The heat and drought are taking a terrible toll on all the plants. Everything from the grass up to the trees is stressed. We lost a beautiful sand cherry bush to fire blight. Of all the beet seeds I planted, only about a third of them even germinated, and of those few, only 3 have formed bulbs. We planted some hot pepper seeds for Bubba - nothing germinated. Princess' flowers are struggling, too. All this is in spite of adding compost to good soil and watering. And I mean watering every other day for a half hour with a lawn sprinkler.
If you are a first time gardener this year, and you are experiencing similar results, please stay encouraged. We are currently experiencing the hottest, driest summer on record where we live, and apparently, the whole eastern portion of the US is the same. Don't think you have a "black thumb" because Mother Nature is being uncooperative.
So let me give you some good news. Now is a great time to start planning what to do with your garden in the fall. Do some research into drought tolerant varieties of plants for next year. Build a compost bin for the leaves that will be falling in a few months. Get your worm bins started for indoor composting over the winter. Keep watering and adding compost to those plants that are toughing it out. In other words, don't give up and walk away - it's just a really bad season, and those things happen despite our best efforts.
Have a great day!
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