This year, I’m using the knowledge I gained from the lessons I learned from last year’s garden.  Instead of wire cages, I decided to use the Florida weave method of trellising the tomatoes.  However, the t-posts we had when I set up the trellis weren’t tall enough to support the tomatoes as they began to grow upwards.  So, I improvised by supplementing the trellis with some taller bamboo stakes, to which I tied branches of the plants to keep them upright.  Time will tell, but I think that this improvised system is going to work really well for giving the tomato plants the support they need.

This morning, I found one ripe cucumber!

One of the most foolish things we can do is see nearly-ripe stone fruit and say “we’ll pick that tomorrow,” and then say it again the next day.  By the time we think it should be picked tomorrow, it’s already too late.  I went out to pick the pluots a few mornings ago and found that they had been eaten, probably by squirrels.  The worst thing is that they don’t always even eat the entire fruit!

To end on a positive note, I forgot that I planted this clarkia, and then found it blooming a few weeks ago.  I’m always pleasantly surprised when flowers bloom here – so many things we’ve planted have withered without regular water in the summer.