Can you believe it's almost the end of July?! The past couple of weeks have sure been scorchers! Sadly, the extreme heat can wreak havoc on the garden. We have all of the crops on a timed watering system, watering mostly throughout the night so the water has time to soak into the ground without just evaporating off. Most of the cool-loving crops also get a shower to cool down mid-day. Still, the ground looks parched and the plants are showing signs of stress (I know we feel the same after working outside in the heat). Even the heat-loving plants have a difficult time thriving in temperatures that exceed 97°. While trellising tomatoes this week, we noticed that many of the plants have dropped a substantial amount of blossoms, which will decrease future yields. 
Despite the heat, the work continues. We spent much of the last week trying to help mitigate the heat by mulching many of the growing areas. Mulch helps the soil to retain moisture as well as keeping it cooler by preventing the sun from hitting it directly. Mulching also helps to avoid soil compaction. All of these benefits help to aid in healthy soil biology...which is one of our main goals...since robust soil biology unlocks nutrients for the plants and enables them to thrive.
We have also been working on trellising tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and green beans. Keeping our plants up, off of the soil helps to keep the produce clean and clear of the ground bugs that are always looking for something to eat. When plants are trellised properly, it also makes them easier to harvest.
We are working hard to get the rest of our fall crops planted this week. It's always difficult to find the time to stay on top of weeding, planting, harvesting, trellising, etc. this time of year. It seems like the time of the season that we are doing everything at once. The work is never caught up! Praise the Lord that we have kids that let us know when we need to take a break and head to the local swimming hole of sit down for ice cream.
Best of all, in the midst of the chaos, our cat had kittens! We have never had animal babies before, so this is quite the fun experience for us! Lots to love! (so I'm adding a couple of cute pics for you).
Wishing you the best weekend!
The Farm Family
Matt, Deidre, Josiah, Hadassah, Hannah and Hosannah
