It has been warmer, sunnier, and the marine layer has not been lingering as it use to. The weather is a mystery because it can be sunny and hot in one place and cold and cloudy in another place out here in Los Angeles. Anyway, my family went to the garden together and I watered all the plants and cleaned up some of the areas that needed weeding. The Charles Darwin is my favorite rose at this moment. I just can't get over the creamy yellow blooms. The tomatoes are just doing better than before. I have been pruning some of the leaves to keep is nicely aerated since it can get ugly later on. The blight is not as bad.
The zucchini was just massive. I ended up cutting some of the leaves because it was covering my eggplants, basil, and some other herbs. I put on a good layer of horse manure on the soil to keep it moist. I know I am going to have a whole bunch of zucchini. The echinacea plant is just lovely right now. It is blooming profusely. I pulled out some grass that has been looking unruly in a corner. My back neighbor has so much stuff hanging over my side. I had to push it all back. Yesterday, I saw a great deal at OSH. O'Neal blueberry bushes for $12.99 in Pasadena. It was bigger than a gallon pot. I ended up getting 2 for my mom and one for me. Visiting nurseries is my passion. My husband got a little irritated because it was Father's Day. I also bought 3 little coffee plants. I am so happy because I have been looking for more indoor plants to accompany my ever growing fiddle leaf ficus bunch. I am always looking for deals. Anyway, a few years ago, I bought a 1 gallon blueberry bush for $15. That was so expensive!
The sweet million tomato has more tomatoes on it. I broke off one while I was taking off some of the leaves. I felt soooo bad but it happens just like when I am harvesting blueberries. Sometimes the berries drop from being touched ever so slightly.The Big Rainbow flowers have been pollinated. I can see the tiny fruits forming. I just hope that the weather keeps up. The kale is still bagrada bug free and producing beautiful green curly leaves. This year is the first year that I have a minimal amount of tomato plants. Last year I had 10. The less plants, the bigger the harvest since the plants are not competing for all the nutrients and space. Overall, I think the more mulch I layer on, I get less weeds. I don't have to water as much and it keeps the maintenance low. I am always surprised at the fellow gardeners. When they water, the water just runs right off the soil. The soil is not holding in the water because there is not enough organic materials in there. Our community garden is extremely sandy. You really have to amend it heavily. When you see a lot of worms, then you have it just right. The rose above is blooming over my neighbor's plot. I hope she enjoys it because she is such a nice lady. My husband built her garden last year and it looks beautiful. The sun came out and we saw a lot of swallowtail caterpillars. My dill had a few caterpillars on it. My dill is so sacred right now. I am not buying any more dill at the store.
I am waiting for pickling season and the dill is a necessity. The mulberry tree still has a lot of fruit on it. My girls climbed the tree to get them. Now, I am scared that one of them might fall and break something like last time. Paranoia sets in. Every time I see an avocado tree I think about the broken arm. Kids are kids and accidents happen. My younger fell over the wheelbarrow and she had her cry wolf pain scene. My husband scared the crap out of her because she is so dramatic. I thought she broke something for real. So that was my gardening for the day. I mulched all the roses, around the roses, the zucchini, the tomatoes, and herbs. I got rid of the oregano and marjoram. I am going to plant the blueberry bush so that I won't have all the slugs living underneath my herbs.
As a gardener, you consider all your plants to be your children regardless of it being an annual or perennial. You want the best for your plants. The weather has been soaring in the high 80's and low 90's lately. It is not normal to wake up and feel very warm outside when you are only 2.5 miles away from the ocean. What is going on? I used to water every 4 days and now I have to water almost every other day. It has been scorchingly hot. My plumeria tree even has a sunburn. We are facing a drought. I try to water early in the day or late in the afternoon. You can see what happens when you skip watering. The roses start to look unhappy because they are at the peak right now.
The David Austin roses are heavy drinkers. I mean they need to get drunk! The cucumbers need a lot of water as well or their fruit gets stunted. It is really interesting how water plays such a crucial role in our garden. Without water, we can't garden at all. Sometimes I get worried about not getting rain. I also think about all the residue that gets left on the leaves and the fruit. I occasionally hose down all the plants but I try to limit watering over the plants. Mulching is such an important role as a gardener. It minimizes the watering because the the mulch prevents the soil from drying out. I even mulch the roses in the pots. I layer on the composted horse manure. The next time you water, you should really think about how you water your garden. Good soil with a lot of organic material will retain water.
