Monday, July 9, 2012

hot as hell with a side of drought


Black-Eyed Susan

Nashville saw its hottest day ever June 29, at 109 degrees. Throughout this summer we have shattered existing high temperature records and last week we had multiple 104-degree days. Not only was June one of the hottest months on record, it was also one of the driest and we are in the midst of a full-on drought.

Pretty much any plant not being watered regularly is a plant that is struggling. We will lose many trees this summer due to the high heat and drought conditions. Species that appear to be struggling the most include Sycamore (Platanus), Tulip Poplar (Liriodenron), and Redbud (Cercis).

These ArborRain watering bags will help newly planted trees and shrubs. The peppers and herbs are doing great. Of my tomatoes, only the Super Sweet 100, Yellow Pear, and Romas are performing well. A native Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) is pictured above, and is the only thing alive in that scorched field.
green peppers
tomatoes

With all of the blackberries I harvested from the backyard, I made a blackberry-peach cobbler that wasn't too shabby. This is the tried and true easy-peasy fruit cobbler recipe I used; simply switch out the fruit for whatever is in season or (in the freezer) at the time.