A Busy July – Chores, Issues and Plans – Month in Review

July starts with harvesting the first green beans, eases into a middle of July with the first actual bowl of cherry tomatoes, and ends with a planted fall garden.

Snacking tomatoes cheat sheet 2023 - photo credit CElisabeth at 8th Deadly Sin ORG
Snacking tomatoes cheat sheet 2023 – photo credit CElisabeth at 8th Deadly Sin ORG

July 1st to the 10th HOT and DRY. Temps in 80’s & 90’s

  • harvesting eggplant, summer squash, first bush beans, ground cherries, schwartzbeeren and cherry tomatoes
  • peak bloom of hollyhock, roses, petunia
  • photographing variegated celosia, roses, first dahlia (Gallery Art Deco, a dwarf variety)
  • emergence of gall on grape leaves. Cecidomyiid larvae, which lives in the bark. TREAT WITH DORMANT OIL
  • the last of the garden center sales. Purchased cheap plants for the vertical garden. Check ACE and Lewis
  • wasps arrive, finally
  • first blooms on sunflowers
  • harvest fruit on peppers that are preventing plant growth
  • fertilized everything with Proven Winners for Flowering Plants 24-12-17
  • sprayed the brassica, squash, grapes and fruit trees with my mix of Captain Jacks Dead Bug, BT and Neem oil. With a squirt of dish soap
  • Bagged the tomatoes low to the ground to keep squirrels away from them
  • began the labeling and taste tests of cherry tomatoes
  • added compost to squash plants to encourage node rooting
  • last of the squash vine borer moth sighted

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Squash Patch Peak 17Jul - photo credit CElisabeth at 8th Deadly Sin ORG
Squash Patch Peak 17Jul 2023- photo credit CElisabeth at 8th Deadly Sin ORG

July 11th to the 20th. Temps in 80’s and 90’s, some rain received, 2.25″ during this timeframe

  • first squash vine borer spotted in a vine, small, less than a 1/4″ long
  • first Sully project tomato harvested
  • eggplant plants potted out front loaded with fruit
  • fertilized pots again with the Proven Winner for Flowering Plants
  • first bloom of zinnia, peach celosia, yellow lily
  • squash patch at peak with beauty
  • took advantage of peach and cherry sales, made pie and empanada filling, froze
  • herbicide damage emerging on beans and grapes from neighbor
  • July 12th windstorm, the sunflower and corn block held
  • Minnehaha Garden Tour
  • discovery of potato berries on the Yukon Gold plants
  • Colorado Potato beetle, second generation in mating period
  • first harvest of cabbage, Melrose pepper
  • harvested and pulled last of snow peas
  • pulled parsnip along S fenceline, and the garden and snap peas
  • began harvest of hollyhock seeds and trimming old stalks
  • harvested garlic
  • first large tomatoes harvested. Bread & Salt and Thorburns Terracotta were first.
  • noticed bunnies chewing on cantaloup, bagged them
  • Noticed self harvested squash seeds from last year (Delicata and Sweet Dumpling) were a cross

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SuP3 Sully Project Tomato Breeding Project - Photo credit CElisabeth at *th Deadly Sin ORG
SuP3 Sully Project Tomato Breeding Project – Photo credit CElisabeth at *th Deadly Sin ORG

July 21st to the 31st. Temps in 90’s and 100’s, some rain received

  • Squash patch begins to yellow
  • first near full size squash vine borer discovered
  • succession planted summer squash in pots
  • pulled schwartzbeeren
  • planted true seed delicata and sweet dumpling squash July 21st, emerged July 25th
  • peak bloom of stock flowers and snadragons
  • suspected spotted tomato spotted wilt virus on SuP9, plant pulled
  • Japanese Beetle spotted, only one
  • July 22 first bloom of CElisabeth
  • Dahlias blooming: Gallery Art Deco, Kasasagi, Cognac, Lake Ontario, Zundert Mystery Fox, CElisabeth, Tyrell, Bell of Barmera and Cafe Au Lait
  • Harvested Dj’s cauliflower
  • Sully Plum #3 harvested for the first time July 21
  • peak harvest of eggplant
  • fertilized with Proven Winners for Flowering Plants

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