So Cal Gardeners

This was a particularly mild summer so far. How did that effect your gardening? Did it help? Hurt? Let us know what you observed. And - what are you planting next?

Glad you asked !
It certainly was nice to from a standpoint of just being able to work outside without the intensity of the sun or the humidity, but here we are , starting to get some triple digits this week, and I just planted some seeds last wednesday! not direct seeded though , I started transplants in my greenhouse.
So far so good, the sun is not directly on the seeds but it is a muted sunshine like a warm glow and the windows are all open and both doors are open, at the hottest part of the day the temp said 120 degrees! in the morn it is 69 degrees. I really was wondering if it was too hot to sprout seeds.
Already the kale,broccoli,arugula,cucumber,calliflower, have all sprouted! Yeah, happy dance!

I just returned from a week in Oregon to see my younger brother before he died. Seeing my SFG again (and harvesting some produce) is healing.

Here's a rundown on our So. Cal. cool summer:

Tomatoes: Growing crazy! (Despite blight)
Beans: Haven't done too well, harvest continues.
Onions: Small bulbs, but the biggest yet. I didn't trim the tops.
Cucumbers: Aagh! One tiny, bitter one.
Slow-bolting lettuce: Ready to go into a salad.
Purple basil: Too big for my SFG, creating its own shade. Must transplant!
Squash: A couple of decent-sized ones, first ever.
Corn: Tiny plants, but quite a few not-fully-polinated ears.
Tomatillos: Paltry harvest, but best yet.
Berries: Raspberry and blackberry plants growing well, but no fruit yet.
Dill: Reached 7' or so before I pulled it out. Will try to sell dill heads.

Plan for next year: Make and use more compost. Lobby HOA to hack next-door olive tree again. Consider using reflective panels to get more sunlight.
Hope for hotter weather.

I am very sorry to hear about your brother and I can attest to the fact that gardening is indeed healing.

I have never heard of 7' dill! My dill was about 3-4 feet from the ground to the tippy top of the heads. WOW. Where do you sell dill heads?

I planted "Pepino" cucumbers and so far no bitterness. They are just coming in now. Maybe because it was so small? Who knows. Many variables effect cukes.

Be careful what you wish for! I think I liked this mild summer! Of course you get more ocean influence so that was probably even cooler.

Thanks for your kind thoughts. I like to think that my brother (an amputee) is whole and pain-free, as well as starting his own garden!

Yes, my dill and roses go phototropic in my light-challenged yard. I thought I might try selling the dried dill heads to neighbors and colleagues for cooking, baking, planting, etc.