The summer solstice has just passed, so the days are shortening already, but for many of us in our High Desert home, it is not too late to plant, thanks to the gorgeous Fall season we enjoy.  If you do plant now, make sure you are using mature transplants of tomatoes, peppers, and basil, which require a longer growing season.   Be sure to keep an eye on your soil moisture with the summer weather here.  Humidity is very low in the 10-13% range during the day and is not rising much during the night, so your plants can quickly dry out overnight, especially if you are gardening in pots.  Apply a nice layer of mulch to provide a helping hand with maintaining that moisture, but either stick your hand into the soil or use a moisture gauge to ensure you are maintaining the proper amount of moisture.  

Here at Moonstruck Farms, we just enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous thunderstorm bringing much-needed rain, but as you all know, we need a lot more to water our High Desert home and refill the wells that most of our homes are supported by.  We plant our tomatoes right up to the first of July, providing a nice progression of tomatoes throughout the season up to hopefully the first of December.  In addition, we are clearing rows for succession planting of summer annuals and Fall flowers that we hope will overwinter successfully, providing such beauties as Stock.  The first round of lilies will finish up their bloom over the next few weeks.  The new 50% shade cloth has provided a slower progression of blooming as we were hoping for.  The second round of lilies will be blooming in a few weeks, and the third round is now being removed from the cool room where they were rooted at 45 degrees for four weeks and now will begin to grow in the greenhouse.  This was going to be our last round of lilies, but we just purchased a beautiful Fall color mix of Oriental hybrid lily bulbs, hoping we can do one final bloom in the Fall.  

Both the Phelan and the Wrightwood Farmers Market are enjoying the addition of new vendors and are enjoying the beautiful summer temperatures.  Stop by the Phelan Farmers Market from 2pm to 6pm inside the Phelan Community Park at 4128 Warbler Road in Phelan on Mondays, and the Wrightwood Farmers Market from 4pm to 7pm inside the Wrightwood Community Center parking lot on Fridays to enjoy all your local farmers markets have to offer.