Fire & Rain

I love taking summer vacations but I hate leaving my gardens.  Although I make sure that my plants are well taken care of, I still am very nervous not having a watchful eye on them everyday.  I just got back from my week long trip to Ohio.  I had a great time with my family and the boys loved living at the pool everyday, but I came back to Colorado on fire. 
While in Ohio, I checked the weather everyday and knew that the extreme temperatures were not going to be kind to the lasts of my spring plantings. Colorado is a semi-arid climate, so temps over 100 with no humidity are pretty tough on everything besides peppers!  I had planned on harvesting the last of my lettuce and peas before I left, but life took over and that did not happen.  These temperatures and high winds also created some extreme wildfires only 25 miles from my home.  The past couple of days we have been waiting to see if we were going to be evacuated, but so far we are safe.  Please keep those who are fighting these fires and the families who have lost their homes in your thoughts and prayers.  Also pray that Mother Nature slows down her winds and opens up the heavens with some rain.  We need it!

Before I left for Ohio, my lettuce was lush and crunchy….after the extreme heat the majority of the tips were burnt and the bases of the plants were starting to rot.  I was still able to get a decent harvest, but I hate the waste.  I should say, it is not really a waste because I am going to compost the remainder, but still it makes me sad.

My beets and cabbage are doing great…

My tomatoes needed some pruning but overall are doing well.  My peppers love the hot weather!

This spinach patch is ready to be harvested. I think I will eat most of it this coming week and freeze any that doesn’t fit into our stomachs.


My sugar pumpkins are starting to blossom….pumpkin pie here I come!

When I left a week ago, my squash was about 1/4 of this size.  I am always amazed at how fast squash grows!  I am slowly ripping out the last of my lettuce and peas to get ready to amend the soil with compost and prepare for fall plantings….more on that tomorrow.

I was able to save a bunch of my French Breakfast Radishes and I am going to try some new recipes this week.  David Lebovitzs’ recipe for Pickled Radishes is on the top of my list as well as this Czech Radish Cheese Spread.  I will let you know how it goes.

After an hour of cleaning, separating the good from the bad, and spinning off the extra water, I was left with a decent amount of produce. This will feed my family this week, but I still mourn the amount that will be composted.  Live and learn I guess.  I should have done my final harvest before I left for Ohio, but I will have more lettuce very soon.  New, heat tolerant varieties go in tomorrow and should be up in a month.

I hope that everyone’s garden is flourishing! If you live in the Colorado area I hope that you and your family stay safe and out of harms way.  Time for me to get back out to the garden for some major weeding and rain dancing.  I am not sure if that actually works, but I am willing to try anything!  Have a great day!