Farm Report July 22

Another hot day, but I finished the outdoor work by 11AM, and the dogs came in soon after, and we hunkered down, to stay cool. I've been researching the flea beetles, and they're famous for eating eggplant. The neem oil is widely prescribed, but also diatomaceous earth, sprinkled on the plant. It gets into the beetle's body plates, to eliminate them without poison.

Some almonds are just about ripe. The shell is fairly hard and the inner nut is almost dry. The summer squash is really growing, and just about ready to flower. The leaves of the squash plants are huge and and have built a canopy over the entire bed. The lavender cuttings are not doing well, and I may have to try again in the spring, when it's not so hot.