My Stupice are already going gangbusters (as usual) but theyre really going to love the coming heat.
  • Goldy | The Stranger
  • My Stupice are already going gangbusters (as usual) but they're really going to love the coming heat.

Several days of soaking rain, followed by a week or so of 80-plus-degree weather is exactly what my tomato garden ordered. My tomatoes had already been doing quite fine thanks to our relatively warm spring, but they're going to love the next few days. I've yet to see any fruit set on my Brandywine, but if the ten-day forecast holds, I'm guessing my gamble of planting a finicky heat-loving beefsteak variety will ultimately pay off.

While my Brandywine has been fruitless (though vigorous), my Stupice, Sungold, Sweet Million, and Ultimate Opener are all bursting with fruit. None of it is remotely close to ripening, but the possibilities are tantalizing. I'm guessing I'll get my first taste of vine ripened tomato before the end of July, with a bountiful harvest beginning a couple weeks later.

Elsewhere in my garden, we're still harvesting tons of peas and raspberries, plenty of fresh herbs, and of course, kale, kale, kale. What's left of my February lettuce sowing will surely bolt in the coming week's heat, but my mid-spring sowing is far enough along to take up the slack, and my third lettuce sowing is coming along nicely in a partially shady spot. Alas, I've eaten the last of my spring Walla Walla onions, but some young red onions look tempting. Carrots, zucchini, beans, and (cross my fingers) cucumber are doing well.

How's your garden going?