Most of the plants in the garden have been producing pretty slow because of the heat, we have been in the triple digits and under excessive heat warnings a lot lately. A lot of plants have a hard time setting blooms in this heat and some just completely stall out. All my tomato plants are showing signs of heat stress.
 |
| Heat stressed tomato plant |
To get my tomato plants to bloom in this heat I watch the future weather report and when I see we are going to have a so called "cold front" (when the highs drop back down to below 95 (92 is perfect) for the daytime and around 75 at night) about 4-5 days before this cold front comes through I feed my tomato plants with bloom booster it works out really good. You don't have to use bloom booster because the tomato plants would probably set blooms any way but I like the extra insurance.
 |
| Heat Stressed tomato plants with blooms! |
 |
| Tomato bloom! | | |
|
I love bell peppers and I always plant Blushing Beauties because they keep producing even in the heat. When we have a more mild Oklahoma summer they will have more peppers than leaves on them.
 |
| Blushing Beauty mini bells |
 |
| Yolo Bell Pepper |
 |
| No garden is complete without some bugs! |
|
 |
| Hot Peppers |
 |
| butterfly on a Zinnia |
I did have a good cucumber harvest this morning so it looks like it is Spicy Bread and Butter Pickles time!
 |
| Harvest 07-11-2011 |
|
I'm linking up with
Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday.
Stay cool.
Great harvest! Bread & BUtter pickels sound so good...and your Zinna picture is beautiful! I am still waiting on mine to bloom!
ReplyDeleteThe heat has been incredible this year, hasn't it? I try to shake my tomato plants a few times a week. Do you ever do that to help with pollination?
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice harvest of cucumbers. I might be canning some this year. I didn't like the ones I canned last year so I'm going to try a different recipe.
ReplyDeleteAllison,
ReplyDeleteMy Zinnias are about the only flower that this heat isn't killing.
Martha,
I do that to, It's funny the things we do for a good tomato.
Daphne,
I tried a different recipe for this year. I hate having to wait to see what the recipe taste like.