And squirrels.

It's been tough this year. I just finished weeding the herb bed yesterday (again) and will work the other beds, one a day for the next few days. I'm also working on weed suppression and my water lines. I planted a wildflower meadow and if it doesn't get good water asap, it will have all been for naught.

But I did plant three tomatoes: Early Girl, Celebrity, Big Beef. Already getting some for salad etc.

The fruit trees have done well. Got a good crop of spring figs (Desert King). Some cherries in May. Avocados, Bacon variety, as well as Hass. Apples (Pink Lady and Golden Delicious) will be ready in late summer/fall. As will some pink grapes of undetermined variety (grown from clippings given by friend).

In past I've grown a lot of other stuff, including cucumbers, zucchini, various herbs but due to long wet winter and being preoccupied with other things I decided to give it a rest this time. Next year...

I bought some cool looking purple bell peppers at the May Market and they are really doing well. Also, green bell, jalapeño, and Hungarian wax.

Got a few little tomatoes but the blight is back despite vigorous spraying. No cukes yet, but lots of blossoms and healthy vining.

Herbs in pots are all doing great. I also bought lemon basil, but wasn't sure how to use it in recipes. BTW, is purple basil edible? I have a pot of that and it's really pretty.

I also like it in smoothies. I think it would be nice in sorbets too, but I haven't tried that yet. It's much lighter than regular basil.

I bought it because I loved the fragrance

I ate my first 2 yesterday.

1 with breakfast; fried eggs, toast, tomato.

1 for dinner; ground round burger, onion, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.

I am waiting for enough to ripen to make macaroni salad and taco salad.

I LOVE tomatoes !!!!!!!!!!

We grew eggplant a couple of years ago, decided we didn't care for it. As far as ratatouille goes, we like the movie better than the dish.

Here in the mountains of SW New Mexico, lettuce can be difficult; starts slow, then bolts. In between, some sort of tiny sucker bugs make dots all over the leaves. We also had a late freeze - forecast 34, we prepared for 30, got 26. Even things that were covered froze. Fortunately I had started extra peppers and tomatoes.

So far, we've harvested peas, kohlrabi, cabbage, jalapenos, zucchini, and a few carrots. And the garlic we planted in December. Watermelons are going wild; I think they've tapped into the septic field.

We always had a huge garden and a corn patch. My dad always planted over the septic tank and what ever was planted in that "sweet spot" grew like wild. Mom tried zucchini for the first time and it got the sweet spot. We had zucchini in every way imaginable for about two years.

And melons (Water, tiger, cantaloupe)

I usually have one or two at a time on my dill, which I plant specifically for them. I bring them in to protect them from being eaten by wasps, raise them and free them once they emerge as butterflies. I currently have 10 (!) tiny caterpillar babies on my two dill plants. Word must have gotten around the neighborhood...

I had to buy another dill plant because they eat a LOT once they get larger!

the good - eggplant (as always - they are so, so easy when grown in containers - they love hot roots), most of my tomatoes - especially the ones I am working on for our dwarf stature tomato breeding project. Of my nearly 100 tomato plants, we are harvesting from 60 or so, with the major players (Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Chocolate, Cherokee Green, Lucky Cross, Brandywine) coming on soon.

the bad - downy mildew finally hit all of my Genovese basil - it is becoming a real problem here. Bacterial spot has hit most of my peppers - first time ever - 25 years gardening here - with the problem, and no idea where it came from. The heat and humidity - it is time to water twice a day...and hard to be out there after about 1 PM

the ugly - a few tomatoes that went down to tomato spotted wilt. Lower tomato foliage on most plants - septoria leaf spot and early blight (alternaria) - I have to keep ahead of it by pulling ugly foliage every few days. I also seem to have three straw bales with persistent herbicides - the plants are simply wilting - even when well watered - although the foliage is still green,

I've got loads of pictures - facebook, instagram mostly (@nctomatoman)