in the south, july and august can be very hot and humid. the threat of afternoon thunderstorms generally means a short burst of rain followed by more humidity. lately though, we have found ourselves in a pattern of hot dry heat and a lack of those summer thunderstorms. the latest stretch, which lasted about 3 weeks, took it's toll on our garden.
many of the plants were so stressed that they stopped producing and the bugs were having a field day with them. this year has also been a great year for the woolly aphid. if you are familiar with them then you know that they make a huge mess in the garden. they continuously excrete honeydew (poop) and it coats the plants. It is sticky and the worst part is that it causes a sooty mold to take over and all of the plants end up looking black. yesterday, darry and I began removing plants and adding compost so we can get ready for the fall planting of greens, lettuces, beans and peas.
the garden with it's new layer of compost in the beds
the yellow bell pepper in full production. luckily, the pepper plants are not under or near the hackberry trees, the woolly aphids preferred host.
out front, one of our little lasagna gardens. this one has done very well and we will definitely do this again next year. they are fast to assemble, easy to plant in and they take off quickly!
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