Yesterday: High: 85, Low: 73, 1/3″ rain officially

I was telling my roommate the other day that this weather is the reason people can stand Houston in the summer. You will have days and days of 95 degrees, 95% humidity where it is too miserable to do anything, and then the storms some and the temp drops, and aside from harrowing drives on the freeways, it’s actually quite pleasant. Of course, as the proud grower of cherry tomatoes for the first time, I am learning that too much rain can be a bad thing, even in lovely raised beds that drain beautifully. My poor babies are splitting at the seams. I could handle it on full sized tomatoes, you just cut around splits on those, but cherries? That’s half the tomato!

I have been looking at seed catalogs again. Two came recommended if you are interested in Japanese plants in America: Evergreen Seeds and Kitazawa Seed Company. Both have awesome selections (especially compared to places like Burpee). One year I might get a couple of Kitazawa’s Chef’s Specialty Garden seed kits, but because I am doing Square Foot Planting (at least for now) a seed packet will last YEARS, and I am already planning on getting some shiso and some mizuna this year. Maybe in the spring I will get the Heirloom Vegetable pack – I was planning on getting similar veggies for my spring planting anyway: eggplant, carrots (I think I will always be growing carrots), greens, onions, and pumpkin (I think I will try a kabocha from the market this fall before I buy seeds, and make sure we like them). I might like to try the melon and turnip just to try making tsukemono – Japanese style pickles. Although I think I would rather have daikon than turnip. Ah well, that is something to think about over the winter.