The giant high pressure zone that caused the intense heatwave at the end of last week has slid off to the East allowing the normal on-shore flow of cool air to resume here. There was hardly a breath of wind last Friday and Saturday and record highs were set for both days—well over 100 degrees. Here at our home site, we came through it better than I had hoped. The heavy clay soils here hold a lot of moisture and provide a nice buffer. And the increased output of our new well allows us to keep up with our irrigation demands. Some of the leafy crops initially when into shock a bit—we had been in a cool foggy cycle here and the plants were unaccustomed to the heat—but with some cooling, and over-head water, they soon recovered.
At our Lewis Road site things suffered a little more. Temperatures typically run a few degrees warmer there, and the sandy soils are much less forgiving. Ironically, the crop that seems to have suffered the most is the tomatoes, which usually love heat. The fruit that is directly exposed to the sun is prone to getting sunburnt during very high heat, however. The extent of the damage will become clearer over the next few days.
It has definitely been an eventful few days around here weather-wise. After some initial cooling on Sunday, we actually got showers here as the remains of Tropical Storm Lidia passed overhead Monday morning. Eventful yes, but really nothing much when compared to what folks in other parts of the country are going through right now. It’s always helpful to keep things in perspective.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
