Garden Update

My garden is doing well! More peppers have come on and are growing! I have had a handful of sugar snap peas. I'm going to try planting them again this fall, when the weather is cooler. I'm hoping I'll get more peas to grow then. The onions and lettuce are doing quite well. I've learned that if I cut off the lettuce heads at the stem, the stem will begin to grow more lettuce leaves. Every time I pick a green onion, I just plant another onion bulb in its place.

The tomatoes are more of a mystery to me. The plants have grown to be about 4 feet high and are putting on plenty of blooms. I still haven't seen an actual tomato, though. My mother explained to me that the plants that are started from seed at home will take longer to produce tomatoes than the plants bought from the store. I hope that's all it is and I'll see tomatoes soon! There is a process known as "suckering" and I'm wondering if I'm getting it right. Tomato plants need to be pruned so that you end up with one main vine. Large branches growing from the main vine, called "suckers," need to be cut so that all the nutrients can feed the main vine and grow fruit. I'm afraid of overpruning, but I don't know if I'm pruning enough. I am excited to see that the Roma tomato plant that I started from seed is growing well and putting on blooms, too. I didn't know if it would survive. One of the many things that gardens teach us is patience. It can be a hard lesson! :)