Cool front sweeps in: NOT!

Yes. We were out working on our copper tomato "tables" yesterday - actually on the mesh cover we put over the whole shebang and we were thrilled with the weather. Then, last night, with the CAC being given a deserved rest and windows opened, Jack had to pull up the blanket!

Thrilling cool morning watching the crows go without their tomato breakfast!

Pirl,

You're Husband is a delightful man; and a real treasure.

We've been down to 47 at night up here for the last 10 nights. Where are the 'Dog Days of Summer?' I need more heat for these tomatoes....

~* Robin *~~]:^)

Robin - he really is a treasure!

We're waiting for ours to ripen, too! We did have our first BLT last night but so far it's:

CROWS 20 pounds
vs.
US 2 pounds

My tomatoes are just sitting there all green. I harvested 2 Brandywines, but they were green on the top. I had to pick them, they were starting to split. Still tasted pretty good, but not up to par.

Meanwhile my daughter's got some Sungolds from last year's seeds coming up in her swingset garden! They already have fruit on them so they may overtake the Brandywines, Big Beefs, and Cherokee Purples.

I am sore from working at my MIL's garden last night. Somehow she always gets everybody to do work for her! She wanted me to plant a rose I got for her last month that her son never put in. Easy, right? She wanted it in this bed that had been put in 20 years ago. Well, I started digging and came across loads of black plastic weed cloth about 8 inches down, so I dug and ripped it ALL out, weeded the whole bed, turned the soil till it was good, planted the rose, replanted the few good plants that had been in that horrible bed. Then she wanted me to split this HUGE pot of Columbines and plant them in two different places. I killed myself and did it all in about 2 hours. I better get some brownie points..... I couldn't even stand up straight when I got done.

I should have worked that hard in MY garden. I'm going to get the ICY HOT now and take a nap....

I am loving this weather - I hate having to use the AC, but love that fact that I have it.

Ivy - you get the gold star of the week for all you've done!

Anita - us, too!

Here's a tomato photo for you..........

That's compliments of the crows.

So, this is what we did to thwart them........

they are NOT happy but WE ARE!

atta girl!!!

That's a crying shame, Pirl. We have plenty of squirrel bites out of our tomatoes, chipmunk munchings and the occasional blossom end rot, but the crows around here have not done anything. You were mighty industrious yourself, building that big ol' tent!

Something has been eating little bites out of my cucumbers. I guess they don't like them because there is just one tiny nibble out of each one! You would think they would know that the next one tastes the same as the first.

You can try sprinkling the very hot pepper flakes on the ground, all around the tomato and cucumber areas. The bites in the cucumber are probably from birds if they're "V" shaped. One bird never tells the next that it's not their food of choice.

Too bad they can't communicate that! I always wished that flies and mosquitoes had memories. That way after you almost kill one it would remember you and leave you alone.

How nice it would be if it worked that way!

Thanks Pirl. Yes, they are v-shaped, but only on the cukes that are closest to the ground.

What type of bites do you get on the other cucumbers? Any photos to help us determine the villain?

Hey Ivy - did you also have puncture holes? Might be the same critter that attacked my tomatoes!

No punctures, and the upper cukes are clean and beautiful! Now I really look, one set of bites are rounded, with top and bottom mouth parts, and the others are v-shaped. I think I have several critters....

Punctures could be from ants maybe...?

I'll ask my DH to check out the photo later but could you suspend the cucumbers in washed pantyhose legs and attach them to some support to at least keep the birds away?

I've heard it also works for melons.

What a sight to think about!

I don't think it's a big problem, but thats a really great idea, Pirl. Because the bites are so small I just cut them out, and most of the cukes are higher up now.

Great!