(green, but wee)---
Everything is behind again this year; just like 2008, it's been another cold, wet spring here in the Great White North. Last week it was still 68F during the day, and in the low 50's at night. We've had bursts of heat, but it doesn't stick- and then it rains, lots. It's been a decent year for lettuce, but for an early start on the hot crops, not so much.
I've yet to see a bee; pollinators don't usually find my garden until early July. But this weekend I'll be changing out most of the lettuce on the ledge for flowers (a.k.a. flags for bees). That will bring them in. Meanwhile, I'm hand-pollinating the squash with a little paintbrush. The self-pollinating cukes are finally blossoming, too. Tomato cages will need to go up very soon- this weekend, if I can find the time. I'm pinching tomato blossoms off, though- the tomatoes are still too small to fruit.
Posts
4 comments:
Yes .. my family in Traverse City are lamenting the late start and lost trys ....
How do you decide that the tomatoes are too small to fruit? We're having that same weather you describe and I've got a couple of sungolds popping out on what seem like tiny plants. We've had probably three days of sun and warmth. Seems premature...
Meredith, if the tomatoes are less than about 3 feet tall (depends on the variety), I pinch off the blossoms. Your tomatoes are trying to reproduce (pass on their genes to the next generation) because the cold spring weather is sending them mixed signals and they have reason to believe they won't live to maturity. Biologically, it's better to pass on genes when immature than not to pass genes on at all.
When in doubt, pinch. You know what a good healthy tomato plant looks like- lots of dark green leaves and a big, fat, gnarly stalk. Those are ideal conditions for fruit. And we'll get some summer in the Great White North eventually...
Thank you! That's so helpful; I didn't know, and I get so excited when they look like they're going to produce that it'd never have occurred to me that it *early* wasn't necessarily what I was going for. That's basic, I'm sure, but I missed it...
Post a Comment