As a determined gardener, I am continually looking for new ways to “cheat” the elements. The first year that I gardened in Mordor I had to replant my cucumbers three times because the wind blew their little leaves off (yes, really three times! Does that last statement reflect badly on our weather or me? Perhaps both). It also blew some of the Spanish tiles off of our roof, but that did not disturb me nearly as much as the damage done to my garden.
To “cheat” the wind, I took advantage of the elevated posts and chicken wire on my raised garden beds to create a wind block with an old beach towel. I made several holes in the edge of the towel and attached the towel with zip ties to the chicken wire. I have planted my next crop of spinach and chard in this box, along with my back up tomatoes .
The odd shade on the new lettuce is caused by the sun screen that I use to Cheat the sun. The timing on my greens has worked well this year. My last planting of lettuce is just getting ready to flower and I can start pinching leaves on my new lettuce any time.
My cantaloupe has its first flower. I find almost as much joy at discovering the first flower as I do in picking perfectly ripe fruit!
My pumpkins have finally started to grow. They have started to flower, but the flowers are hidden beneath the leaves. Hopefully the bees know where to look.
The peas are doing well. I continue to harvest a handful each day, but a handful of pea pods does not equal a handful of peas! The peas keep well, so I am saving them up and will use them in Brazilian Rice on Saturday. 
Alea says
LOL! I love it Rebecca!
Rebecca says
So, your beach towel could be called a…
Cheat Sheet?!
byhisgracealone says
I find great ideas from so many…
it is exciting to see the first flowers….my tomato plants and squash are showing many now…
The Frugal Engineer says
I love that you call where you live and garden Mordor. 🙂
Amanda says
I used "walls of water" with my tomato plants until they were well rooted. Here is how my garden currently looks: http://copingwithfrugality.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-garden.html
Lori says
Wow, you really have to get creative to cheat that kind of wind, don't you? 🙂 Everything looks great…you're doing a super job!
Melissa says
Great idea to cheat the wind by building on what you have.
My husband takes care of the lawn mushrooms, but I don't know how he gets rid of them!