Storms keep skirting us here as well. Several "severe storm warnings" and then... pffffft! So it's been haul-the-hose-around time here in giardino de beac too.

Looking forward to the pics of those puirple beans. I'm wishing I'd done filet instead of regular this year. But we will have our first meal of featuring home-grown green beans tonight, assuming we don't pass out from the heat first.

But something like 100,000 people in Metro Detroit are still out of power. And its going to be 101 here today. I hope the power grid can handle it.

So far, my tomato plants are actually happy with this weather, they have grown tremendously in a week, but aren't big enough to have fruit yet, just budding now.

I have only got a few tomatoes so far but still green. Still lots of flowers, and we did get some good soaking rain----a little too much too quickly, but I am not complaining. Heat now and some of the plants are a little wilted looking. I hope they survive unscathed. You have me wanting tomatoes NOW!

Which is prob why I have so few tomatoes -- the varieties we plant here are made to withstand heat and draught, I don't think they know what to do with these nice cool nights!

Love your pix and doesn't eggplant have the most gorgeous color flower of any veg???

The buggers are pushing 6 feet tall and lots of tomatoes on the way. The watermelons are doing great as well. I'll be giving lots of stuff away this season I think.

Alright. What AM I doing wrong? Tried planting eggplants for the first time this year in the square foot garden. I have one plant per square foot, nice, green plants with beautiful purple flowers and not an eggplant to be found. I have plenty of pollinators (bees, hummingbirds) and my other pollinated plants (squash, Armenian cucumbers) are producing just fine. I understand they like hot weather and it's been in the 90's and will be in the 100's this coming week. Any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks,

LTH

I think eggplant love very hot roots (peppers too) - I have eggplant in 5 gallon grow bags that are loaded with fruit. I get yields that are 10X what I got in the ground when planting in pots.

Eggplant blossoms, like peppers and tomatoes, are self-pollinated - high heat can lead to blossom drop. All the bees do is create unexpected hybrids as they move blossom to blossom (which doesn't matter unless you are a seed saver - it would be seen if the eggplant develops and you plant the saved seed next year)

pots next year. I LOVE eggplant, unfortunately, the espoused one is not so enthusiastic. I've been sneaking it into various dishes and have hit on a few that he likes (he loves the eggplant parmisian).

Thanks for the suggestion!

LTH

We actually got several monster sized zucchini over the last 10 days (most of them are about the size and thickness of an adult arm from elbow to wrist) and the first eggplant I've ever grown. Some of the full sized tomatoes have developed Blossom End Rot, but the dwarf varieties (mostly ones sent by you, thanks again) seem to be thriving even with the heat.

Italian Pole Beans are beginning to really produce and hot/bell peppers are almost ready. Between two cherry punch plants, I'm getting a pint of tomatoes a day, at least. Picked my first Black Pearl on Sunday and the full sized guys look like they're just about to start changing color.