Yes, exactly as the author of that recipe says - the plants bolt before I can do much or get much from it!
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I finally have green tomatoes, green figs, and peaches almost ready to ripen! The weather is supposed to be perfect for the next couple of weeks, so something will ripen. 
A chubby trash panda was checking out the peach tree last night… have to be vigilant! Those b@stards broke the branches off the fig tree last year in their attempts to get to the fruit.
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Here is the first German Tidwell (finally!) from my garden:
On the subject of garden marauders, I saw NEMESIS the ground hog last week; and I also noticed shortly thereafter that the leaves of some Serrano hot pepper plants in my garden were nibbled off about a foot from the ground – just the height of a ground hog sitting on his haunches – plus a couple of leaves from an eggplant. A few days later I noticed another Serrano hot pepper plant that had its leaves eaten in the same fashion. Some nearby basil plants were undamaged, however, to my surprise.
In the past I have had ground hogs eat dill, field peas, and cherry tomatoes from my garden; I always thought that hot pepper plants would be immune from consumption by ground hogs (or other animals). Has anyone else had hot pepper plants that have been eaten by animals?
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Starting to feel discouraged. My San Marzano tomatoes have blossom end rot. My Early Girl and three cherry tomatoes all look fine so far, but who knows. They are all in containers and it is so hard to ensure watering is consistent without a drip system.
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My basil plants are not surrounded by anything, not even a modest fence. They are just sitting in a bed near my vegetable garden, open to anything that wants to wander by and munch. They seem to be left alone, at least so far.
Anything else that is worth munching is fenced in, with the exception of some hostas that do get munched on, and some rhododendrons that are too large to protect.
I will not worry about basil any more! Perhaps I assumed that because I like it, then every other mammal visiting my garden would also; live and learn.
What really surprised me was that something would eat my hot pepper plants; I never suspected them of being a target of anything.
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I feel your pain about blossom end rot; usually when I see it, the tomato season is about half over, and it seems to occur – at least in my garden – among some varieties more than others. Whenever I see it, I will try to pick the green tomatoes, cut out the blossom end rot, and use the green tomatoes to make a relish.
A couple of years ago I used some pelleted limestone to try to increase the calcium content of the soil in my garden. It appears to have had some modest beneficial effect.
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Blossom end rot is oftentimes the result of uneven watering. This is especially true for container-grown tomatoes.
My elderly neighbor sent me this video regarding growing cucumbers. I think it has a lot of great information in it. Hopefully you think so too. Enjoy.
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Picked my first cuke yesterday!
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My neighbor was complaining about a groundhog eating the bottom “layer” of some of her perennials. Dude has been seen daily recently and during the sunlight.
But nope, turns out it was a chipmunk! There are TONS of them. Another neighbor said the groundhog would have not stopped at the bottom of the plant. She actually ended up seeing a chipmunk having dinner on her plants!
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Very informative!
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Nice. I’ve been getting them good for about two weeks now.
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I harvested a lot of onions. Many are now frozen and a decent amount are being dried. I picked our first green beans. I planted a lot less than last year and am happy about that. We have had one zucchini and several more are on the way. Tomatoes are taking their time, so far we have only had two. We had to put a higher fence up as the deer kept munching on things as they walked by.
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Effin’ deer made their way on the deck where I grow some of my garden, but did not eat it. Instead, they waltzed into the side yard and mowed down the lower branches on the fig tree! 
We are putting extra barriers now. 
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The seed pods on my frankincense tree are ripening! This is about 25% of the seeds. The rest are still green on the tree. They’re ready later than last year. I love this tree (boswelia sacra).
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I keep fighting chipmunks in one of my herb beds that’s built into the deck (so it’s not on the ground). I’ve asked the guys at the garden center and even called the Master Gardener helpline. Things that I’ve tired (which haven’t worked) castor oil pellets, ultrasonic chipmunk repeller (emits a sound that supposedly scares the critters away) and spraying the herbs with apple cider vinegar. I’m ready to get trap but I have no idea where to take the critters once they are in the trap. Also, a friend told me it’s illegal to move wildlife from one location to another in my state.
We have so many too but we don’t have a vegetable garden at home and they seem to leave my herbs alone. I’ve heard cayenne??? I’ve also (and feel sort of bad about this) gone around and plugged their holes with stones.
The cages that I showed a picture of way back in post 151 are made of 1/2" mesh, which is fine enough to keep the chipmunks out. However, in some cases they will burrow under the cages. For crops that are particularly appealing to chipmunks (strawberries, blueberries) I have needed to also put in a floor (a mesh flat on the ground, that the cages fit on top of). For crops that are less appealing and where the ground is more solid the floor has not been needed. I have two little ones (18" high) that were originally meant for small wild lowbush blueberries, but even the small wild blueberries have outgrown them so I now use them for carrots and lettuce and in some cases flowers or herbs. Up to now my basil however has not attracted attention from chipmunks. Perhaps they do not like the smell??
I suppose for pots or raised beds I could custom make a mesh cover to protect the plants, fitted to just barely inside the sides of the pot or bed. I do have one that is custom fitted to my strawberry bed (3 feet by 8 feet).
At one point years ago I called someone in my state’s wildlife office and they told me the same thing. They recommended that I drown anything that I catch. This seems drastic, although chipmunks and mice can be very difficult to deter. There are a lot of them and they are very persistent.
As always, if dealing with a metal mesh be very careful about not poking yourself, particularly in the eyes. Eye protection would be a good idea.
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