It’s an exciting week. I harvested my first tomatoes! Well, sort of. Do you remember that my first tomato plant froze and then came back? Although the plant grew, it stayed puny, yet five tomatoes grew quite large.
Because of all the critters in the yard, I was afraid they would eat the fruit before we got any. So, I went ahead and picked a couple of tomatoes before they were completely red. I’m ripening them on a windowsill. My friend Cat after reading that the first plant froze, gave me a cherry tomato plant called ‘Purple Bumblebee.’
It has fruited prolifically. While I’m waiting for the majority of the tomatoes to turn purple, I picked some less than ripe to finish on the windowsill too. At least we will get some tomatoes to try.
I have given up on my kale plants. They were in pots on the patio growing in morning sun. However, whatever variety they are, they didn’t do very well with the intense morning heat. The flavor was terrible, like how old weeds smell. I was disappointed because last year’s kale plants did great, thriving and producing through late fall.
They even stayed alive, although not productive, through the winter. Then, in the spring, they regrew and bloomed, providing food for the early bees. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what variety I planted either year, so I can only hope I choose the tasty, heat-tolerant one next year.
I finally resorted to hiring a pest control company to go after the yellowjackets. Although the traps were filling up with wasps, they didn’t keep up with the numbers. I couldn’t go outside without a bee suit on. I had enough.
I wrote previously that I had two trees removed because their roots were in the septic system’s leach field. I noticed that two other nearby trees were leafy and quite green, even though I never watered them. I figured they had their roots in the leach field too. I called the tree removal service, and those trees are gone. I hate having trees cut down; I feel like I’ve lost friends. However, replacing a septic system is expensive, so there was no choice.
The weather is cooling down, and I can finally work in the yard again (once the yellowjackets are gone!). I like cleaning up my flower beds and making things tidy. I like pruning too, which is good because it’s time to prune out the water sprouts in the crabapples and amur maples.
Enjoy your time in the yard too!
— JoAnne Skelly is an Associate Professor and Extension Educator, Emerita, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at skellyj@unr.edu.
