I may have overstated my cucumber bounty. I'm picking 5 or 6 pickling cukes a day which is more than the two of us want to eat. I really don't have enough to take to a food pantry but that's a good idea for a farmer.
I figured out a way to get rid of some cucumbers. I made more pickles and gave them to my sister-in-law. They don't like cucumbers (she has digestive issues) but they do eat pickles. Also, our lawn guy was excited to see ripe tomatoes on my plants so I told him to help himself to tomatoes and cukes. I picked some jalapenos yesterday and my husband pronounced them "very good." Hot but not dangerous.
Here's the haul from this morning. I'm getting burned out on cucumbers. The little yellow tomatoes are very tasty and I wish I had planted more of them.
I forgot to say that I have some kind of critter chewing on stuff in my garden. One of my cherry tomato plants that was loaded with small green tomatoes was chewed off about 6" from the ground... the entire plant. Then today I noticed one of my trellised cucumber vines has totally wilted leaves (with several small cukes on it). After looking closely at the vine it has also been chewed off close to the ground. So annoying. These are things planted in the ground and not in my raised beds. For you gardeners... is there anything better than that tomato-plant smell when you're walking between a bunch of them? I just love that.
Use landscaping fabric to control weeds. It allows water to pass through. It comes in rolls 3' wide or even wider. You can cut to size. I never weed. When the season's over, I cover the planting area with it.
My seasonal workers finally showed up today. It is usually the 2nd week in June before they show up with Praying Mantis the middle of July. I don't see any aphids on my tomato leaves, but this little guy is puttin a whoopin on something. Lots of blooms but no tomatoes yet. The plants are getting huge and bigger than I thought, but taking the wind without any problems. It really pays to prune in this climate.
What are the little yellow cherries? Are they Gold Nuggets? We began growing Gold Nuggets when our children were small and we told them the yellow ones were theirs to eat as they wished. We also grew a variety called Ida Gold, but I don't believe they are still offered.
They are actually "White Cherry" tomatoes. I had to go dig out the packet of seeds to see. It came in an assortment from Sow Right Seeds... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09417YML1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Like a bright light coming on, it occurred to me why my Bush Goliath tomatoes don't have any madders on them. They are not done growing, even at their two foot height. "They are determinates you old dummy," was the voice inside my head. "They don't make any fruit until they are totally finished growing, so stop your whining and use of foul language while caring for them. Talk nicely with sweetness dripping like honey, and they will respond when the time is ripe" (no pun intended.) I think these bush tomatoes and I have something in common. I didn't have anymore than just blossoms before I was fully grown. The fruit came then and rapidly, and then matured short of reaching a lower mid size. I am hopeful these tomatoes with reach the nice mid size they are said to produce. The most impressive thing is the rich red centers, the photos of them show. OK, off to shower after the morning "farming" excitement. I do have to confess to an act of cruelty to a Brown Recluse spider about to crawl up my leg while examining my tomatoes. One of my cousins got bit by one and still suffers problems with her hand. She could hardly use it for a year. I don't care to die because a dangerous spider decided to become a squatter on my patio and assault me.
My Goliaths have small tomatoes on them, but they are clustered. I'm wondering if I got the "Bush Goliath" or the "Cluster Goliath" plants since they came from some marketplace seller on Amazon.
It wasn't that long ago you planted them from seeds, that is amazing. I had a friend that is a master gardener look at mine and she says she has seen them get four feet high before forming tomatoes and never require staking or any support. So far I am not seeing how these are the perfect potted patio tomatoes. They would be great for raised beds, but if mine grow anymore, they will be more like a tree than a bush hahaha! Since I planted them in four foot high pots, if they grow to four feet, I will be picking tomatoes using a step ladder.
I am amazed that seeds I start in the hydroponics sprout and grow MUCH faster than "direct sowing" into the dirt. I started those two in the Aerogarden, but the one I put in the raised bed is about 8" tall so WTF. My plants are not nearly as lush looking (with leaves) as yours, though. I planted them in small pots so I'm surprised they are doing well at all. I have to water and feed them frequently but I don't have anywhere to transplant them... plus I don't know if they can be moved once they set fruit. My Roma tomatoes are a huge disappointment. They set TONS of tomatoes and all of them are getting ripe. Sadly, they are about half "hollow" and not filled out with pulp/seeds. I don't know what the deal is with them but I won't plant Romas again.
I'm already thinking ahead to next year's garden. I'm going to plant about half as many cucumber plants, and half as many tomato plants. I'll be more careful to select determinate/dwarf tomato varieties. The rest of my raised beds will be summer squash (yellow and zuchinni), and peppers. I always had success with squashes in past years.
I am dreaming about next years also, and it would require an investment in building some fancy patio raised beds, so it isn't in the actual planning stage yet. Guess what I just found? One very tiny jalapeno that had me as excited as a freckled face girl with a new Dalmatian pup and then as I turned to check the tomatoes again, I saw my first one about 1" in diameter. Now I am excited and put the step ladder and my climbing boots away. My tomatoes are also in clumps (blooms except the one) and loaded.