Harvest of some things was great. I canned 30 pints of Green Beans and a lot of Tomato sauce that I didn't bother counting. The Onion harvest was also very good and the stored Onions should last until Christmas. The English Peas were adequate until an early May heat wave shut them down. They're quite sensitive to temperatures above 90° F, or 32° C in your world. Lettuce, Radish and Spinach made it until it got warm as well. The Yellow Squash was great and I still have one left in the fridge; however the Zucchini did not bear at all, despite hand pollination. The Jalapeno Peppers did alright, but the grasshoppers got the Bell Pepper plants before they had a chance to pollinate. Health issues took me down in mid-June and a couple of bushels of Tomatoes were left unpicked, although I had canned a lot before then. Other than the Tomatoes, most stuff doesn't grow here after the heat in mid-June.
Good harvest all things considered
Shame about the health
End of June and health were neck and neck
I think the weather is effecting a lot of people,cross fingers you improve
Husband and I resorted to vitamins during summer, we usually only start them late autumn and staying hydrating. we bought insulated cups for cool drinks for when outside, the humidity especially inside when cooking has been noticeably high.I resorted to air fry and slow cook when possible to stay out of the heat, and hot sticky nights interrupted sleep then made us feel worse
I opened the doors on woodburners to encourage airflow
Left curtains shut in rooms when not in use for coolness
Added net curtains in the conservatory using bamboo sticks and paracord
Did the window trick north and south for airflow
And had the loft door open to let it rise, luckily we have velux windows so they were cracked open too
Everything was on latches so as to not let burglars have a free rein
I understand poverty has increased petty theft even by neighbours
The last oil crisis our outside diesel went way too fast hence solar and woodburners
Bought early tomatoes struggled, self seeds compensated and were allowed to pop up
Zuccini and squash very good, i added borage and marigolds to draw pollinators (borage on a cold drink is doable but most just pretty and once too big ripped out)I grew excess, and stored in buckets (so if they go bad and wet liquid does not cause an issue also discourages mice) so I can cook for autumn winter use
sweetcorn small and dry fast too,
early peas were a non event enough to eat as I pottered none for kitchen,
early potatoes attacked but later ones ok,I have some in buckets to move into polytunnel later for a autumn harvest as long as they don’t dry out
Grapes are small and considering I bought the plant last year has phenomenal growth
I see a lot of south US farmers have abandoned almonds for pistachios
European droughts heatwaves and wildfires will hurt food prices our part of England has managed to dodge the worst
Family in Hungary effected farmers there have serious drought issues
But for many rent, heating / cooling bills, fuel for car, food bills are hurting and I know several who have had to give up on little luxuries just to get by
I have seen people selling toys from childhood to make cash or so they claim
Very dry here but rain in July hit the spot saved the fruit trees peaches look good in photo but small and not really juicy only one small tree wild plums did amazingly pears are divine apples red and juicy de Nancy sweet and currents stayed on the bushes bird numbers very low this year water too low I guess
we are getting some now too but rivers and reservoirs very low
