I have not picked the first tomato from my garden this year, but I will soon. This has been one of the strangest growing seasons for backyard gardeners in recent memory.
It was chilly and wet early, with a killing late frost, and then extremely hot and dry. But it appears August and September will be tolerable.
I put out my tomato plants in late April and the vines prospered (except for one deer attack), but they didn’t produce any tomatoes, just vines.
I left them alone, what else could I do, and finally the plants, which now appear quite healthy, are doing their thing. In the next few weeks, barring a raccoon invasion, we should have plenty of tomatoes. In talking with fellow gardeners, those who watered heavily and didn’t get hit with the frost enjoyed good yields this season, while others threw in the towel.
I had a really good crop of spring onions, lettuce, kale, and garden peas in my early plantings with fair results from my beets and ‘cukes. My squash vines did not survive the heat.
However, if I can just get a few fresh tomatoes in the next few weeks, mine will have been at least a decent garden for 2016.