Gina - (sorry if OT) - what method do you use to get the cabbage leaves to peel off easily? Has always been a frustrating endeavor for me. I've heard of freezing the whole head of cabbage (which I haven't tried yet). Blanching the head and peeling off limp leaves has a great hazard potential for klutzy me.

Hi Cindy,

Well, this time around I actually used the inner outer leaves of the cabbage plant. A bonus for growing your own as opposed to store bought. So, I simply wilted them in boiling water before rolling them up. It worked beautifully!! I know what you mean about using the head leaves... I found the best way is to score the core and add the head to boiling water. I haven't tried freezing. Maybe that's why it's considered a lost dish... People don't garden as common as they once did? All I know is that I will make them using the outer inner leaves with every cabbage harvest.

Rita, I LOVE gardening my own veggie! I didn't begin until Spring 2014... Who knew it'd suit me so well! Of course retirement has its benefits when it comes to tending to it! Thank you for the compliment... We have people stopping by to oggle it. Not surprising as it's close to the roadway and is a garden of Eden in this vast dry desert!!

Now one for Farmer Dill, or anyone else who would like to chime in: Here is my carrot and onion patch. We have another 5 days of 104 days ahead. What is your advise on them - harvest or let be? They are shade covered with my ability to water 3-4 times per day if needed. As experienced gardeners, your advise is golden!

Thank you!!

Gina

Those onions appear to have a long way to go. Do your best to keep the going except for those you can use as green onions. We are just getting into 90's and my onions are finished. Looked like this a couple of weeks back.
starting to string them up for drying now.

I only grow carrots in winter, so I really don't know how much heat they can take.

A big thank you, Farmer Dill!!!

I was hoping you would recommend letting them stay in ground! I have harvested a few as giant green onions already. I'll keep a close eye on them and if I begin to see any adverse symptoms, I'll pull immediately.

I pulled a few carrots today. They are large enough to pull, so I think I'm going to go ahead and process them. They were always intended for the freezer. Not as sweet as the carrots I wintered over back in 2014-15. Those were like sugar!

Thank you so much!!

Gina - thanks for the advice on the cabbage leaves. I'm not growing any and it will be a while before they come into season locally.

Question.
Up here, though not lately thank God, we had a series of hot high nineties a few triple digit dry years.
Farmers fields without irrigation were a total loss by June. The stalks turned the silver grey of dead corn and the rivers were low enough that the State said no more water could be taken from them and some wells went dry.
Now this may seem odd, but both gardens I had, when I watered, I had true cold water.
Both were by old houses with deep pipes, so unlike many new house where cold water is term at best by August.

I would water in the day for the vines, this would perk them up so the leaves were no longer drooping, then I would water in the evening to soak the soil.
Now I have soil that holds water fairly well, but does the lower temp. of the water I irrigated with make a difference. Does it cool the soil to help combat the heat.

This was a common state ten to fifteen years ago much too often but I never lost anything to heat though some times even with watering the plants looked tough.
As much as I dislike the very high temp. with very high humidity we had five years ago, I will take that over dry heat any day.

A big thank you, Farmer Dill!!!

I was hoping you would recommend letting them stay in ground! I have harvested a few as giant green onions already. I'll keep a close eye on them and if I begin to see any adverse symptoms, I'll pull immediately.

I pulled a few carrots today. They are large enough to pull, so I think I'm going to go ahead and process them. They were always intended for the freezer. Not as sweet as the carrots I wintered over back in 2014-15. Those were like sugar!

Thank you so much!!

Tomorrow is the five year anniversary of a hot humid heat wave, it hit 103 five years ago tomorrow and stayed hot and humid for along time.

RpR said:Tomorrow is the five year anniversary of a hot humid heat wave, it hit 103 five years ago tomorrow and stayed hot and humid for along time.

Too hot!!

Howdy Neighbors!

Well, here we go again with the extreme temps! Looking at a 10 day forcast of 107-115. Still have my onion in the ground and I'm hoping this heat will expedite their harvest. The sun shade is a true must for desert gardening!

Anyway, I'm just stopping by to offer encouragement to anyone out there in Veggie land who needs it. Hang in there! Your efforts are with it!!



Gina

I don't know how you put up with those summer temperatures!! Depessing! I could never go outside and I love to be outside. Hope all goes well in the veggie garden.

Good morning, Rita!

Well, the trick to beating the heat is to stay out of it! So, yeah, we do become locked in. I'm sure you've heard of the afternoon siestas, well, that is true. We wake up early to jot outside for an hour, take a long mid-day nap, and then it's back out in the evening. So, basically, our sleep pattern changes to meet the summer heat. In bed at midnight, up at 5:30, napping by 1 p.m. And up again at 4 p.m. But, we are retired, so we have that option unlike those working 9-5.

It was 90 by 8 a.m. today! I'll give my garden an afternoon watering before lunch and then again just before nightfall if it needs it. The sunshade really helps keep the evaporation and temps down.

We just harvested our potatoes and pulled the pea plants. I have the remaining pods out drying for the fall planting. All the beans are looking good and the pattypan squash seems to be thriving! I was planning to get my Orka and butternut squash in the ground this week, but unless I get a wild hair up my butt, chances are I'll wait. They are calling this a heat wave, however, I'm more inclined to think it's the new normal. July/August temps are always 103, but I suppose that is a far cry from 113! I don't know, but at some point it doesn't seem to make much difference as we are never out in it. As the locals say: "It's either hot, or effin hot! But, it's a dry heat!"

Gina

I will say this, Rita.... It's hard to duplicate the incredible sunsets and warm starry summer nights! It's one of my favorite things about the desert summers.... Fire pits and star gazing!

The sunsets sound nice but that heat, not so much. I could see why one only goes out very early or much later though.

When I landscaped full time, over the years I had worked in 100 degree heat with eighty percent humidity and 100 degree heat with thirty percent humidity.

Believe me while it is easier to work in the dry heat, it kills things besides yourself.

The memory of a lifetime is when it is above ninety degrees with humidity above eighty and you get to go visit one of those blue porta-pottys already soaked with sweat.
After doing your duty pulling your pants up, after literally, and I do mean literally, dripping copious amounts of sweat on them while foolishly resting your dirty arms, coated with slimy dust mud on your thighs because you are tired, is a task that creates new cuss words.

OH dear!!

RpR, I couldn't imagine handling that kind of work, in that kind of weather, with that kind of bathroom situation.... YOU ROCK!

Wow👀 😯

Aha come on gardeners, what is a mild temperature of 90 degrees with a low humidity of 60% or so? Just put on some short pants, a good old “t” shirt and enjoy working out in the gardens. This is a photo taken in early June of a small garden by my living room window, you won’t see anything like this in 30 degree weather in December.......



Think about all the wonderful and delicious veggies that you will harvest all Summer long.

I am a summer person. Hate winter. Summer I am outside as much as possible. Of course I don't live in Texas or Southern California.

Love the mini garden!