Jay,

That sure is hot for May.

Mother Nature sure hasn't allowed y'all much time for planting this year. Three weeks from the last freeze to temperatures over 100 degrees just isn't long enough!

I also think it is bizarre that counties to your north, south, east and west all have a Red Flag Fire Warning today, but your county and the one beside you doesn't (at the time I am writing this). I wonder about their reasoning on that one.

Your temperature didn't shock me as much as it otherwise would have, because I already knew that some parts of the OK panhandle had been over 100 degrees too.

We have hit the mid-90s several times, long before I was even close to being finished with planting, but always have had a cooler spell follow a couple of hot days. We are getting to the point where the cooler spells seems less and less likely.

Today I hope to get most everything else in the ground, having gotten about 1/3 of the remaining plants in the ground yesterday. I have been putting succession veggie crops, flowers and herbs in the ground as cool-season crops are harvested. I have been slower than usual at that because the cold held on so long and the crops weren't growing as quickly when the nights were so cold. Usually my broccoli plants are out of the ground by now, but some of the plants haven't made heads yet, though others have and are being harvested. It is a sad fact of life that you cannot plant succession crops until the plants they are following are finished up and out of the way.

The only thing I am worried may not make a crop here is the beans. They went in kinda late and I'll need some luck to get them to set beans instead of dropping blossoms in June. I'll plant more for fall if these don't produce well. There is a slight chance the sweet potatoes may not appreciate the 4+" of rain that has fallen since I planted them a couple of weeks ago. They are in a low spot in the garden and we have been very dry so I planted them there...and then rain started falling several days a week. We don't necessary get a lot in one day, but those little half-inch rainfall amounts add up fast.

Every year lately it is something, weather-wise, that makes it harder than usual to get the garden planted and to keep it productive. I keep hoping for a normal weather year, but we don't get much normal weather any more....we just go from one extreme to the other.

I hope you'll be able to finish planting soon and also hope the temperatures drop a little so you can get more fruit set.

Dawn

I mis-timed planting our broccoli this spring. The weather changed and the seeds laid in the ground and rotted. I had better luck with a fall planting, last year.

When I planted most of our herbs, the ground was a still a bit cool. I was worried about whether they'd even sprout...but now that they've sprouted, I wonder if they'll survive the heat long enough to grow up. The only herb that hasn't sprouted is the rosemary. Now, why hasn't it sprouted, yet...

otoh, our early season strawberries, which we'd just planted this spring, are now spreading like wildfire. The way it looks at the moment, those silly things will take over the garden, if we're not careful.

Then, we have a couple dozen potatoes that are just refusing to come up. I cheated and dug one up a couple weeks ago, and they haven't rotted, so...what's the deal, and what did I do wrong...this time? heh.

A month ago, I was whining about dragging the hose out and watering everything all the time. I kept telling myself that it was better than using a bucket and a can, instead of a hose. Now, I wish things would dry out for a couple of days...

It was 'too cool.' Then, it was 'too dry and sunny.' Then, it was 'where's the sun' and 'why won't things dry out a bit,' and then...

It's gardening. It's always something, isn't it? That's why it's so much fun. There's always something different going on. There's always a challenge! There's always something new and different to try, and to learn, and to do. That's one of the many reasons why we like it so much, no matter how much we grumble and wish and want and...

Ah, I'll just have a cup of coffee, relax and enjoy it all fer a bit. Sometimes, all the wishin' in the world won't change a thing. You've got to work with things the way they are, I reckon. The rest of the time, just try to relax and enjoy the ride.

Dawn I'm not sure what is normal anymore. I don't think we will see anythig resembling normal until the drought breaks. Gardening is a gamble just like farming. I will continue but on a smaller basis till the drought breaks. And it is not all bad. Planting fewer in ground plants will allow me to rotate the tomatoes and have at least 3 years between planting in the same area. This year I went back to basically a form of Ruth Stout gardening. The corn farmers have all went to no till or min till. I pulled back the mulch (unless the wind had blown it away) and put the potato fork in 12" and loosened a large area around where each plant went. This year I'm only adding shredded tree leaves. Then after planting I'm feeding them with the Aggrand organic liquid fertilizer I used and liked last year along with mixing in molasses. I like the fact that the basic formula is 4-3-3. Then the liquid bonemeal is 0-12-0 and the Natural Kelp and Sulphate of Potash is 0-0-8. This allows me to mix what I think a plant needs at that time. I like a high P number when transplanting for root development. This product is made by Amsoil. It seems to be of the same high quality as their oil products. The only additional feeding they are getting is the composted straw hay mulch on top I mix in. My soil tests have consistently been high so don't see any real need to add much. If the plants tell me later they need more I will feed them. I'm using mostly all T tape this year. I plan on this being the system I use for a while. Made a 1" header and installed shut off valves to each tape. I bought Chapin tape last summer and Toro Aqau Traxx this year. Although both are 15mm the Aqau Traxx is a better tape. Many sources say to do a long deep soak at the start of the season. I have on some and not others. I built a raised bed(42"W x 30'L) south of my garage in the area where I've had issues recently growing things due to the black walnut roots. It is 13" deep. The bottom 4-5 inches is the original soil I worked up and added 4" of composted horse manure . I wanted it deeper so maybe I can grow something above the roots. The roots are about 12" below the natural surface. I used a raised bed mix (Soil Mender product) instead of using any soil. In case it rains I wanted something that would drain well with the runoff from the garage roof. My plan is in time to put up a frame that I can either cover/partially cover with shade cloth(summer wind and shade protection) or plasic in the fall to extend the growing season. I'm sure it will be another learning experience. I found suggestions on depth from 6" to 24" and settled on the 13". I'm also going to use the raised bed mix to freshen up my containers along with some manure compost and a little mushroom compost. I will plant pole beans where I have the cattle panels for them to climb and see how they do. I will plant mainly Fowler, Wood's Mountain Crazy bean and Hopi Pink bush types. The Hopi Pink impressed me with it's production last year. It seems to do well in the heat and drought. Better get outside and do a few things before the heat sets in. After tomorrow they say 7-9 days 90 or lower. That will help get things started anyway. Jay

Dawn meant to mention in my earlier post. My sister, her BIL who they keep and myself went by the cemetery yesterday afternoon and then went over to Liberal to eat with our stepdad. Just before we left the sirens went off and there was a large fire. The winds were still 20-25 with a few gusts higher. There was an old wooden elevator that had never been removed when the more modern elevators were erected next to it. There was also propane and fertilizer storage tanks in the path along with railroad cars some of which caught on fire. There was at least one explosion. I felt for and prayed for the firefighters up in the air trying to spray the fire to contain it. It was still 93 degrees at the time along with the wind. They said no one was hurt fighting the fire. I'm attaching a link that has some pictures and info on it. The situation here is getting critical again. My stepdad said that several have tried to get them to remove the old structures before as kids played in them and they were nothing but a hazard.

Here is a link that might be useful: Liberal Leader