At six o'clock tonight, it was still 102 degrees. Luckily, we are expecting the temperatures to drop into the 80s by next week. I don't know if we broke the 105 degree record today or not, but it must have been close. *My TV just told me the high was only 103 today.
I caught up with the tomatoes today. Well, almost. I still have ten more on the windowsill, but all the rest of them have been processed. Well, almost. Ten pints of salsa were made, making forty pints this month, and a big pot of tomato juice is ready to can, but I ran out of lemon juice. The tomato juice is cooling in the refrigerator, and I'll have to go to the store in the morning so I can finish it up into either juice or sauce. Of course, there will probably be more tomatoes to pick tomorrow, it's too darned hot to do it tonight and the green beans really must be picked. Oh, yes...two more zucchini. I wonder what doorstep I can leave them on.
Only 9% humidity? That's a piece of cake. :-)
ReplyDeleteEG, that's what makes our hot weather tolerable.
ReplyDeleteAG...wishing my tomatoes would all hurry it up and ripen...You have been very busy I see.
ReplyDeleteI'm also thankful we have a "dry heat" here. EG, you can have the humidity lol! just sayin... : )
I feel for you, Granny. The temps finally dipped a few degrees below 100 here in Texas today, and it actually felt "cool"! I hope your AC on was on full blast while you were doing all that canning!
ReplyDeleteSunny, did you see where we're getting a real cold spell later this week? Tri-Cities is supposed to drop down into the high 70s for a couple of days.
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Thyme2, I had the AC on and the box fan pointed right at me. I stayed as cool as a cucumber...didn't even realize how hot it was until I went out to the compost bin.
Oh my, that is hot, hot, hot!
ReplyDeleteGrief that's hot! Maybe you can used the zucchini's to throw at the birds eating your lettuce bed up.
ReplyDeleteAh, I love a dry heat, I do not miss the south during the spring, summer or fall!
Mmmm, salsa! I think tomorrow is my salsa day. You can bet I'll be using the fans here, too!
ReplyDelete~~Lori
I don;t think we ever have 9% humidity. I think we're doing good if it gets below 50%. And temps like yours...all summer long, so far, except for very few exceptions. Today was one of them. Got down to the high 80's, low 90's briefly, and it felt cool. Still too humid, though; we had some thundershowers move through. Missed me, though...all around me, but not on my garden.
ReplyDeleteI didn't grow any zucchini in my garden because I wasn't sure what I would do with it!
ReplyDeleteWOW! That is hot. We haven't gotten those actual tems, but the heat index has been around there for weeks now.
ReplyDeleteAh, the old drop-the-zuchinni-and-run ploy! Around these parts, it's cabbage. I'm planning a dawn dropoff on the new neighbors.
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That low humidity is really easy on us, but really hard on the plants I find. It is hard to keep then watered enough when it is so hot and dry.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's hot and dry. Thank goodness for AC. I wish I could have a few of those zucchinis.
ReplyDeleteMan I wouldn't want your electric bill this month with all that heat! It's bad enough!
ReplyDeleteI think I lost my first attempt at commenting - if I double up on comments - just ignore one or the other! LOL!
ReplyDeleteThe tomato products look great and I am wishing I were overwhelmed with tomatos and canning too. Instead I am trying to stay on top of the bush beans that are hitting their peak at the moment. Got lots of lovely beans processed and in the freezer this evening.
I noted that our heat from last weekend was shifting away from western washington and settling in to eastern washington for a few days. We are on the cool down already which it sounds like will come your way soon too. I think our four days of hot over the past weekend was the entirety of summer for us this year.
I am giving away most of my zucchini harvests of late because I do not like frozen zucchini and my husband and I can only eat so many zucchini cakes/bread, and I am weary of eating zucchini at every meal. I have been secretly hoping that the plants would succomb to disease and/or pests but they are healthy and happy!
8:45 a.m. and it's just under 70 here. I don't envy you 103. We had 90s last week, and I was so glad most of my work was at home. At least the heat is good for the garden, even if it's not good for the gardener.
ReplyDeleteMeemsnyc, it was actually 104F according to the newspaper. Still didn't break a record for mid-August.
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Nartaya, I've been in AZ at 118F, and it all feels about the same when the humidity is low.
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Lori, I've sure been glad I bought this box fan this year. I was going to use it outside on the patio, but it's been in my kitchen all summer!
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SB, I guess we had a thunderstorm in the middle of the night, but I slept through it. Your humidity would kill me, but it would make my skin nice and soft ;-)
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Kimmi, I'm not fond of zucchini, but Mr. Granny loves it fried. I don't know why I don't just buy him one a week instead of planting it.
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Ribbit, this is pretty normal for us for daytime, but we usually get cool nights, way down in the 60s.
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Sue, I'll trade you ten zukes for one cabbage!
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Daphne, I've noticed some of my hand watered tomatoes wilting down, even in their bottomless pots. The ones on the drip system, too. Only the ones getting overhead sprinkling (actually not over-head, more like mid-head) are looking quite perky. I'm sure it's because the sprinklers keep the humidity higher.
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The Mom, how would you like those zucchinis packaged for shipping? LOL!
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Apple Pie Gal, our electricity is relatively cheap here in the NW. We also have a heat pump that is high efficiency and fairly new, so our bills only run about $70 a month during the hot summer months. Automatic attic fans also help. I'm probably using more electricity having the stove burners on for hours, doing the canning.
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Kitsap, I wish my zuke would die, too. It's getting huge....the zucchini that ate Granny's back yard! This must be the year of the squash, between it and the butternut. The crookneck is just putting out lots and lots of leaves, with very few squash. I think it's going to be pulled out by its roots next.
It's 52°F here. Yeah, you go and sweat yourselves silly while I walk around looking for a bloody jumper.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's hot there because you're closer to hell?
Seriously, where's that jumper?
TIG, I don't know what's worse, too hot or too cold. In my perfect world, it would always be 75F.
ReplyDeleteGranny - take it easy in that heat, I'm getting exhausted just reading about all you're doing. I'm one of those people who loves zuchinni. We're eating zuchinni casserole, breads, brownies, plain steamed and I'm freezing it. My plants have not been as proliforous (sp?) as some years, so I am even taking it from friends. But no, don't mail me yours :-)
ReplyDeleteLinda, it was gloriously cool this morning, so I got a lot picked. I'll wait a day or two for it to cool down before I do much cleaning up in the garden.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure you don't want me to mail those zukes?
I'm still hoping for my first zuke of the year, so don't curse your zucchini plant for just doing what it does. Awesome harvest, but why do the tomatoes always need canning on the hottest days of the year? No fair.
ReplyDeleteThose salsa pints look so yummy! My tomatoes are piling up and I've been blanching and freezing them. Hmm... maybe I should can a few salsa pints too....
ReplyDeleteLou Murray, it's too bad my freezer is full. I could be freezing some of the tomatoes, but I must save room for green beans and peppers. Our weather is supposed to cool down in the next couple of days, so I'll be in a canning frenzy!
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RandomGardener, I'm wondering just how many more pints of salsa I should make. I'm afraid I'll make everyone tired of it! My grandson spent the weekend with us, and said "You sure do eat a lot of salsa. I'm not that fond of it." LOL, I guess I can't pawn any more of it off on that family!