Out There in the Garden...

"Iss HOT! iss REEEEL hot! iss CROTCH-pot-cookin' hot!!" --Robin Williams in "Good Morning Viet Nam!" Highs have been in the 90's since last week's diary entry-- until yesterday; one day was at least 98-- 'way hot for this altitude. Been watering every other evening and soaking the area beneath the plants. Since the "Weed Patch" is on a slope, there's little worry about over-watering. Also, I'm cutting down feeding to once a week-- plants get stressed when fed much in very hot weather. We finally got two cool days-- highs of 77. No grasshoppers in Chop-Top Manor for awhile-- until today. I've been spraying the plants alternately (and lightly) with neem oil and House and Garden Insecticide daily for the whole week, plus spraying around the base of the plants and the perimeter of the greenhouse with Prevasyn, a combination of hot pepper and garlic. It burns a little when it gets on your skin; I smell just like the Weed Patch now-- not bad, but weird... Powerful wind gusts-- some over 50 mph-- front the T-storms up here. Yesterday evening one tore the plastic skin loose from the zipper on the greenhouse door. I taped it up with Gorilla tape, which held through the night-- when another storm came through. Still holding... I've tried all kinds of tape, but nothing will stick to the bug netting. Tomorrow I'll replace the netting "window" (which is flapping in the breeze) on the south end of the greenhouse with a piece of the skin I cut off of it earlier this year-- the tape sticks to that. I'll probably build a real greenhouse for next year because of the constant repair necessary with this cowboy setup, not to mention the fact that it's utt-bugly. It would be nice to have one that's insulated, with power, HVAC, storage and room to work inside. There were three of the LF's in there today. Sprayed 'em with Safer Brand Insecticide Soap and watched 'em drop... Good stuff, and using it is almost as satisfying as squishing 'em. Bought a pack of 25 six-foot bamboo stakes at my local grow store for $17. Due to Covid, you drive up and park, tell them what you want and they bring it out to you. Works pretty well, since it's not the kind of place you'd browse in too much, anyway. The Blueberry Kush had a growth spurt over the last couple of days-- she's up to 33". My largest Critical Widow is 42" tall now-- tied her 2 main stalks down to the bamboo. The plant furthest down the slope in the greenhouse is always the largest-- it's happened for three years now. I guess all the good stuff washes down there.