I went to Countryside in Crystal Lake today and bought the rest of the tomatoes, 4 eggplants, and cucumbers. I planted the four eggplants between the Roma Tomatoes and the Hot Peppers, and installed chicken wire to protect against ravenous rabbits and also cages to support the plants. The varieties are (2) Blackbell II and (2) White Star.

I also decided to plant the three large tomatoes in the area cleared by the landscapers since they have been sitting on the deck for a couple of weeks. These were in 10-inch pots. So I planted (2) Champion Tomatoes and (1) Early Girl II in large pots at the west end of the tomato section of the garden. These plants already have tomatoes on them. I pruned them quite a bit as there were several shoots coming up from the bottom of the plant. I also planted (1) First Prize Hybrid tomato that I bought today to complete the row. I’ll be planting 4 rows of 4 plants, which is spaced out further than last year where I had 4 rows of 5. I think the plants will do better with more space.

There is heave rain in the forecast for tomorrow and 50% chance of rain for Saturday which means tilling will be put off again. So I will spread the rest of the old compost pile over the cleared area and plant the rest of the tomatoes without tilling. These are in 4 inch pots and about 18 inches tall so they shouldn’t have a problem. The only purpose of tilling would be to kill the weeds, so I guess I’ll put down a heavy straw mulch to keep the weeds down