June has been a real rollercoaster of weather. From unusually cold first 10 days to the August temperatures in the last couple of days. We got our first heatwave that lasted 12 days without a break and got the lowest amount of rain(only 36mm) in one month over the past 2 years. 

Still garden is growing nicely. Some plants better than others, some couldn’t wait for all this warmth, while others struggle. But we all know we can’t have a perfect year in which every single vegetable thrives. 

Among the thriving plants are tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. Although cucumbers are starting to show signs of heat distress they are starting to form fruits and are still looking good. I’m not sure how long they will be looking good and I’ll probably have to mulch them soon, but for now, they look a lot better than they did at the beginning of June. 

The same thing is with peppers, they are still enjoying the sun, fefferoni peppers are struggling a bit and look wilted every evening, but they recuperate during the night. Tomato peppers thrive in the sun and grow like mad.

Tomatoes couldn’t wait for this heat. They are growing fruits and flowering like mad. The difference in height and flower number can be seen daily. 

Beans on the other hand didn’t enjoy the June weather. The cold beginning kept them from growing and now this heat is keeping them from forming fruits. They are flowering like mad, but the flowers dry up due to the heat and sun. 

Another plant that doesn’t like the heat is kale. Last year I couldn’t get rid of the kale, it was growing like mad. This year the heat has stopped it. It’s not struggling, but the growth is much slower than the last year, which could actually be a good thing… I hate kale. 

Another great thing about the end of June is that there are fewer and fewer weeds.  I couldn’t get rid of the weeds in the past couple of years, but this June’s cold beginning stopped the growth of the roots and warmth which burns the top of the plants, finally making my garden weed-free.

If only we had a couple of showers during June it would be a perfect month.