It sure is hot out there

[kansasterri]

On the GOOD side the veggies are ripening at double-time, and I would rather harvest than weed. 

On the DOWN side, I skipped the church picnic today because it is kind of awful between 11 and 6. Usually we do not see this kind of weather before August, and in August everything is harvested excepting for okra and melons. But the heat has come early-low on Monday will be 78- and I am trying to keep the potatos watered because they are due to be harvested in about 2 weeks time, and if the plants die now I will not get a baking potato amongst them. Mind, itty-bitty potatos are great when they are browned in butter but I like bakers as well. AND 60 potato plants worth of itty-bitty potatos are not really what I was hoping for when I planted them. 

DH is having  a birthday tomorrow. He hates fusses being made about his birthday but it looks like there will be sweet corn for dinner. And DH has NEVER turned down an ear of fresh-picked sweet corn, LOL. In addition I will ask him what he wants for dinner and I will fix it for him. 

So many PAW writers have the hero start gardening after disaster strikes. The thing is, beginning gardeners do not know how to deal with weather that does something funky, and weather ALWAYS does something funky! It is just what weather does. 

[papaof2]

Beginners in any area need good information - including your "weather ALWAYS does something funky!"

Sunday morning the temperature went from 76 to 86 in maybe three hours and the high was 97.

I wonder how many people have or have access to a mechanical barometer, whether sealed tube (Bourdon tube) or mercury, and have any idea what the changes and the speed of change mean.

Electronic thermometers are convenient, showing 77.2 degrees, but mechanical thermometers, whether mercury or bi-metallic spring, work 24/7/365 without power and are readable by the light of an oil lamp.

Electronic rain gauges are also convenient, giving rainfall in inches (or centimeters) per hour and recording daily / weekly / monthly / yearly accumulations. But a simple can or glass with measurements marked on it can also collect rain - but you're required to read it, record it and empty the collector before the next shower or storm.

Electrical (small generator with fan blades) or electronic (several devices) anemometers are easy to read and often can measure wind gusts and store data, but a flag or a 2' X 4' piece of weather-resistant cloth can make a rule-of-thumb anemometer which can be read to get the approximate wind speed (angle of the flag from the flagpole divided by 4).

Some long-term gardeners (and farmers) might also follow the signs of nature such as the colors of the caterpillar which becomes the Gypsy moth (now officially named "spongy moth") - more orange for a mild winter and more black for a dark and cold winter. I never lived on a farm in an area with those caterpillars but they - and many other things - are a part of our folklore. If someone has farmed successfully for many years using those signs then they work in that area and those people are the ones to ask in your area.

I've read far more than I've done with gardening and my back's on-going deterioration from arthritis means I won't be doing more than flowerpot gardening in the future :-( When I was able to build and maintain them, we had some small raised beds for several years (I really like grape tomatoes fresh from the vine ;-) and had to figure out how to keep them watered in very dry years (275 gallon tote fed by two 55 gallon barrels as pre-filters) and how to keep the birds and squirrels out of them (even a small fence charger can be deadly to squirrels). The first rainwater pre-filter has the rain entering the top through fiberglass screening to catch most of the bigger stuff coming off the roof, then the overflow from that barrel goes into the bottom of the second barrel and its overflow goes to the tote - that will keep most of the heavy particles in the two barrels. Not potable water but certainly OK for watering the garden, it can be filtered for human use and I have the filters. That configuration could provide 2 gallons/person/day for two people in a typical year and water for a solar shower once a week or 1 gallon/person/day for two people in a dry year. Not obvious as to what it is because I've let the ivy overgrow the tote so it's now just part of the foliage.

Keep on posting your experiences and comments.

[iamnobody]

Jun 23, 2024 16:08:31 GMT -6 kansasterri said:

So many PAW writers have the hero start gardening after disaster strikes. The thing is, beginning gardeners do not know how to deal with weather that does something funky, and weather ALWAYS does something funky! It is just what weather does. 

This past Saturday I had 96F and very high humidity, I think 104 degree heat index.

Very little rain here, a little bit every 10 days or so, maybe 1/16 of an inch. Rain is forecast but then disappears or the rain goes around me. Normally the rain storms ride along the side of the mountain and I get it, but not this year. My garden is almost a lost.

But,but - according to non gardeners, all a person has to do is throw some seed on the ground, water it and stand back out of the way because it will zoom up and you will be eating fresh tomatoes by supper time.

[papaof2]

"But,but - according to non gardeners, all a person has to do is throw some seed on the ground, water it and stand back out of the way because it will zoom up and you will be eating fresh tomatoes by supper time."

Don't we wish!!!

[kansasterri]

Sorry for the silence. During the last 10 days we bought a used pickup, got the house painted, celebrated the fourth, and had my heart looked at.

I am now playing phone tag with the doc.

Surprisingly enough, we got a good break from the heat.Oh, the high might be hot but it is about 10 degrees cooler than it was.

I am working hard with harvesting and putting seedlings in where the onions, carrots, and such were. The sweet potato seedlings are loving the heat and the odd rainfall, but the other plants are not so sure.

[techsar]

I'm beginning to suspect you pushed all of that heat our way...96 degrees, 100% humidity....blah!

Everything in the garden is pretty much finished, but most of it got planted in March.

[kansasterri]

Techsar be honest: wouldn't you do the same if you could?

[techsar]

Strange at it may seem, but no. The high temps are typically associated with intense sun, and I have solar powered a/c...

(I know - "he's weird!" )

[papaof2]

I can't think of a better configuration - the sunnier it gets, the more power he has for A/C.