July 22, 2014Garden Journal (yr 2: vol 8)

Lettuce going to seed.

Last week while we were camping on Salt Spring Island the Okanagan was hot, hot, hot! When we returned our grass was crispy yellow but the tomatoes and peppers were in heaven. The plants are loaded and I am waiting patiently to pluck off the first ripe tomatoes. The squash plants are producing but not as much as I expected. There seems to be some blossom end rot and poor pollination. I’m going to try hand pollinating to see if that results in more fruit. As for the blossom end rot I have read that a calcium foliage spray can help but I need to do more research.

The cucumbers are starting to produce and so are the bush beans. I had to stop my children from pulling up every single carrot the other day, not that I can blame them because they are pretty tasty. We still have plenty of kale, swiss chard and beets, but no lettuce or spinach. I’ve let some lettuce go to seed. out of curiosity.

My echinacea is blooming and I’m not the only one happy to see them. The bees have been enjoying them just as much as me. And about bees.. I have this fantasy of having backyard bees… is that crazy?

A couple weeks ago: Garden Journal (yr 2: vol 7)

This time last year: Garden Journal (vol 9)