Tried to water, reptile sighting and sad news

 Not going to be as hot today, it's comfortable in the shade. Unfortunately none of the garden is in shade so i got out before I took my shower. Very nice breeze almost windy which is also good and makes for better weather for walking later today.

Blurry pictures, sorry. As I got to the garden last night I saw him skitter across to the tree. Picture on the left is from one side, the other is walking around to see the full body. Blends in completely with the tree bark. Hello Meester Leezard!

I think there's new leaves coming out. I hope there is. They are staying nice and moist in that shady spot and when they get grown enough I'll be putting them at the front of the west bed.

 

Not the sad news yet but I have been so focused on the cucumbers I was oblivious to all the holes in the tomatoes. Geez looeez!

Then discovered five of the little worms as I searched diligently. I only had one hornworm but these little buggers are the ones that did most of the damage.

 

Biggest one I found at the tip of my thumb and tiniest one. I tossed one before I started taking pictures of them so yes, there were five between the trellis and the front tomatoes. There is also concerning spots that remind me of spider mite or thrip damage.

 

Needless to say I remember the disaster from last year letting my tomato bush stay in the ground and ended up infested with mites. Not happening this year.

 

If the lighting seems a bit subdued in that top picture of the garden it's because there were patchy thin clouds to the east and I caught it just when one got in front of the sun. Otherwise, it was blindingly clear and bright sun. The zinnias are still hanging in there, likely one to bloom this weekend or next week at the latest. 

The two females on the left runner still have not opened, I did find another one though and pollinated the heck out of it. The other fruit are full size but not filled out still and am getting worried that I'll end up with dry and hollow fruit at this point. I watered as well as I could but that hose needs to be mended now. Pressure is higher coming out of the break than the nozzle.

 

Still not the sad news but I decided to trim 'some' of the tomatoes back. Well like any well meaning person who tries to give a hair cut. Eventually you end up with a lot less than you planned.

First pass up above and what I ended up with. I did cut off some tomatoes but at this point, it's end of the season for them anyway. The one that was cut down to nubs in the front is going to be yanked out tonight hopefully. 

 

I forgot my bag because I didn't intend to cut this much. I just kicked it closer to the bag of soil and will bag it up tonight when I go out. The compost needs that bag over it to keep the stench and flies out.

 

I left another bigger squished tomato out for the pill bugs and it seems to be working. Not as much damage on the cucumbers and a good bit of munching happening on the tomato. I also trimmed back the south bed tomato just a little. 

Dolores' garden is looking nice. I need to get the rest of my onions down there with the other three. I almost tossed some cilantro seeds out then realized I needed to wait for the tomato to go and the onions to come in.

 

Now for the sad news. I have mentioned Gro-Power fertilizer as being, what I consider, one of the best all purpose fertilizers on the market. It was our best selling fertilizer in the nursery as long as I could remember and we were never out of it on the shelves or the pallets on the floor. Well, I got the WAN newsletter for September and apparently the owner and CEO passed away suddenly and it is the decision of the company to stop production after the August 25 orders are filled. It was a California basedproduct from the start, operating out of Chino so it's not like a huge conglomerate company owned by someone overseas.

This is incredibly heart rending to hear. I don't have the money to stock up on it unfortunately and I doubt the nursery has the money to buy not just back stock but try to keep it on the market. It is a nationwide product that started decades ago and there wasn't anything on the market like it. Very sad to see such a great product fall off the market without anything to replace it. I already posted on the garden group about it so word gets out to the people that use it.

I am hoping I can get some with the next check but it's only sold in independent nurseries so would have to find the closest one to me. I remember the smaller bag used to be about $20 but doubt it's that price now. 

Just really not happy about this and can only hope someone on the market figures out a replacement for it that's just as good.

Despite the weather I did not water.

 Got a very late start today and despite it being 87 already at 11 am, there is a cool breeze that keeps the temp outside tolerable. As long as you aren't in the sun. 

This is the onion I got the seeds from.  I don't know why they would plant an onion in a pt with an ornamental plant. It seems to possibly be a white onion down at the neck. Wish I could have taken more than just the seeds because it's obviously neglected. Then there's the Mexican Bird of Paradise, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, also known as Peacock Flower in someone's front yard. Don't know why I never noticed it before in my walks a few months ago. Likely because it wasn't in flower and easy to overlook. 

The cucumbers are big enough to harvest but not very plump. Hesitant to harvest too soon and have to keep track of them or they get woody and inedible. These are pictures from last night and not much different this morning.

The one on the left is showing signs of something munching on it at the stem. Despite having it on the bark. I shifted it a bit more so the bark is more under the stem. You can also see the scraping on the other stems from the blasted pill bugs.

 

Oddly enough the female flowers aren't opening up very quickly, and there is a plethora of male flowers to only two females that I found.

Lots of male flowers. Also one of the females didn't get pollinated, that one on the right. It's obvious and there's another one that also is fading without fruiting. Oh well. I keep making sure to bring my little brush with me every time I go out just to be prepared.

 

It almost seems like they're in stasis or something. Barely growing and not opening, so am keeping an eye on the babies. I was wondering if because there are four fruit growing they are putting all the energy into those instead.

I noticed the telltale smell of cat poop while looking at the cucumbers and turned around to see the lumps in front of the onions. I couldn't just dump it over the wall so I tossed it to the back of the jade plant and hope the pill bugs and insects take care of it. I then put the logs in that area until I can get the other onions in there.

 

The other bed is fine, totally undisturbed. Maybe it's the compost I put in there, oh well. The zinnias are still doing good thankfully and the tomatoes.... no BER right now. But the tomatoes in the south bed are all getting it. I think those bushes will be the next to go as that is now all shade by 11 in the morning. Time for crop change there.

Seriously considered chopping down one of the tomatoes but given the heat, I decided against it. The one I want to remove is also the one with a cage that is supporting the sunflower.

As I was taking a picture of that pair of larger ones the tomato on the left popped off with very little effort. Sigh. I'm going to blame the heat on this issue, hoping the fertilizer I put in is helping them out a bit. Going to double dose that bed when the tomatoes come out, still need more soil for the raised bed and this one.

 

 My pride and joy and supplier of so many tomatoes. I am reluctant to let this one go but it will be time soon enough and as it cools down the sweet peas will go in there.

Watered again because more brutal weather

 At 10 a.m it was already 90 outside. As a result of showering and such, didn't get out to the garden until 11 and it was 92, it is now 95 at 11:40 a.m and projected to be 99 today. Whimpering is happening. I have school shuttle duty today at 2:30, will see if I go for my usual walk.

I got out last night to check things, still no female flowers to pollinate and the fruit that is there, is growing exponentially I swear.

Picked two tomatoes last night, the smaller one was hiding behind the trellis and is a perfect color as you can see. The zinnia is trying to bloom, not sure what color as  yet but this morning it and the other were rather soft and wilting already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, that's the same cucumber 24 hours apart.  It's the only one in the corner of the bed that has another baby near it (that didn't get pollinated it seems).

My little garden. The front tomato bushes I am really tempted to just yank over the weekend because there aren't many fruit on it right now and the one that is coloring hanging on the trellis is about it. That would free up space so I can prep for the next season.

The one on the left didn't get pollinated, oh well. The one on the right looking like a .....rocket will be ready by tomorrow I suspect. I had to circle it because it blended in too well.

You can see the little platform of bark I did for one of the cucumbers and how wilted the leaves were already in the heat. All the others have a piece as well and when I picked them up they were dry underneath. Previous to that arrangement I would pick it up for a picture and it was very damp. 

I also cut the dead leaves off the strawberries. Some are still very loose in the soil but a couple are showing signs of new leaves in the middle. Crossing fingers they will take. They were all still damp including the pepper which is a good thing, I splashed water on them anyway. Not going to put that pepper out in the sun until this heat wave is done. It will fry in no time. All of those can stay in those pots for a long while while they root in. No rush.

 

Onions are growing in the shade which is okay. I think there might be some cilantro trying to come up behind them. Will see what the seedlings look like when they get a second set of leaves. Dolores says that's a pumpkin, I don't think so. Not a usual orange pumpkin at least. If I see her next I'll tell her to put a net sling under it if she doesn't want to keep it I'll take it.

That hose. The original patch I did has given way and the hole is big enough it's lowering the pressure coming out of the nozzle noticeably. There's a smaller break as well so it just needs to go away but I don't have the  money to replace it and asking the other two to pitch in is not a good option. 

Getting one of the pocket hoses would likely be the best thing and use a bucket or pot to keep it in. Would have to get a multi spray nozzle to attach as well. HD is my usually go to but there's a new 'discount' site called Temu that I've been seeing ads for. Disturbingly low prices on things and likely ships from overseas. A 50' expandable hose is less than $10. Honestly might get that next time I get money and just keep my nozzle attached to it. The hose has a shut off valve on it and is likely easier to work than the one on the nozzle.

So will see what happens when I get money next.