Ahhh...summer

Today is such a beautiful day here in NorCal. It might get to 90 degrees later today, but it's nice and cool and I'm sitting here with the windows open....finding and reading gardening blogs like mine!

Here is a picture of the raised beds. I remember when they were nekkid!

So I'm almost done with updating the drip irrigation system throughout the entire front and backyards. I was walking along the fence on the South side of the house in the front yard and discovered 1) 1/8" drip irrigation line coiled up and 2) a low knot hole in the fence. Putting 2-and-2 together, I threaded the line through the fence, and now just need a converter piece to take it from 1/8" tubing to 1/4" tubing so I can use all of my extra supplies and actually be able to auto water the raised beds!

Although it is beautiful here today in NorCal, we are quickly approaching the 98-110 degree timeframe of July and August. This time of year can test any plant, and gardeners need to be able to spot dry plant stress quickly, or risk losing the plant before getting off work for the day!

Here are some flower pics from this morning:


I was in the raised bed garden watering this morning, and I've noticed an uptick in the number of yellow jackets and birds. The yellow jackets have chased me away for now (hence sitting here), but I was out long enough to make a few observations:

Some of the tomato plants have some sort of fungal disease. :0( I'll have to look into it more in depth, and soon! There are 2 schools of tomato thought -- those that prune the lowest suckers and those that don't. Next year I will be with the school that prunes them. I have a feeling they have directly contributed to the fungal disease.

The soybeans and broccoli are beginning to show signs of grasshopper "chompage" -- because when I'm hunting for caterpillars at night, I am finding fewer and fewer. And we're finding grasshoppers in the yard....and my plants are still being eaten, but they look different...