in the garden

Things are not so well. Something is eating the leaves off my swiss chard and beets. Not mowed down- just nipped off here and there. Rabbit? Or- deer?! Have found little piles of deer droppings in the yard again. And something ate a lot of leaves off my forsythia- to a height just above my head. It is naked stems. I didn't know deer would eat forsythia, sigh. So far they have not touched the rhodies, or hosta, or other vegetable plants, but I expect I will have to get a lot pickier about what I plant soon...

I cleaned up my tomato plants- there was lots and lots of dead dried foliage hanging, and mottled sickly-looking leaves. I'm not sure if it is from insects infecting the plants, or disease spores, or they just suffered from the colder weather we had this past week. I cleared out all the nasty stuff (into the trash, not compost) and all the upper leaves are still healthy-looking so I hope the plants will well long enough to ripen the large tomatoes. The brandywine looks the worst, I don't think those two have any tomatoes on them at all. I have some set in kitchen windowsill to ripen.

At least we are enjoying lots of cherry tomatoes, now. And I can't wait to eat that cantaloupe that is ripening in my daughter's patch!