Wednesday, July 29, 2009

It's a heatwave

The weatherman predicts we are half way through our "once in a lifetime" heatwave. The normally temperate West Coast is experiencing daytime temps in the low to mid 30s Celsius with high humidity and evening lows of 20 to 22C. Ontario, which usually gets these types of temps, is colder and wetter than normal, Global Warming perhaps?

So my garden is in shambles. Almost everything is picked, the only things left are tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, my struggling eggplants and the pumpkins. But none of them are really happy. My tomatoes will have to be pulled, they have wilted and some of the branches are dry and yellow, it's not the heatwave, it's something missing in the soil because the problem showed up some time ago but I'm not sure what it is. The tomatoes in the other greenhouse are doing just fine. I wonder if tomatoes have been growing in the same beds for too many years? This is only my second year and who knows; the previous owners could have been growing tomatoes here since they bought the place..hmmm!




On a good note, the pan de zucchero I transplanted is growing well and the radicchio seeds I put down have sprouted and are showing their true leaves. The broccoli seeds have also sprouted but the Brussels sprouts and cauliflower have not made an appearance.

Pan de zucchero in the back, radichio in the front and flanked on both sides by weeds!!! It's just to hot to get out there and pull them. I tried working in the evening but the skeeters ate me alive!



And the potatoes..are they ready to pull? The leaves are turning yellow and dying off.



This year my veggie garden will be a stop in the first ever Powell River Edible Garden Tour, let's hope I have something to show and more importantly something Edible.

Margaret

2 comments:

Scrappy quilter said...

Margaret, it's a disaster here too. Everything is slow because we had such a cool spring. The apples are small, the cucumbers a lost cause, even the beans aren't growing. Not sure what the potatoes are doing. I'm so frustrated because we rely heavily on our garden. It's just been a crazy summer. Our nights are down to +10C, usually unheard of during July.

SuburbanGardener said...

Hi. I read some about the heat. Oh boy... So much for mild weather. The potatoes can wait some more. It's a good sign that they are changing to brown. Try to pick the deadest one first, then you will see what is growing down under. It's hard to wait on the potatoes I know. Such a mystery until the end. Stay as cool as possible!! Good luck.
SG