Heat Wave

Sunflower last week

There is a nasty heat wave happening here in Olympia! Forecast is 105 degrees today in Seattle which means hotter here. This is very unusual for this area and is breaking all time records.

To keep the garden healthy I have been watering heavily after sundown. By midday the plants are wilted and hanging just gasping for breath. I am hoping all the veggie plants will make it. Since I have planted in close proximity as directed in the Square Foot Garden books, the leaves overlap and shade the soil so it is not essential to mulch around the plants to preserve water. I do water from the bottom using soaker hoses in some areas and my trusty water wand in others. I push the wand down close to the base of the plants and carefully water without disturbing the soil and roots.

Seems the sunflowers are loving the heat. A couple of them are almost 10 feet high now! I will probably have to stake them if I hear we are going to have a strong wind. Ha if they fell over they would be in the street! I can just see the headlines now, "Giant Sunflowers Crush Car".

So my canning activities are on hold. I am not a heat lover at all. I wilt just like my plants. Since I do the majority of my canning outdoors on the patio, it is just not wise to do any now. Even at night it has still been in the upper 80's. Forget sleep. I have an overhead fan in the bedroom and it feels like a hair dryer blowing on me. I am one of those people that has the bedroom window open all winter and love it when I can see my breath. Oh for those days now! Hopefully this will break soon and I can get back to canning! Think cool breezes!