Thank you! We just got a bit under 4 inches of rain, in one night. A lot of it ran off, but the creeks are still dry. We need a lot more, but I’m glad the fire potential is diminished for now.
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Thanks again!
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Thank you x 1000000 for your reply and wealth of information. 
.
Yes to drought!!! Ugh!!! I was outside cutting the grass yesterday and sort of moved in a Jackson Pollack like way since only patches here and there have actually been growing, if that!! Love the exercise with mowing grass (I use push mower for about 3 hilly acres). 
A friend of mine has a fruit orchard which is doing well, and I’ve told him I am super happy for him, but he also tells me others are struggling because of drought. 
I suspect one or more of my in ground fig trees is struggling due to lack of water … but I’ll see what happens next spring. I will seek out the equal numbers fertilizers as you suggest (thank you) and not feel guilty about my lack of pruning.
Fairfax!! Yes 
- former Vienna resident for years. And Old Town prior to that. I remember the humidity of OT - prob cause of proximity to D.C. and the marsh/swampy area. Great for running 
(at least training) (in my opinion). I wonder if humidity is helping gardens there cope with the drought. 
Thank you again
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Do you guys keep picking zucchini and other squash once the leaves have a downy or other mildew? I have a lot of plants, they all came down with it (happens this time of year), and I pulled out 2 large plants, to use as compost for some trees.
I sort of don’t like the idea of using the squash but they are still producing.
Our zucc plants always get moldy when they reach end-of-life stage. It doesn’t seem to matter whether they were planted early (dry) or late (wet). The mold doesn’t bother me as long as the veg looks healthy and shiny. I keep harvesting right on through October until first frost does the last of them in. You can cut them back quite a bit of the mildew bothers you - sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.
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Thanks!
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I don’t know, your figs look downright glorious to me. My SIL has one that her husband prunes BRUTALLY, that grows about fifteen feet in every direction per growing season. I strongly suspect that it’s sitting on top of their leaching field, plus they have a well and tend to water it a lot.
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Well, pruning trees (and shrubs) of any sort shouldn’t be more than about 20% of the top growth at any one time. The top growth, leaves, feeds the root system and vice versa. They establish a balance which shouldn’t be ignored for the health of the tree. Too much top pruning and the roots start to starve. As a result, rampant, fast growing branches and suckers sprout to try and provide sugars back to the roots. This growth is often soft, weak and prone to breakage.
Figs are tougher than most plants. Here, they often lose all top growth due to deep freezes. By midsummer, they’re back up to six feet (1.8 m). This type of freeze eliminates the breba crop and no figs ripen later before it gets cold.
We’re all familiar with what happens when roots get damaged; the leaves wilt. The balance of root to leaf is, again, off.
In very dry climates, I’d use a less concentrated fertilizer more frequently, maybe half normal strength. It’s important not to have salt buildup in the soil; so leaching with just water, when fruit isn’t ripening is a good idea. Do this when it’s warm. Avoiding salt buildup is true for all plants. In climates where there’s enough precipitation, rain does the leaching.
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As far as I can tell, all of Virginia is humid during most of the late spring and summer. Winds from the east bring sea air; from the west, mountain air passing above, through forests. Dew is often heavy, even during a drought. All the plant life is evaporating water to keep cool. Here, where some areas are impassable without a machete (or better yet, a sword), it’s just like a jungle, a wilted jungle this year.
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Today DH took some of our homegrown serrano peppers and onions and made pepper sauce. Good stuff!
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/homemade-red-hot-sauce-3645026
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Fall carrots - the first pick from our second planting.
Most of what is left is either second plantings, or fall fruit. Late summer producers such as peppers, tomatoes and and eggplants are still going strong, but we’re ripping out spent squash plants, cucumbers, zucchinis, peas, beans.
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Where are you growing these beauties (country/state)?
Some old shiitake logs were ignored all season, through the drought. I thought they’d be easier to pitch, since I thought they had expired. Despite drying out all summer, with no care, the recent rains and cooler temperatures made for a surprise when I went to uncover the 2023-inoculated logs (not ready to fruit).
More to pick later today-tomorrow. Guess they weren’t expired or dead after all.
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WOW, what luck!
Los Angeles, CA, United States, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way near the Orion Arm, or Orion Spur, located between the Sagittarius and Perseus arms.
i understand and agree, but there’s no talking to BIL. He cuts that fig down to a foot or two every winter. I think I’ll ask him for a few twigs so I can start a couple. It’s a pretty extraordinary tree.
That’s truly amazing to me! Bravo!
