Now in my second season of gardening in central Texas, the adjustment continues for me and my little patch. The weather and the bugs (not necessarily in that order) are the biggest contributors to my frustrations, although admittedly, those levels are lower than last summer.

The lettuce did much better this year. Much, much better. A lot of rain in April and May did the trick. Thanks Mother Nature. And actually, despite the hot weather, it’s still doing okay. I’ve had many, many salads from it and even have been able to share with coworkers. The lettuce persevered through an early problem with slugs, a new problem for me. Fortunately I found a spray concoction that rid the plants of the nasty pests. (Too bad the spray didn’t also get rid of the grass growing in the lettuce bed!)


The tomatoes are doing pretty good, too. I have more than I can eat, an improvement from last summer. I tried a bunch of different varieties this year, but I moved them around so much that I don’t remember which tomato is where. They’re all pretty tasty, so I guess it doesn’t matter, right?

I haven’t seen any Leaf-footed bugs on any of my tomatoes this summer, although I did see one on a zinnia the other day. Not sure what’s up with that.

Just like last summer, the birds seem to be the biggest problem. I’ve circumvented some of the pecking by picking the tomatoes at the slightest sign of yellow. The birds still are getting too many though and fewer me BLTs makes me unhappy. 

The one cucumber plant that survived a late frost is a pleasant surprise. It’s weaved its way around some of the tomatoes, so I really have to hunt to find the little buggers. But they’re SO yummy! I don’t remember tasting cukes like this since I lived in Wisconsin. Mmm good!