Community Garden Update: July Heat Wave

The hot spell came around the end of June and the beginning of July.

 Temperatures rose to over 100 degrees. People were warned to use extreme caution in the sudden heat, as the temperature change could be a shock to their bodies. Were the plants in danger, too?

During this time, most of the plants grew profusely. We made sure that they drank plenty of cold water from the hose (remember to let the old hot water drain from a hose before spraying your plants with it).

Ahhhhh....ice cold water!

Every time that we ventured into the sticky, burning world outside to check on the garden, the plants had morphed into something bigger and more bountiful.
The pumpkin patch began to take over their entire end of the plot and overshadowed the little bell peppers that lived next to them.

 The tomato plants bowed from their heavy load of green fruit. A few ripened and turned orangey-red.

One of the few July tomatoes hangs out with some carrot and onion buddies (and a neighbor's lettuce).

Our tiny carrots grew huge and begged to be plucked from the earth, and our green onions were also fresh for the picking.

A spate of ugly, bumply-skinned yellow squash appeared from nowhere. Some had grown huge and disgusting without being noticed.

The green beans were also producing like rabbits. Little beans popped up in clusters throughout the patch of bushes. Just when you thought yo'd gotten all of them, you'd notice that there was a clump of beans dangling from a bush that you'd overlooked.

Despite the general health of the garden during the harsh July few of the plants did not do very well in the heat. Those were the cauliflower, broccoli, and celery. I think that these baby plants were damaged by the heat, leading to poor yields later in the summer.