The Garden Survives - Barely

All but one of my artichokes has died. The lone survivor struggles on along with tomatoes that are looking increasingly stressed. Over 40 days of 100 degree weather and no rain are not what a garden needs. As of this week, my lavender is dying, but my herbs seem to be still on track to make it through August.

I figure that if my garden survives August, then the plants will make it into the fall. I am trying to get new tomato plants from two of my present plants. I have planted over-hanging branches into pots of soil so that the stems will root. Once rooted, I will cut them free and plant in a different area. I am not trying to root the tiny cherry tomato. This plant has been prolific, but its tomatoes are so sour that I cannot eat them alone. This tomato was supposed to produce very sweet tomatoes. Oh, well.

My okra is thriving and I get fresh pods almost every day. The blooms look like a yellow hibiscus with a mahogany center. I love raw okra, so the fresh pods seldom make it indoors. Fresh okra and fresh tomatoes - yum.

One eggplant has finally set fruit. I have a whole row of eggplant that seems very happy in the heat, but do not produce. This week the eggplants were attacked by tiny web worms. When I found them, I squished them by hand. One eggplant had a tiny spider working hard to subdue a worm twice his size. I left that plant alone. Today, I checked it - no worms. The spider had succeeded.

I keep hoping for rain. Maybe next week.

Gardening at over 100 -- Degrees, that is

I planted a garden this year with little regard to practicality. I planted vegetables that I wanted to eat including artichokes and eggplant. Of course, I have tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and okra. I did not do a lot of homework. I had gardens in the past and usually had fairly good success. I should have been more deliberate and studious.

I planted artichoke seeds late last year. Some plants came up and did fine through the winter. I did not have a freeze this year. Growing up, it always froze in the winter, usually several times, but in the last ten years freezes have become rare.

Anyway, the artichokes grew rapidly, and I soon discovered I had planted them too close together. I transplanted as many as I dared, trying to space them far apart. Most of the transplants made it, even the one I put in the midst of the parsnips.

All was well until the temperatures climbed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and stayed there day after day. Despite my watering, my artichokes began to dry up. Soon, the plants were infested with black aphids. I don't use pesticides. A Ph.D. in chemistry makes me too knowlegable about the dangers of poisons whether man-made or natural. I washed the aphids off: they returned. I tried soap and water and washed some more. The soap and water was successful. The aphid numbers were greatly reduced, but the artichokes continued to decline.

I went online to research artichokes. Okay, a little late, but at least, I was trying. Artichokes don't like high temperatures. In high heat conditions, they go dormant. We had record breaking high temperatures (as high as 106) day after day. My artichokes were definitely unhappy - their leaves curled and the whole plant lost color.

So, I must wait. Either my artichokes have gone dormant (I hope) or they have died. All I can do is wait for cooler temperatures to find out. Whatever the outcome, next year I plant in partial shade.

Photo by flickring