It might have rained, somewhere.

 Got up way earlier than usual but couldn't figure out why I couldn't sleep. Then realized there wasn't a single whisper of a breeze outside at 8 am. I could walk faster than the supposed air was moving. There's hazy overcast and with a fan on my and the window open it's comfortable not even to 80 yet and it's only 11:30. Crossing fingers for today but it's hazy overcast and very sporadic wind, which does not bode well for comfort later.

Just a sunflower showing off last night. I shifted the center plant cage to give it support that wasn't directly on the flower.

A friendly little orb weaver in the garden last night. Very tiny and didn't notice it this morning unfortunately. Hope she is still hanging out somewhere and didn't get eaten.

Yes I watered last night and checked the axil growths... they do indeed look like leaves or flowers and sure enough, flowers this morning!

They unfortunately look like male flowers and without anything else with flowers in the garden I am not  holding out for cucumbers again.

Flowers on both plants with more buds coming up. Typically you think of pollinators as flying things but the way these are growing they likely rely on ants and other crawling insects for pollination. Had to research and just like zucchini, they put male flowers out to attract pollinators and then start producing female flowers. I'll have to get a paint brush and pretend to visit these guys to stimulate female production. Since they're still small plants making male flowers first is usual apparently.

 

I am figuring out that the tomatoes need shade on them to prevent that yellow shoulder. The ones out in the sun are doing it but not the ones hidden under the bush. The majority of the fruit on the trellised one are shaded so those will be fine, those two are on the front tomatoes. Then there's the south bed....

Just absolutely pathetic unfortunately. If I tear them out then Dolores will likely take advantage of the space. There are flowers coming on these bushes still but they are not doing well. Going to wait for the last of the larger fruit to be ready. That smaller bush though, hasn't given me one good tomato. They've all been rotted. As I said, the zucchini that was there never did well either so something in the soil right there is causing an issue. Nothing has ever done well in that bed.

 

 Looking back in my posts the zucchini was growing the same time of year in August and September.

That picture was in September just before I pulled out the smaller one. Looks exactly the same condition as the tomato. So something is buried in that soil or the position or something is not good. Combination of wall and position and soil is just bad. The peas didn't do well, the cucumber, nothing does well there. The lettuces did okay so it's likely better for shady type plants. Dolores can have that bed, I'll make do with the other two. Just have to figure out how to get the west bed deeper in height for better soil.

I almost brought down seeds to put in this morning then stopped and left them in the basket. Tomatoes aren't finished, soil isn't prepped and it's still too warm, today is a small break in the temperatures but reports say it's going back up again next week and the week after. School starts soon about the same time as the higher temperatures.

Two times a year it's hard to do anything in the garden, height of summer and winter. Or should it be the depth?