Sounds like an unfortunate year. I dunno about the whole global warming thing, but I say that I'll believe it when it starts getting hot. Once the average temp in the summer is in the triple digits, I'll start worrying.

I think MN threw all of us a curveball this year. Blossom end rot and cracking fruit became the norm for my tomatoes, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. I understand that every year won't provide the optimal circumstances, and only hope that the next year will be better.

EG

I was pretty surprised with how well things grew this year in Central Illinois - although I did have my share of problems.

This was the first year I really began making use of a hybrid-type of square foot garden.

More or less, it was just making raised boxes that varied in sizes because of the limited amount of space in the yard.

I also am hoping next year is better. While I had a bumper crop for carrots, peas, green beans, peppers, and spring lettuce, the corn was pretty pathetic along with tomatoes and cucumbers. In years past, the cherry tomatoes were everywhere and I couldn't keep up with picking them. This year I was lucky to get two pounds off of two plants - both of which died very quickly and early. But, I received enough best boy/roma tomatoes to do about a dozen quarts of canning and some slicing here and there.

Here is a link that might be useful: BsnTech Garden Blog

I'm kinda glad to hear that I'm not the only one who was disappointed with the garden this past year.

This year was my worst year for tomatoes (5 years in my current location). And many tomatoes were splitting on the vine, BEFORE they started to ripen.

Ironically, I planted some "Sub-Arctic plenty" tomatoes, and these little buggers produced far more than I ever thought they would. First, they are determinate, so I expected to get a harvest, and then have to pull them and replant that spot. However, they didn't stop producing until just this past week or so. As soon as I thought they were done, they put out a whole new batch of blossoms, and went back to producing again! This happened FOUR times, which, is quite unusual (I believe) for determinate tomatoes! These were my best producing tomatoes this summer, by far! I plan to put them in again next year, just to make sure I get a tomato harvest (colder weather doesn't seem to bother them as much).

Mine was a lousy, lousy year as well. The tomatoes had blossom end rot, cukes were bitter, I had an infestation of squash bugs, our summer was warmer than usual but we got super early freezes just when I was beginning to see signs of hope on the winter squashes and the white ghostbuster eggplants were purple. I still learned some things though and I hope next year is better, especially if Santa brings me a huge roll of row cover material.

Yup. Our year wasn't very good on the Colo Front Range either. Damaging hail, long cool spring, early fall, snow in September followed by 2 days in low 20ºs F. Ah, well.

Dan

HI
Couple of things. My first year back in the garden in 10 years and it was "interesting." Got six tomatoes before the blight, (But wow, did they look great before that!) and the best crop of lettuce and arugula I EVER had. Everything else was okay, not fantastic but I chalk that up to me getting back into it, not the weather so much. It was cold and damp but I love salad. I didn't need the farmers market for that for months! (Which was the whole point of getting back into gardening.) And I often thought too, of my forebearers and how they got through lean years...

Notice the question mark after the six in my zone? That's because when we moved up here, oh geez, 20 years ago, (time does fly!) we were zone 5. So "Something" is happening, Global warming or Mother Nature's planned climate change, I can't say, but something is definitely, slowly, gradually going on.

Janet

hey EG did you try the tums and the epsom salt thing, i think i told ya about it last year. i put hmm...about 5 this year of tums in the hole then the plant, and 2T of epsom salts on the dirt. then water well. i don't ever have that blossom rot. or the blight early or late. Remy says that blight is regional, so i must be in the region that doesn't get it. **big smile** although i have seen some peoples tomato's that don't look to whoopy!! i thought Hey! i'll drop in and see what's going on in that forum, i haven't been in here in ages! ~medo