Bugs? Anything heading my way?

That's the turn arriving. Flowers mean the plants are shifting from building structure to setting fruit. With the heat spike tomorrow, a couple things to watch: tomatoes and peppers may drop flowers if the heat hits hard. Deep watering tonight helps them hold. Squash and cukes will push through fine — they love warmth — but keep the short bed from drying out between waterings. You're in the thick of it now.

It does. That's the part where the work shifts from building to watching — and the watching is what carries the harvest. You've got good beds, good soil, and everything flowering. The heat tomorrow is the first real test. You'll know more after it passes.

I don't have a live field scan — I can't see what's on your plants from here. What I can tell you is what's common for your stage and zone right now. With everything flowering and heat coming: squash vine borers are active in the Southeast. They hit when plants are flowering and stems are thick. Check the base of each squash stem for sawdust-like frass or a small hole. Cucumber beetles show up on flowers and leaves — they spread bacterial wilt. Look for yellowing or wilting on individual leaves. Aphids and spider mites love heat spikes. Check the undersides of tomato and pepper leaves. Anything look off when you walk the beds?

I do. Growing Degree Days and phenological timing are how I read where the season actually is — not the calendar, not the forecast, but what the plants are responding to. Right now you're at 989 GDD, moving into fruit set. That's the window where squash vine borer pressure typically ramps up in your zone — the plants are at the stage the pest is looking for. I can't see your plants, but I can tell you what the pattern says is forming. The rest is what you see when you walk the beds.

That's the whole job — to be useful enough that you keep me in your pocket. Walk the beds when you get a chance. Check the squash stems. That's the one thing that matters most right now.

That's the first fruit set of the turn. Good sign — the plants are healthy enough to push flowers and hold them. Keep the water consistent through the heat spike tomorrow. Cukes get bitter fast if they dry out mid-set. Anything else catching your eye out there?