South Africa had a spell of extreme heat. I think we had a whole week of temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius plus (105F for those on the other side of the world). Plants that are not adapted to this heat suffer. I think all of my Swiss Chard died. But funny enough, my amaranth is flourishing. In fact, I have never grown such large amaranth in my life. I know there are people growing amaranth that is 6ft tall, but to me this amaranth is gigantic. In any case, in this Hive Garden Journal, I write about a myriad of things! If you care to see how my garden and "wannabe" homesteading is going, please read on! (I am guilty of not always participating in the Hive Garden and Herbal Hive competitions! But sometimes I will....Mark my words.) This post will cover: (i) Birds bathing in my garden whilst I watered the garden, (ii) my giant amaranth that grew in the wrong place but that grew so beautifully, (iii) weirdly out of season rocket plants, (iv) wild rocket that seeded and keeps giving seeds, (v) my Lamb's quarters that finally grew, and lastly (vi) l cut down all my gooseberry bushes!

(i) Bathing Birds

Whilst watering the garden after the afternoon heat, a bunch of Cape white-eye birds decided to cool down as well. I counted at least 15 of them. They did not like me spraying them directly, they merely used the water that was on the leaves to take a bath. They followed me throughout the garden, and I thought it was one of those moments that you could not capture on video. A fleeting moment of wondrous beauty. But somehow I managed to get a video of sorts. It is not the best quality, but I think it is so sweet!

(ii) Giant Amaranth

This is probably not the biggest amaranth by any standard of the word. But this is my biggest amaranth I have grown in my life. I have never seen the leaves this big. They are as big as my hand.

This is not even part of my main crop. This is a seed that sprouted in one of my flower pots from the compost I added. Sometimes my compost doesn't kill all the seeds. Like this: the amaranth somehow sprouted, I identified the seedling as such and it just took off. It grew into this massive plant. I have harvested from it continually, adding the leaves to stews and such. The stem has grown almost as thick as my thumb!

(iii) Out of Season Salad Rocket

It is funny how we find products year-round in the shops that are not in season. Salad rocket is one such a crop I always wonder why people grow it out of season. In South Africa, as I noted from the outset of this post, the temperatures are 40C or 105F in the summer. Salad rocket does not like this heat! It bolts immediately. So they grow this crop in greenhouses. But I have tasted these crops and they are so bland. If you have ever had freshly picked rocket you will understand the frustration of eating store-bought ones. They lose flavor once you picked them. In any case, I let them self-seed or self-sow throughout my garden. Usually, they sprout in the winter or late autumn. But some have sprouted and they try to grow in this summer heat. How funny is nature not sometimes? We think she knows better than us, but sometimes she just confuses me.

I have also tried to grow some elsewhere in the shades. After a couple of weeks, they sprouted and the seedlings are coming along, but salad rocket is just not a summer green. It doesn't want to grow! Have you ever grown salad rocket out of season successfully?

(iv) Wild Rocket Going Wild (in Seed Production)

Wild rocket seems to me to be a problematic crop. It proliferates like weeds and it is perennial, that is, it does not die back once it seeded. I have harvested wild rocket seeds from my designated growing area four weeks ago, and in that time most of them seeded again! I have no idea why, but I managed to harvest another bucket full of seeds.

Is wild rocket a blessing or a problem?

Have you ever grown wild rocket? Do you prefer wild or salad rocket? The two are actually not all that comparable! They are so different in taste and plant.

(v) Lamb's Quarter Growing

Finally, after struggling for so long, my lamb's quarter plants have started to take over. I took some seeds from the wild plants growing in the vineyards close by, but they never sprouted, until recently! Now I have four or five plants that grew nice and big. I hope to harvest a lot of seeds from them.

(vi) Gone are the Gooseberries

I have harvested twice already from the gooseberry bushes. I cut them down and threw some compost. I also used the cut-down bushes to make more compost! Circle of life. But these plants flourish when you cut them. I have tested on other gooseberry plants I grow for the squirrels and birds. (Yes, I grow designated ones for the animals! And let me tell you, it works. They rather eat those than the ones I grow for myself. The ones I grow for myself are hidden but the ones I grow for the animals are in the open.) In any case, I cut them four weeks ago, and they already grew a meter high! They are prolific growers for sure.

Until Next Time

Gardening in this heat is hectic. For the plants and me! I know, the sun is probably not that healthy. But it is all a matter of balance. I hope your garden is flourishing! I know some of you are still coping with snow, and here we are sitting in heat that melts us! In any case, happy gardening and good luck!

(P.S. my frangipani cuttings are flowering beautifully as well! Despite the heat.)