Amanda Takes Off...

While we were out of town, a coworker came and watered my plants. In exchange, she took my CSA off of my hands. She only came over twice, so the rest of the time the plants were being watered by the bottles or in a big plastic bin, soaking up water from the bottom of their pots.

In the two weeks since my last garden update, the weather has been crazy. It was over 80 degrees every day, and two days in a row the max hit 102. We also had really strong thunderstorms. When I got back the plants looks pretty good, except the peppers were nearly flat from a strong thunderstorm. I tied them up and onward we go.

While I was gone, the water in some of the bottles took on a green tint. I haven't seen it before. I wonder if it's some sort of an algae? I've since removed the bottles and I'm leaving them off for a few days to let everything (the bottles and the plants, since the soil's still damp from the last thunderstorm) dry out a bit.

Algae?

The cosmos? Eh, we'll see what happens.

Cosmos

The sesame leaves are doing well. Even the runt in the upper left corner is doing better.

Sesame Leaves

I whacked down most of the dill before we left, leaving some to go to seed. Two of the stalks weren't whacked down enough since they just started producing more dill.

Dill

The hitchhiker plant is doing well, and indeed, I think it's jewelweed. (Thanks, Jonathan!) The poppies? I don't think they're going to bloom. I got the poppies from someone, and I wonder if they were a hybrid and she didn't know that the seeds from the hybrid probably wouldn't bloom.

Poppies and a Hitchhiker

Peppers, Basil, Marigolds

The peppers have grown very tall and the tallest ones are starting to flower. Still, I'm concerned that (as Donna pointed out) the hot, hot heat is harming them.

I also discovered two peppers with blossom-end rot. I pulled those off and ate the good parts.

At this point, the weather is so hot this season that I've sort of thrown up my hands. If I get fruit, great. If not, oh well. At least the garden has given me something more interesting to look at than a parking lot!

Tallest Peppers

Average Peppers

Peppers without Blossom-End Rot