This Is What Happens When You Forget To Check On Your Garden During A Heat Wave

It has been miserably hot so far this month.  The first 12 days of August has seen 10 days over 90* and half of them have been 100* plus (and always hotter than the weather report predicts).  I have been doing my fair share of staying indoors, spending time near the coast, drinking lots of ice cold water (and other frosty beverages), and eating cold foods like salad and sushi.
  

One thing I haven't been doing that much is checking on my garden.  We are trying to water as little as possible which supposedly is supposed to force the plants to bear more fruit instead of focusing on growing greenery.  We started our garden really late this year, so up until now, we haven't had any significant harvests.  A couple cherry tomatoes, but that's about it.  Every day I went out and checked, everything looked green, but no fruit.

Today, I told Dave that we should go check on the cucumber on the side of the house because I saw one over there last week and was sure it would be about time to pick it.  We were a little surprised at what we found.  Guess it's time to make some salsa and pickles! 

A giant cucumber that's bigger than my arm.

Up close with the giant cucumber.

More cucumbers! 

The plant has started trailing off the trellises, and dozens of tiny cucumbers are hiding under the leaves. 

Our first big harvest!  Cucumbers, tomatoes, and assorted peppers.  

I love all the colors.  It makes food so much more appetizing when it's colorful!