Hot, Hot, Hot

  Once again I cannot complain about the weather, because it is much hotter in most of the rest of the US.  It seems like New England is one of the few places in the country that still has weather that is 'temperate', because we have Canada on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.
  A few years ago I visited Texas because I thought I might move there.  I stayed in the hill country near Austin, and loved much about the area, but the seven hour hail storm in May was scary, and even scarier was the locals saying that it was no big deal.  
  We've had great growing weather this year.  There have been up to week long stretches without rain, but when it comes there has been a lot, so the rain barrel and aquifer are topped up nicely.  The heat this week has made the midseason crops take off, and I've got lots of beans and squash, with peppers and tomatoes coming along fast.  The first ripe tomato was 'Gold Nugget' on July 15, and I had the first moonflower bloom the same day.  Moonflowers love it hot, and that's the earliest I've ever had a bloom.
  The heat finished off the Favas, but I got 3 good harvests from them. Next year I'll plant them earlier, with the peas in March, instead of May with the green beans.
  I also harvested one patch of 'Yukon Gold' potatoes.  They were in an old bed with soil that was a bit depleted, and I got about twenty pounds from the five I planted.  The fingerlings are more vigorous growers, and in a richer bed, and should give me at least a five to one return when I dig them up later this month.  The garlic is drying in the garage, along with about five pounds of yellow and red onions.
I made a pasta salad with sherry vinaigrette dressing this afternoon, featuring my own  green and yellow beans, red onion, basil and parsley.  I'm ending the day sweaty but happy to be living in the midst of a green and bountiful garden when so much of the country is hot and dry.