Are others seeing what I'm seeing in the veggie garden this year?

I picked my first three tomatoes on 6/24, granted, they were cherries, but I don't usually get ripe fruit before 7/4. I've got a few slicers starting to turn so I should be on the usual target for those. Also getting green beans, cukes, yellow squash, and peppers earlier and in greater profusion than in past years. I have kept this garden every year for the past 25, and been involved with it (via my parents) for over 50, and I have never seen it produce like this. No changes from my usual routine in cultivation practices, or anything else I can ascribe it to, must be the weather. Other notable factors, the weeds are giving me a big time break, growing and spreading more slowly than usual, and the basil is not going to seed in the hot weather nearly as quickly.

I was extremely disappointed in the 2020 season, low production, and quality, the tomatoes got eaten up by deer, birds, and bugs, plus my favorite nursery closed its doors. I almost skipped putting in the garden this year. I am delighted at the turn-around.

Mine is kicking butt too! Timeline:

Planted tomatoes and peppers - March 21st (about 7 to 14 days later than normal).

First cherry tomato - May 1st. I get 3 to 12 a day.

First pepper (cayenne) - May 15th. I'm getting about 6 a week.

First tomatillos - June 27th. Nice batch and made delicious salsa verde.

First ancho grande pepper - Yesterday (more on this)

First sauce tomato - Yesterday (more on this)

My sauce tomatoes are worth mentioning as they're a new to me variety. They're called Goldmans Italian American and they're HUGE! Last week, I was a day or two away from having 3 huge sauce tomatoes, but the damn birds ruined all 3 so I put up bird netting. Yesterday's isn't as large or pretty but its 10.7 ounces.

This is the 3rd variety of pepper from the poblano family that I've grown and it's the first time it's met size expectations. I really want to be able to make chili rellenos but past varieties were jalapeno size. This year's are called ancho grande and yesterday's were 7.5" and 8.5" long which is larger than the seed packet stated.



Only disappointments this year:

couldn't get basil or cilantro to grow from seed

bought a cilantro plant and it died.

bought a basil plant and it started spiraling, but it appears to have recovered. Unfortunately, likely too late to match my tomato ripening to make marinara.

my red bell pepper that I started from seed died, but the one I gave to a neighbor lived.

bought a red bell pepper and it died. I replaced the soil and bought a new red bell pepper and it's looking good.

My 2020 garden had:

a summer crummy sauce tomato production, and so were my fall sauce tomatoes (frost 3 weeks ahead of normal first frost date). That prompted the switch in tomato variety.

a summer pest problem that affected the cherry tomatoes. These little bastard bugs with stingers in the rear were stinging the cherry tomatoes and a few days later they'd change color and shrivel up. None of my normal organic insecticides worked (spinosad, neem, Bt) but insecticidal soap finally did the trick.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

Agreed. If you're using heirloom plants, this would be a good year to keep some seeds.

I don't have a large garden, just some plants in large pots. Last year's crop was pretty bad, and we had the second driest year on record!! This year's rain is still not here, but my okra and jalapenos are really doing great. My onions are as well. The jury is still out on my Mexican Lime tree's bounty.

My sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers and cucumbers are doing great; we've been eating them for a couple weeks.
It's too early for our tomatoes.

Doing great here too. I started everything indoors from seed and have plum tomatoes, they'll be a while before I pick any but have many on the vine. I'll pick my first cuke this weekend and my plants didn't go outside until the holiday weekend.

Thanks for the feedback, and glad to hear things are working well for so many SF'ers. Here in NoVA we can't plant warm weather annuals like peppers and tomatoes until around 5/10 so you Texas folks have almost two months on us. Can't really grow from seed either without a greenhouse, or at least a heated cold frame, so the seedling companies get a lot of trade from us mid-Atlantic gardeners.

For tatortodd, Poblanos make tasty Chiles Relleno, but IMHO not as good as the Numex pepper varieties (Big Jim, Joe Parker, et. al.) Can't really grow that style around here, they don't get big enough, but you should be fine in TX.

Mine is doing just OK. Really struggling in this sun/heat though. I put up sun shade netting that blocks 40% of the sunlight over the whole thing which is helping.

Really disappointed in my cukes this year. I usually do eight hills with two plants each and after canning what I need have enough for several other people. This year only two of the plants even came up. I'll be lucky to get what I need.

San Marzanos are struggling but hanging in there and now flowering, so we'll see. The slicer and cherry are doing well. Cayennes and jalapenos are doing great. Green beans, carrots, and beets are doing great. Corn...terrible. Zucchini is good but growing slow.

All in all, a below average year so far. If this heat breaks, we might do OK.

I just ordered a new dehydrator. Y’all feel free to drop off any of those excess veggies.

Peppers (green Bell and chili pepper), 2 varieties of Squash and cucumbers doing very well.

Skipped it this year, after several years of getting my butt kicked and little to no production for tomato plants gave up this year, FL is a mofo for raising tomatos, at least for me.. In KY it was easy...

We couldn’t get corn to grow at all this year. The rest are doing well.

Mine is small but overall is doing well.
I mainly grow herbs Basil, Mint, Parsley, Oregano, Rosemary and Thyme also have a Jalapeno plant.
ALL are doing great except Thyme.
Any tips on that one?

Peppers looking good.


Tomato's are still green.

About 3 weeks away but should have plenty.