Weekend, so I'm thrilled the cooler weather has held so long. In fact, today a year ago it was 106F according to The Old Farmers Almanac.

Weather Update

YAY for more rain! Its been keeping those Texas Temps at bay and I really enjoy not having to hand water my garden as often.

Monday's Harvest

Three Zucchinis and a cucumber - the same cucumber I showed you last week, it grew really fast! Plus, we got some heavy rain today. Thank you Lord!

Squash Bugs

(EcoSmart)

Spotted my first squash bug of the season today. Then my 2nd and 3rd. Isn't it a bit early for squash bugs? Last year I didn't spot them until mid July. Of course last year was the first time I grew something worthy of their attraction, so I could be off. After murdering the first three I began a merciless hunt for their children, the eggs. Ironically, I didn't spot any !?! Perhaps I got to them that early.

(David Rhodes) I must admit, they do lay their eggs very neatly. I looked into this a bit further and according to The University of Minnesota the females begin arriving in early June. Right on time! Then they begin to lay their eggs, which produce nymphs (baby squash bugs) and they take over the world......or just your plant.

Last year I was able to get rid of them by pushing them into hot, soapy water and submerging their eggs as well. I had four yellow squash plants and lost two as causalities. I will need to keep an eye on my Zucchini plant for further developments. In other news, its 95 degrees as I type this and no additional rain yet. Come on rain!

More great weather

This time last year we were in the low 100s with a drought. Praise God this summer is off to a better start!