Even though it’s hot as hell outside, I decided to go pull up some of the dying plants in the garden. Seeing as I have no energy today, that may seem crazy, but working in the garden usually energizes me (and it has).

Everything was going along fine until I got to the bush beans. I discovered, with my hand, there is a hidden nest of fire ants in that section of the garden. With this oppressive heat we have been having, they don’t tend to build the large mounds that are easily seen and avoided. Only about 8 of them bit me, but damn do they hurt. Getting bit by one makes me queasy. Getting bit by 8 makes me outright nauseous and lightheaded. Can you say allergic reaction? I’ve taken the most potent antihistamine in my arsenal and slathered on some bug bite goo. Not much else to do other than go to a doctor, but for only 8, I think it would be overkill.

This is why there is one exception to the “no poisons” rule in my garden area and yard. There is no living in peace with fire ants for me. I don’t want to find out how many stings it would take to kill me. The most stings I have ever had was 30, and that required a trip to the doctor for something more potent than an OTC antihistamine, and I was sick for a couple of days. Therefore, tomorrow morning when the ants are up near the surface, I will be liberally applying poison to the area. I hate to do it right in the garden bed, but I can’t have them there, and there isn’t really any good way to get rid of them without poison.

The other big problem in that bed is a damn pear tree sapling. I have been fighting it since early spring, and because the bed was planted, I couldn’t do any serious digging to get rid of it. Well, I did some serious digging today, and I still haven’t gotten it out. I found the root part that started the thing, and it’s firmly down in the ground. I’m going to have to get Lin to help me dig it out … after I get rid of the damn ants, of course. After I have watered in the ant poison in the morning and the ground is wet, maybe I’ll be able to get it out myself. All I know is that damn sapling has to go. Will we ever be rid of the damn pear trees?!?! They are a bane and a pox, and they must go.

I didn’t get all the stuff pulled out of the ground I wanted to, thanks to the ant bites, but bed one now only has two dill plants in it. I keep waiting for them to go to seed, but they only have a few more days before I give up on them. The seed heads bloomed months ago, and still no seeds. I still have hundreds of dill seeds, so I don’t really need them to go to seed. When I am ready to replant that bed, the dill goes.

I did get some of the dying tomato plants pulled up and a few of them got cut back to see if they will sprout new growth. I doubt it, but I thought I would give them a chance first. The two pepper that are still around get to stay, as do the carrots which are doing good. The basil will have to go soon. I hate to do it, because they look gorgeous, but they are getting too bitter for eating. I think when all is said and done, there will be two tomato plants and two pepper plants left in that bed.

That leaves the Three Sisters Mounds. Everything goes in those tomorrow. The corn totally failed, the squash produced until it got too hot, and the pole beans returned only enough to replace the seed I planted. A combination of misjudging the amount of sunlight in that area combined with the summer heat made that whole section a waste of my energy. Live and learn. Since most herbs can get by with slightly less than full sunlight, that section will now be my herb garden. I will not be repeating the Three Sisters Mounds experiment.

And the potted things? The Homestead tomato gave me its first and only tomato today, so I’ll have some seed. The experimental pear tomato was dead. As soon as the okra pod on the sole surviving okra plant is dry enough to pick for seed, it goes too. That leaves my almost two year old jalapeño plant. It’s looking awful and half dead. It’s looked like that before, and I brought it back to life. I don’t know that I’ll bother this time. The peppers it’s produces are too unpredictable. Bite into one and it tastes just like a bell pepper. Bite into another and your head bursts into flames. It’s always a guessing game, and I don’t want to play anymore.

So that’s what’s going on in the garden. Not much. As soon as I get the dishes done, I’ll be getting out the starter tray and planting some seeds to get ready for the next season. Which reminds me, I need to order seeds for the fall/winter stuff soon. Of course, first I have to decide exactly what I am going to plant … other than a lot of fennel. :)