Fencing & Photos at St. Fiacre's

Morning temp: 68F
Afternoon high: 85F
Tonight's projected low: 62F
Humidity: 92%
Moon: Waning, 24%
Wind: N at 0 mph

1. A beautiful morning! But as the night time temps continue to approach 70F, we're wondering how long we can keep our Lettuce growing but not bolting. We'd LOVE to keep it all Summer long. It's planted in a corner of the garden that gets morning sunshine, but by 11:00am it's back in shade for the remainder of the day. Here in Zone 8, however, with our Mediterranean coastline climate, the days are long and hot Mid-May through Mid-October. We're grateful for this long, abundant growing season. We just want to keep our Lettuce from bolting. Please assist us by picturing our Lettuce Bed growing and stable all Summer long. All the positive mental/emotional energy you can send along our way will be mightily appreciated! : )

2. Here's a basic layout of our current Spring/Summer Garden. I've included the approximate dimensions and crops found in each Bed. I'll include photos asap. We're still working on this process... please forgive the delay... If you'd like to visualize our layout, well... it's too difficult, wait for the pictures.

Bed#1 (5 X 9) Garlic
Bed#2 (5 X 9) Potatoes
Bed#3 (5 X 9) Winter Lettuce, Beets, early Spring Lettuce
Bed#4 (5 X 9) Tomatoes (6), caged and staked, Onions
Bed#5 (5 X 9) "Butcrunch" Lettuce, Purple Cauliflower, "volunteer" Potatoes from last year (Peruvian Purple and Golden)
Bed#6 (5 X 9) Corn
Bed#7 (5 X 9) Sweet Potatoes, Pole Beans
Bed#8 (5 X 9) Watermelon (3), Peppers, Squash
Bed#9 (4 X 12) Peppers, Tomatios
Bed#10 (4 X 4) Squash (3)
Bed#11 (4 X 15) Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Oregano, Lavender, Thyme, Fennel
Bed#12 (4 X 4) Basil, Onions
Bed#13 (3.5 X 30) Tomatoes (5), caged and yet to be staked down

We're letting "volunteer" Potatoes grow in most places where they sprout up. Also, M is planting a wide range of Flowers throughout the Garden.

3. M and I went out to the Garden this morning shortly after she returned home from work (she works nights as a Labor & Delivery nurse), and she made a great point regarding yesterday's wilted Tomatoes. Due in part to my week out of town, they were not "hardened-off" prior to being planted outdoors. That is, they went directly from the highly controlled environment of the A-Frame & grow lights to the completely uncontrolled environment of the Garden, without a period of gradual introduction to sunlight, wind, hot afternoons and cooler evenings. Hence, she said, they experienced a profound "shock". No doubt this was exacerbated by a missed morning watering. Still, the wilting was likely even if the watering had not been missed.