Trellis time...with pictures!!!

I finally got around to putting up a trellis for my tomatoes. I couldn't use the one I put up last year because it was at the other end of the raised bed, so I just tore it down and used one piece of it for the new one. I'm feeling pretty clever because I reused the wood frames from my old box springs that I tore down a couple of months ago after I got a new (used really, but new to me) mattress and box springs. It's slightly crooked, but I don't care. I'm not a carpenter and as long as it doesn't fall down, it's all good.

I also finally went a got a memory card reader so I can transfer pictures from my camera to my computer, since Kodak thought it would be a good idea to not make their software compatible with Linux. Get with the 21st century, Kodak. There is a reason why you company is not doing so well.

Anyways, here are some pictures of the tomato plants, trellis, and garden that I took today. The first two were actually taken a couple of days ago and the close up is of the one on the right, the Black Seaman. This one is producing a LOT more tomatoes than the Georgia Streak, but who knows what the next month will bring. I'd never even heard of either of these kinds of tomatoes, much less grown them.

As always, click on the pictures if you want to see the larger version. I set the camera on its lowest resolution setting to save room on the memory card, so they aren't too huge.

Here is the not-very-square trellis. I even reused nails from last year's trellis. That one was a lot simpler and consisted of three 2x4's, some 2-1/2 nails, and a roll of skinny wrapping ribbon (like for Christmas presents) that one of my housemates gave me. I attach long heavy branches to the overhead trellis with the ribbon. Last year's trellis had only one overhead crosspiece, while this year's has two. The first version worked alright, but this one should be a little easier to use. 

Here is the rest of the garden. It rained last night and the cilantro/coriander couldn't handle the extra weight of the water. None of them snapped and they are straightening out as they dry. They bolted and started blooming quite a while ago and have a lot of flowers on them. I like to see all the bees and other pollinators come around. I haven't wanted to mow the front yard (clover) for the same reason. The neighbors probably wish we mowed more often.

Its been cold and wet so the basil hasn't been growing very fast. It should take off this month. I made a mistake planting the tomatoes at the south end of the garden. They might be too shady for the basil? We'll see. I wanted twice as much as I had last year, but I was lazier than last year and didn't do much to amend the soil before I started planting. There is this little patch and its planted around and between the tomato plants. I hope I get at least as much as I did last year. We'll see.