June weather and my garden

 Anyone else taking issue with this weather?

At the beginning of the month we got some scorching weather. My poor garden.  

During March and April I had been planning for and anticipating cold weather.  Possible frosts, too.  My last average frost date is June 1. I'm in zone 3b.

Instead, we got temperatures in the high 90's Fahrenheit. Our area is not used to that kind of heat so early in the season. 

Some things had been planted already.  Those plants did all right.  Some of my cool weather transplants did not fare well.  Some things simply withered away in the heat.  Other things, like my broccoli and lettuce, bolted. 

The weather then settled down a little bit, temperature-wise.  Then there was no rain. The forecast kept promising rain, but I was out there every day, trying to keep everything watered and the transplant shock to a minimum. 

A few things I direct sowed popped out of the ground within three days.  Practically unheard of, to me.  My carrot seeds didn't sprout, I think.  The ground was drying out so fast and I completely forgot the trick of laying boards or something down, to keep the moisture in until the seeds sproud. Do I have time to reseed?  Maybe. 

This past weekend and the last few mornings I've been waking up to temperatures in the 40s Fahrenheit.  C'mon, man! At least we got rain on Sunday. Sunday we lit a fire in the wood stove.  A fire. At the end of June. Even though we were bundled up in layers, we were still cold.  So we lit a fire and kept it going for the day. 

Last year I wanted to do videos, documenting the garden throughout the gardening season.  Things went awry, because life likes to throw curveballs, and that didn't  happen.  A bummer, too, because it wound up being a beautiful and wild garden. Tomato plants taller than my husband.  Broccoli stalks as thick as small trees, with beautiful heads of florets. Cucumber vines that stretched from one side of the garden to the other.  

I also did a mixture of some flowers in there, too.  I wanted to attract the pollinators to my garden, and help things along. I had butterflies and humming birds checking things out.

This year, I don't think it's going to be quite the same. That's all right with me. Whatever does happen and anything that comes out of the garden will be a success. 

I'm already harvesting lettuce. I picked off a few little broccoli heads, too. 

So, speaking of garden videos, I've made two so far.  Real quick videos that I stood in the center of the garden and turned in a circle.  Early in the morning, and early in the evening you can hear the birds and there's not a lot of neighborhood noise.  It's calming, and I would rather share those sounds than me talking about the plants. 

Here's the video, taken June 14, 2021. 

Here's the video I took this morning, June 23, 2021. 

I shot the video, then thought about going around and sharing what the plants were.  My phone was out of memory.  I have to delete some old audio books, videos and memes off my camera roll.  Maybe I'll attempt it again next week.