Might have to water again...

 It's Summer this weekend! Today we have already closed up and started the AC because it's going to be 92 outside and I was running the stove for lunch. So temp inside apartment is very comfy, well at least it is in the bedroom, hoping there's enough air movement in the living room.

 Got a trunk eye's view of the tree yesterday with the the lime green spring growth looking good with the blue sky and dark branches. There were crows out before I took the picture, three of them with two on the ground and one doing lookout in a tree. As soon as Rocky turned the corner to the lawn he saw the two on the ground and the one in the tree was cawing an alarm. I stayed back to see if Rocky would go into full hunter mode but I think he knows the crows are almost as big as he is and not a challenge so they were able to fly off when he started walking again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two larger cauliflowers are growing nicely and I will be going out to water tonight because I can guarantee they will be a bit on the wilty side, along with the Romaine. These were taken yesterday and everything was nice and perky. Despite the holes in the leaves they aren't being ravaged as badly as I thought. The heads are smaller than my fist but getting there, hoping the heat doesn't trigger them to open up and bolt. The one in the front has some leaves curled in the center so it may be forming a flower head but I fear the coming heat may not do it any good.

Tomato is almost twelve inches high now but still looking a bit thin and weak compared to what it should look like. I'm thinking it's a combination of the heat at the back of that bed drying out the soil a lot more and no fertilizer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, remember the tray of seeds? There are three different varieties of peppers in that tray and due to the accident of knocking them on the kitchen floor.... well your guess is as good as mine on which ones are which now.  But so far six have broken the surface with another two coming up. I don't have the space for growing all of them so will be picking random ones out that are the strongest and will eventually drop them in the south bed and maybe in the raised bed after the potatoes are done.  The issue with pepper plants is the difference between the leaves of the varieties is very minimal. Tomato leaves can vary quite a bit so if you don't know what you have, at least you know they're different. But peppers, good luck. Other than unusual varieties like the Fish Pepper that's variegated and smaller high heat peppers like Thai chilis that have smaller leaves. With the Poblano, I think the leaves are bigger than the Jalapeño and I think the green bell is somewhere in between This all has to be determined when they have a full set of true leaves at about the stage that larger tomato is.

The two tomatoes are doing well, the tallest one is almost four inches which is survivable size compared to the foundling that's growing now. I may well plant both of them together due to lack of space. 

Technically, and by all garden rules, what I am planting in the raised bed for the third or fourth year is a big hokey pokey no no.  Have to rotate crops and definitely not plant tomatoes in the same place year after year. I rotated with peas and sweet peas one year but the timing didn't work out this time. I've got potatoes (which are also in the nightshade family) in the bed and will be following them up with peppers, which are not advised to be planted near tomatoes either. But I really have no choice. Limited space and crops I will eat.

If things go well this year I will consider planting peas or something like that in the fall/winter. The weather is so screwy in San Diego that you can say 'Fall/Winter' and it's going to end up planting in November because you have to start in September or October and it's usually too warm for planting out purchased starts. 

I almost agreed to pick up two asparagus crowns someone was offering but that would involve driving off to my daughters neighborhood and didn't want to spend the extra gas right now. Besides, of the three varieties they had only one I think would have marginal for success in my small pocket of the county which is called Purple Passion. I told them if someone else wants them I can wait it's just a daydream for me.  UC157 is the preferred variety that tolerates the heat and is a male plant (yes it makes a difference). I know some nurseries sell it but they are in bundles of like 25 which I do not need. I would plant it in the south bed due to having shade in the afternoon and not much else would grow there. 

I would plant it in the south bed due to having shade in the afternoon and not much else would grow there. Asparagus can take up to 3 years to mature in order to grow good size spears and who knows what's going to happen in the next four or five months let alone a year.