Get used to dealing with them. They're common in all gardens. One or several kinds are always present.

I have no recollection of them ever being this bad, either in my dad's garden when I was little, or in my own the last few years. I actually think it's been the weather being cool, a lot of the predatory insects are late this year, and it's allowed the aphids to boom a bit.

I had a terrible time with aphids early on this year. They really went after my snap peas, then migrated over to the tomatoes. They are finally letting up now that the weather has heated up. Never noticed them at all last year. I'm sure they were there, just not in these numbers.

Populations vary from year to year.

Nothing is a constant in a garden. Just when you thik you have all your ducks in a row, nature changes the game plan.

I was told kale can be a magnet to aphids. My kale is covered with aphids, but less than 3 feet away the tomato is fine.