The goddess smiled on us here today and gave the first blue skies all day long since June 22. The smoke from the 800 or so wildfires has been so bad, ( considered in the Unhealthy range) that there has been very little in the way of gardening accomplished. About 15 minutes in the morning some days, has been about it: time to pull a few weeds, or to deadhead the roses or the day lilies.
It hasn't seemed to bother the vegies though. I got 12 tomatoes on Fri and 12 on Sat. and about 12 today Mon I have two plants: Park's Whopper and Beefy Boy. They are now about 2 feet higher that their 8 foot cages. Zucchini plant is over waist high. Babcock peaches are now ripening. It was 99 degrees and pretty humid today.
I saw a tiny little female Calliope Hummer Sat. the first one ever in my garden. They are generally mountain dwellers and she probably came down for some fresh air!
The fires are being contained slowly; the terrain for fighting fires is extreme, steep and forested. The smoke has hampered the use of planes/helicopters. There have been firefighters from over 40 states here. And we are so very THANKFUL to them ALL.
Emilie NorCal