It's a hot one for sure and amending happened.

 Yes indeed it was very warm yesterday and it was downright hot today. I got out to the garden early enough to get some pictures and a bit of watering and then went out after the sun went down. Didn't turn on the AC yet, we're trying to tough it out.

This morning, before watering. I stirred up the center of the bed which is sunken a bit more than the soil around the onions. I think I still need to get rid of a few of the tomatoes. Even with putting one or two in the raised bed and two in the north bed maybe three... I have six plantings I could do. I could take a chance and put one in the south bed where they are now.

The cilantro is definitely bolting. Red stems showing and they're getting a lot taller, I need to figure out how to dry or freeze it correctly because it's a waste if I can't either give it away or store it.

Really looking forward to those peas, the lettuce has practically doubled in size and that garlic... I think it's considered a 'long neck' variety the way it's growing. 

That is going to be 'the little tomato that could' or it's going to just be chewed to death. I noticed the damage on the leaves and it certainly looks like snails or slugs. In the evening I got out there and decided turning the compost was a priority before I started digging in the south bed.

It stank more like garbage than healthy compost. I left it out as long as I could and noticed gnats were starting to notice. I then looked over at where it used to be and ... goddang a gopher had dug up under it!

I was warned that chicken wire is no match for gophers and I'm hoping the double layer plus logs is enough to confound them. I refilled the bucket and put it on a higher pile of logs in the corner. I then took the cultivator and dug down, tunnel appeared to be coming from the south side (where the camera is). If I were enough of a Catholic I'd pray to St. Fiacre to keep my garden safe from the rodents.

 

So this is the one bag of free soil that was next to the bed. I  used the shovel and loosened the soil first then tried to grab the bag of soil next to it. The bag was already decomposing and I tore three holes in it trying to pick it up. I had to get my arms under it to lift it the short distance into the bed.

It did a fairly good job of amending the dirt, with my eyesight not as good it's hard to tell whether it's level or not. I am still edgy about planting anything in there with the backside open to the wall and not sure I got the chicken wire far enough down. I think the cucumber I planted there last year was eaten above ground so they're getting in there for sure. I didn't encounter any serious tunnels when I was digging but there's still time. Grrrr.

I'm hoping that I can actually plant in the ground as well as the bed this year. Will see if that newly turned dirt is disturbed in the morning.