The First 100 Degree Day

Rudbeckia Fulgida "Goldstrum"

It took until August, but Summer has officially arrived with full force! Today it hit 102, out first 100+ degree day of the year. Sadly, it is also suppose to be that warm tomorrow as well. I guess the good news is, this heat wave waited until August and didn't arrive months earlier like it has in the past few years.

First 90 Degree Day of the Year

It was a productive, but very HOT gardening day today. The official high was 95 degrees at 5:00 PM. I started the day by heading down to the garden to finish setting up the stakes. I completed the last 4 rows, for a total of 17 rows laid out. Then I headed back up to  the house. I took my master dahlia list and started comparing the "planted" list to the actual tubers that had come up. I ended up knocking the dirt out of quite a few pots, to see what was happening beneath the soil. After that task was completed, I went back inside and worked on my master map. I ended up with a considerably "smaller" dahlia garden than I started with. At this point I think I will have around 234 dahlias in the garden, compared with the 274 dahlias that I potted up.While there are many factors that I can't control, like vole damage and heat waves, with a little work I can stop the bunny damage. So tonight Dad and I spent two very steamy hours putting up the rabbit fence. It isn't a super hard task, but it's just a pain to step over and work around for the next two months. But hopefully by early August the dahlias will be tall enough that I can remove the rabbit fence. Now all I need to do is adjust my rows,  and attached the dahlia name tags to the poles. Then I can start planting!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Today is the second day of a four day heat wave hitting our area. This is also our second go-around with triple digit temperatures. We already hit the century mark back on July 2nd. It has been one hot July and one warm Summer so far.

More Watermelon Weather

Today was day one of a 3-4 day heat wave that is hitting our area.We topped out at 100 degrees today and the next few days are suppose to be even hotter. This of coarse means lots of watering every evening after work.

As hard as this weather is on most people and plants, there are a few plants that really thrive in the heat. Among them are watermelon. I have to say my three "Blacktail Mountain" melons are growing like mad right now. I swear the vines are putting on an addition 2-3 inches a day and they have started setting baby watermelon in the last week. Today I added wooden boards underneath the small developing melons to protect them from moisture. I counted 5 melon and the vines are just covered with blooms and new growth. I am going to continue with my every-other-night organic liquid fish fertilizer program. The plants look really healthy. There is no signs of the curling leaves and stunted growth that I experienced last year. If there ever was a year I should be able to grow a successful watermelon, it would be this one.

Gypsy Pepper and First 100 degree Day of the Year

 I don't seem to have a very good track record with peppers. They usually grow well for the first 6 weeks or so, and they even set 2-3 peppers. But then they stop growing and just sit there for the rest of the year. So far this growing season, knock on wood, my two pepper plants seem to be doing really well. I think one of my issues in the past has always been over-watering, so I am trying to be conscientious and only water them every third day or so.

I know that it's early days, but so far this "Gypsy" Sweet Pepper has set 3 peppers and the top of the plants is covered in healthy, branching growth and blooms. So far, so good!

* Today was our first 100+ degree days of the year. We hit an official high of 101 degrees which broke a record. It certainly is good pepper growing weather and July has only just begun.

Welcome July

Echinacea Purpurea "Double Scoop Raspberry"

And suddenly, it is July. We hit 99 degrees today and the forecast for the next few days calls for triple digit temperatures. These days my gardening seems to mostly consist primarily of watering, watering and watering some more!

First 100 Degree Day of the Year

Another HOT night watering the dahlia garden! We hit 100 degrees today. In the good news category, there was a layer of cloud that had rolled in by the time we started watering. In the bad news department, it made for a very muggy, sticky evening. Fortunately, there were lots of dahlias blooming. That helped to keep our mind off of the heat.

A "new-to-me" variety - "Kelsey Annie Joy". The pink petaloids are pretty striking against the yellow/orange petals.

Another new one for me - "Appopa Beauty". I really like this one.

"Valley Porcupine" a novelty form in a light blend of pink and white.

"Ryecroft Dave's Choice" a miniature sized white formal decorative.

"Porcelain", a white waterlily. Mine has a strong blush of lavender.

"Tahoma Alicia" a miniature ball in dark pink. It is the Flower of the Year this year down at the Roseburg show. It is an early bloomer so I am not too confident that I will still have blooms to show at the end of September.

"Kathy's Choice" a miniature sized cactus in yellow. I am so glad to be growing this variety again this year.

"Camano Cloud" a BB sized semi-cactus in Pink. 

My two plants are just covered in beautiful blooms right now.

I am astonished at how many dahlia are already blooming. I don't know if it is the warm weather we have had this Summer, or some other factor. But I can't remember the last time I have had this much color this early. And look - no weeds!

My "Pam Howden" waterlilies are also gorgeous right now.

"Lakeview Glow" is our Flower of the Year in Lane County. It is another early bloomer, so it will be interesting to see what the plants look like in another 5 weeks.

"Easter Bonnet", a lavender and white collarette.

After we finished watering for the evening, we sat out on the back patio. The Eastern sky turned dark. We saw multiple flashes of lightning and heard the distant sound of thunder. At the same time, the Western sky was awash in shades of yellow and orange as the sun set. As we went in for the night, a few light raindrops began to fall.

Hot, Hot, Hot! Planting, Day #12

"David Lam" Collerette, Dark Red

I made myself get up early this morning. I knew that it was suppose to be hot and I wanted to get as much done in the "cool" of the morning as possible. Dad and I watered everything on the back patio and then went down to the garden. I dug and planted my first 8 dahlias. They were all located in the shade and it wasn't too bad. But the next 8 holes that I dug were in the sun. By the time I finished digging I wasn't feeling very good. A little light headed and tipsy. I called it a morning - we could plant those dahlias tonight.We came back to the big garden after dinner. I planted the 8 dahlias that I already had holes for and then dug and planted another 11. So, today I ended up planting 27 dahlias for a total of 225 - 97%. I am so close to being done but I just couldn't  finish tonight. It hit 95 degrees today and the humidity is just awful! I came so close to getting all my dahlias planted by July 1st. But no complaints from me that I need one more day of planting. I clearly remember that I wasn't able to even start planting until July 10th last year.