July 2020

July 1st
I weeded the side yard, and pulled loads of sand mat and bindweed.

July 2nd
I trained the cucumbers up the trellis. The Patty Pans and CucaMelons sprouted. This was the second time I planted the seeds as the squirrels dug them up and ate them the first time. We identified Lamb’s Ear and Fire Weed in the front beds and pulled them out. The amaranth is gorgeous. The Love Lies Bleeding has bloomed.

The Colorado Oasis garden plants are so healthy and looking gorgeous.

July 4th
I trimmed the spent salvia and Veronica stakes. The daisies are in bloom and the first coneflower has bloomed. I filled the back beds with soil. There are many tomatillos on the plants. Both hydrangeas have blooms, and the dahlias are getting ready to flower. The peppers have many blossoms.

Nasturtiums are blooming in the flower beds

I transplanted the narcissus bulbs into the bed.

The single green leaf on one of the strawberry plants has disappeared. I hope they show life soon. The parsley and basil look great. The squash that I thinned and replanted is doing very well under the cucumber trellis.

After consulting a garden specialist online regarding the Meadowsweet’s curling brown leaves, I followed instructions and applied a homemade fungicide to the plant (4 tsp baking powder, 1 teaspoon mild dish soap, water). We will see if it improves.

July 8th
Today the Portulaca Roses bloomed in the morning and died this afternoon. I staked the milkweed and dahlias. There are pansies in the columbine container and among the rocks.

The zucchini are spreading and shading the okra and patty pans.

We weeded the front yard at 8pm after the intense heat died down. We are in the heat of summer with temperatures near 100 degrees for the next 8 days. I am watering in the morning and evening. Both hydrangeas have flowers nearly blooming, and the dahlias are starting to open. The zinnias are popping up in the flower bed while the bok choy has bolted into beautiful yellow flowers. The gourds have grown over two feet above the tall trellis S built for the cucumber.

July 11th
I dug up the garlic from two years ago – we had a lot of cloves in very hard and dry soil. I want to find a dedicated garlic bed for the fall.

We pulled a beet and some carrots from the soil this week – the carrots were very thin but the beet was gorgeous.

I trained and staked plants across the yard. The first eggplant and zucchini are coming in and the peas are fat and sweet at the end of their season.

There are cape gooseberries on the plant.

July 12th
The eggplant blossom is gorgeous. Today I ripped the spent poppies, calendula, fireweed, and amaranth from the front beds. I trimmed some of the daisy stalks and pulled weeds among the rocks. Triple-digit heat today. The dahlias blooming are very small and one hasn’t come up at all. It was initially in a pot with poor drainage.

We made an enormous batch of pesto with some of the basil. The basil growing in pails on the sidewalk has all bolted to seeds, but the plants growing in the shade of the peas and their trellis just grew enormous and leafy. This is where they need to be planted next year.

July 17th
The peppers are growing big and the Cape Gooseberries and tomatillos are growing plump in their husks. The birdhouse gourd has exploded and grown beyond the trellis into the tree above it.

Cucumber blossoms are everywhere and the zucchini and their fruits are growing by leaps and bounds each day.

I have not seen another bloom of the Portulaca Roses, which I learned is a member of the purslane family.

July 21st
Another bloom of the Portulaca Roses was stunning over the weekend. The Bells of Ireland are blooming in one of the hanging baskets. I harvested three tomatillos.

July 28th
I spotted three huge cucumbers on the vine; tomatillos and zucchini are being harvested; the birdhouse gourds are growing wildly into the trees; the milkweed is starting to bloom, along with the sunflowers.

I spotted a Milkweed Longhorn Beetle on the milkweed and an Achemon Sphinx Moth on the side gate.

This week I collected seeds from the peas and cumin.

The yellow and white daisies are spent and I cleaned them up.

July 29th
We harvested three good size cucumbers and stalked the Red Siberian tomato.

The Green Ammi is blooming with its delicate white lace tops, which look very similar to the carrots which are now flowering. The carrots did not fare well this year. Every single one we have pulled has been tiny and a few have been too fibrous to eat.