no weeding in this heat!

mini cabbages will be ready to bring in by saturday. i have noticed a difference between this season & last. thinking it has to do with the fact that i didn't use miracle-gro this season.
it's supposed to be misery outside through saturday, so will have to get up extra early saturday morning to weed, water, harvest. 
if the last 4 cukes aren't big enough to pull, too bad. the vines are coming out. they are just too damaged by 'im not sure what. too many blooms rotting away to make it worthwhile. instead i will water deeply & set beet seeds in. according to the package late summer is when you're supposed to plant. we'll see.
basil & spearmint are almost done for the season. think i have a few more clippings before the chamomile is kaput.

holy wow....

bacon jam. bacon. jam. family-kitchen makes bacon jam.  even as miserable as this heat & humidity is, if i had the ingredients at hand i would be making this!

too hot too cook

i hate summer. one of the few good things(there are, maybe, 3) about summer is ripening tomatoes. today the wednesday chef has an awesome spaghetti dish featuring those lovely glowing scarlet orbs of summer.  as luck would have it, the last of the garden basil is ready to be trimmed!

more plants on the 'like to grow' list

those plants being red clover, yarrow, & mullein. also, thinking mini carrots & beets. however, given the soil composition, would need to be in a large container or in a raised bed. i've forgotten the link which showed small carrots & beets, another post on urban gardens webs writes that blue jade/baby corn does well in containers. wonder if i can get the grandchildren  to eat blue sweet corn?
cucumber issues: approximately 1/3 of all blooms are rotting as soon as baby cukes start growing. don't see any insects. those cukes which do grow do so normally. have sprayed 'stop-rot' & 'safer' on the vines. plenty of water & air circulation. haven't been able to match my description of the problem with trouble-shooting websites.
the mugwort has started to set blooms & so i have taken a final harvest from those stems. one spearmint plant is also setting blooms. my basil are almost beginning.  the gonzales mini cabbage are starting to set. the red cabbage has a way to go yet. as do my tomatoes. as least this year the end-rot doesn't seem to be showing up.

july jewelry giveaway at ...

tribal horse designs! i won a lovely pair of summery earrings in june :) the random number generator loves me ;)

f***...it looks like cucumber mosiac :(

one vine is wilted & gone. one more is on the way. lower blossoms on the vine are wilting & dying. this just started happening 2 weeks ago & is *quick*. when the rain comes whatever beetle it is is washed away. now the heat & humidity is back, the beetles (pretty sure that's what it is) are multiplying. applying safer, getting rid of damaged leaves/vines. pissed though...i was getting set to have double the harvest from last season!
recommendation is too alternate where cukes are planted (which will be difficult given the small size of the plot) & to plant resistant strains.
the mugwort is setting flowers early this season. last year it was late july, currently the middle half of the row has flowers ready to bloom. nice harvest as well.                                           thinking of raised beds for next season, also adding feverfew & bergamot herb.                                                                                                                           

i adore marshmallows

it's true...i do. big pieces, small pieces, any pieces at all! & david lebovitz has a great recipe listed :)  roasted marshmallows, candied potatoes with marshmallows, practicing marshmallows for gift-giving.....i am so ready for autumn & a cooler kitchen!