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10 | LIFE IN SOLERA | NOVEMBER 2024 | By Richard Crowe By Richard Crowe This summer's heat was tough on gardens. How did yours fare? While I usually expound on the joys and virtues of gardening, I would be remiss if I failed to note some of the downside realities. As with most things in life worth having, a true gardener rolls with the punches. Here's my report card. Something about last winter and the transition to spring was not good for my plums, nectarines, and apricots as few of those fruits developed. I set traps and sprayed my apples for codling moth but many apples were still wormy (Photo 1). Figs and citrus usually laugh at summer heat but most of my figs burned and dropped when they were the size of marbles (Photo 2) and green oranges the size of walnuts, dried and fell as well. We had a bumper crop of peaches and cherries but the ravens got into the cherries and raccoons ransacked the peaches, both critters breaking many branches in the process as shown in Photo 3 (raven damage), and Photo 4 (raccoon damage). It was too hot for tomatoes and peppers and they shut down flowering and fruiting until the heat broke in early September. I decided to plant part of my winter garden in mid-September and now, again our days are hot — hot enough that lettuce and broccoli will suffer and may bolt (go to flower). I decided to try two things to keep them cool: 1) set the controller to water (spray) for two minutes at 12 noon, 1 pm, 2 pm, and 4 pm; and 2) add shade cloth. Photos 5 and 5.5 show arugula and broccoli (winter crops) between bell and hot peppers (summer crops), without shade and with shade. Rats chewed the tops of tomato plants. Rat "highways" run along the edges of houses so I set traps there. I don't bother with baiting traps and catch three rats per week in two traps. Note: securing traps to pieces of 2x4 allows for setting of traps with small sticks and not having fingers get "slapped" during the setting (Photo 6). Raccoons come to the yard for water and food. They took the entire crop of grapes this summer while we were out of town and are now getting into the persimmons. Photo 7 shows two raccoons in live traps under the persimmon tree. They drink from our fountain as evidenced from their footprints in the muddy soot that has rained down from the Line Fire (Photo 8). Keep on gardening! 1 3 4 2 5 7 8 6 5.5