Mid Summer
Heat, fresh fruits/vegetables and bugs
Mid-summer is that time of the year when the schools are out, bugs are in, the farm is at its peak productivity, and the work on the farm never seems to end.
The extreme busyness of spring is behind us as we are settling in to deal with the heat, humidity and bugs.
The bright spot in this sticky, unbearable heat is the freshest of produce that we get to enjoy.
The unpredictable late May and early June weather delayed planting seedlings. This pushed the planting dates by a week or more, and in a short growing season, that is a bit of a penalty to pay.
Young plants do not like continuous rain, so all you can do after you get the seedlings in the ground is hope that Mother Nature is not too harsh.
Bug Bags:
If it is not the rain, it is the warm or cold weather, so there are plenty of variables that a young plant has to deal with in its early stages of growth. Once the weather is overcome, there are still other obstacles - a young plant could be killed by bugs in just a few days. Gourd plants like snake gourd, ridge gourd, bottle gourd, and Zucchini are eaten by cucumber beetles and slugs.
Row covers are the most cost-effective way of dealing with bugs. The wind blows the fabric in all directions, making it a bit hard to maintain if it is not secured properly. So we decided to use the bug bags that I had talked about in the last post.
They worked well to prevent bug damage on all the gourd plants and the eggplant seedlings. This is the first time in many years that I have not replaced any plants. Most often, within the first week after transplanting, I have had to replace a lot of the seedlings.
Zinnias:
Growing vegetables is time-consuming, so I don’t get ambitious. A few colorful flowering plants are all I need. I planted a few zinnia seeds.
Sprinkled the seeds in some soil with compost and watered them. They grew without any fuss, and the flowers are beautiful, providing a visual treat for humans and bugs alike.
Marigolds are another flowering plant that is easy to grow from seed.
Perennial Tropical Vegetable Plants - Hyacinth Beans, Snake Gourds, and Malabar Spinach:
All of these plants have become perennial with seeds falling in winter and young plants sprouting in late spring or early summer. Even with the extreme cold weather we had last winter, these seeds stayed viable and were able to germinate.
Seed starting is a time-consuming work, so these plants that start on their own are great.
Vegetables we are harvesting:
All the summer plants are in peak productivity now.
We are also harvesting Okra, snake gourd, bitter gourd, bell pepper, green chilies, green beans, hyacinth beans, bell pepper, sweet long pepper, eggplant, and ridge gourd.
