July Recap and August Anticipation

I'm a few days late in posting my recap for my July garden. My garden has been slow to grow this year compared to last year. Our squash supply seems to have dried up, but we've been collecting a decent amount of cucumbers. The late July heat has kicked the peppers into ripening. We harvested this batch last weekend.

Two of my four sunflower varieties finally bloomed in July, but the blooms only lasted a couple of weeks (teddy bears bloomed mid-July) and coconut ice just last week). The teddy bear (top photo) looks burnt around the edges, thanks to the scorching sun. Bugs seem to have gotten to the coconut ice (bottom), as the petals and leaves have little holes. Sadly, I haven't seen any butterflies or bees around them this year. This truly makes me sad, as sunflowers and bees are one of my favorite garden combos (hence the BumbleLush name and blog picture). 

tomatillo--we can feel the fruit within the husk

tomato harvest August 1

tiny tim tomatoes with eggshells in the soil for added calcium to help prevent blossom end rot

Most of my positive garden thoughts in August are focused on the tomatoes. It seems they've been slow to ripen this year compared to last. We're able to collect a half-pint to a full pint of grapes and early girls every two to three days. That's too slow for me!! The tomatillos seem to be progressing nicely. We can feel the fruit inside the husks. The other tomato plants have fruit ranging in color from red to green.

I love this picture. There's a ripe cluster on the left and a green one on the right. This perfectly captures my hopes for a good tomato harvest in August.