A season for everything

It turns out that my concern for the lack of fruiting in my tomatoes might be premature.

See, coming from the deep South, I have always known tomatoes to be a early to mid-summer fruit.  The fact that my current tomato crop has come up empty so far had me seriously worried.  Then, a friend suggested that it's entirely possible that it's just too early for them as some tomatoes don't produce until August and the end of the season is mid-October.

That just seemed like crazy talk to me.  I mean, I remember having fresh tomatoes between May and June in Louisiana, and it's plenty hot enough for them here.

But, then, I got to thinking about summer in Louisiana.  There are really only two seasons in the armpit of hell, and those are "hot" and "hurricane".  Summer doesn't really end down there.  I mean, I've spent 90 degree Christmases there.  Oh, sure, they might get a winter, but it's usually gone around February.  (We went down to New Orleans one year in January to visit friends and it was something like 50 degrees.  People were in parkas, and we were in shorts and sandals.)  Consequently, people plant earlier down there, which means the tomatoes will fruit sooner.

Can I get a big old "Duh" to that?

So, yeah, it might just be too early for them.  Same with my eggplant.  Apparently, it is a cooler weather plant.  Okay, that works.  It means I will most likely have fresh maters and eggyplant when my mom comes to visit the week of Labor Day.  (I think I might have to learn to make eggplant parmigian for that occasion.)  Besides, it's so bloody hot out there I keep expecting to find my veggies roasting on the stem, so it's probably good they aren't ready to fruit.

The only problem is these plants are huge.  The tomato plants come to just below my ribcage, and the eggplant is about mid-thigh.  They are damn near trees!  The eggplant seems to be doing okay, although I think it has aphids which I need to make a spray for, but the tomatoes are seriously taking a toll on the stakes to which they are tied.  And, by "stakes" I mean "sticks I found on the back porch".  Now, honestly, I'm thinking they wouldn't do well with plastic stakes either, so I'm thinking I need to cage the suckers before they get away from me.  I was thinking chicken wire, but tomato cages make it easier to harvest.  Decisions, decisions.  I'll have to price them.

Or, maybe I'll just go find some more sticks. 




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Crap.  I just checked on tomato cages and trellises, and you really have to have those when they are little.  So, yep, I get to build some scaffolding to hold them up.  Blah.