We’re in the midst of a true summer heat wave, the kind where stepping outside feels like getting hit in the face with a wall of humidity. And the fact that it’s remaining quite warm and humid even at night means there’s really no relief. In the garden, this kind of weather has a few effects. First of all, the summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc.) are ripening at lightning speed. Even the only remaining cucumber plant is managing to put out a nice cuke every other day! As a result, the kitchen has stayed busy, with pickled beets, canned tomato sauce, frozen cilantro, and several batches of oven-dried cherry tomatoes all completed this past week.
Secondly, the fall crops that have already been planted are having to suffer through some truly un-autumn-like weather. This is the challenge with effectively growing crops for fall and it can take years of trial and error to figure out which fall crops grow best in your garden. The key is to find crop varieties that are able to start out in the heat and humidity of summer and deal with the disease pressure that is heaviest at this time of year and then continue to grow well as both temperatures and total daylight decreases into the fall. I find that the Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalogue does an excellent job with charts that show you which cool weather crop varieties perform best at different times of year. I’ve successfully used these charts to find good summer-to-fall lettuce and spinach varieties. My favorite for lettuce is Nevada, a leafy yet crisp green head lettuce that, at least in our area, has shown a remarkable ability to withstand summer heat without bolting.
The final effect of this heat is the increased amounts of water that are required to keep everything growing relatively happily. And so it is perfect timing that our first rain barrel just arrived in the mail! Over the coming weeks, we will hook it up to our downspout and construct a sump-pump-based watering system so that we can use recycled rain water, as opposed to municipal water, in the garden. I’ll document this process as it takes place, just the first of a few measures we’re taking to further reduce our overall energy and resource use, so stay tuned for more!
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