At my new place I skived off the turf (that was fun),mantis-tilled a couple of rows with composted (bagged) cow manure, lime and a normal dose of 10-10-10 and my secret ingredient..pulverized peanut shells.

Plopped in some Rudgers, caged them and not a speck of fertilizer since.

How did these plants grow to 5' tall?

And, besides pinching out the suckers, I really need to selectively prune these monsters. They're blocking sun from the eggplants and peppers.

Wrong? Will it open wounds to virus and fungus?

The rains of May have these tomatoes shooting up well above the cage and while some fruit is setting, the new growth is covered in blossoms.

Peppers aren't setting fruit for lack of enough full sun and while they and eggplants are blossoming, nothing is setting.

I'm inclined to give up on the peppers until the Rudgers (determinate) set their fruit and ripen. Perhaps then I can pull the Rudgers from shading the other veggies.

I'd like to believe I have this amazing soil but I really don't. It's clay but unbelieveably well draining so I suspect it lies over the grey water cesspool which is probably settled in gravel.(septic is in a whole nother part of the yard)

Come fall, I'll skip a fall garden and start really piling on the compost.

And remind myself to re-position the tomato rows next year.