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The 2019 Garden, Landscape, and Other Stuff Thread...
- Thread starter eisman
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eisman
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Everything is turned color wise in Seattle. Lots more yellow than red/orange, but we've had a couple nights below freezing already. I got the bulbs reset, added another 30 daffodil bulbs to one area, and pulled out the worst offenders in the tall lily patches. Seriously overgrown, so that took some cleaning up. Had to do some very extensive cutting to a number of shrubs and trees so I can get to the last of the "old" fence. Down to replacing the last 40" around the property, and it really needs it. Unfortunately I've been traveling a lot and never really got that done, so I guess I'll be doing it in the winter.
Also got around to working on the walkway I had planned. The rocks have been sitting on the side of the house for over a year, but they were just too heavy to handle on my own, and I needed time off to work with that. So the slabs are set, and the landscape timbers are in around them, but I didn't get the fill material in. Not sure what I'm going to do as I'm pretty much out of time and other issues ate into that budget. I'm still working on leveling out the back/side yard, and with luck I can get the last of the retaining wall I want done in the spring. Then it's more work on the front, which is basically just a flat patch of grass. It needs to be torn down and made level from where it's grown up; it's now 3-4 " over the top of the walks and driveway and I'd like to get that fixed.
I've torn out a couple plants overgrown or dead, and planted a couple new rhododendrons, ferns, cat mint (which seems to like where I stuck that), and another maple. I keep hoping I can find a really good sale on arborvitae, because I need about a dozen, but no luck so far. Best thing I've done is the new bird feeders, They get a lot of business, and especially the suet blocks.
Also got around to working on the walkway I had planned. The rocks have been sitting on the side of the house for over a year, but they were just too heavy to handle on my own, and I needed time off to work with that. So the slabs are set, and the landscape timbers are in around them, but I didn't get the fill material in. Not sure what I'm going to do as I'm pretty much out of time and other issues ate into that budget. I'm still working on leveling out the back/side yard, and with luck I can get the last of the retaining wall I want done in the spring. Then it's more work on the front, which is basically just a flat patch of grass. It needs to be torn down and made level from where it's grown up; it's now 3-4 " over the top of the walks and driveway and I'd like to get that fixed.
I've torn out a couple plants overgrown or dead, and planted a couple new rhododendrons, ferns, cat mint (which seems to like where I stuck that), and another maple. I keep hoping I can find a really good sale on arborvitae, because I need about a dozen, but no luck so far. Best thing I've done is the new bird feeders, They get a lot of business, and especially the suet blocks.
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Looks like you're ready for next spring @Legion12. The picture with the flash actually seems fitting as the end of a season.
taldesta
I am amazed you can get the tall sunflower inside the house to protect it without breaking it. I guess it's the last of the summer bloomers. The pictures are nice.
I still haven't over seeded my lawn yet. It's getting to the point that I might not do it this year?? I'm in a bit of a slump with the drought (Rated Extreme Drought presently) and other things going on in my life. We did get a tad over an inch of desperately needed rain yesterday and early this AM combined for the first time in over a month that we got an inch. Technically it was not over a inch for the day as I go 12A > 12A on reading the rain gauge. But it was essentially the same rain event. Temps are supposed to drop to the low 40's tonight. We can anticipate a frost just about any time after Halloween for the most part. My geraniums are liking the cooler weather on the front porch. They should last until around late November before temps get into the 20's at night. The front porch is a bit warmer (due to the house) than the regular outdoors and they are protected.
The July container tomato plants continue to grow, but not vigorously and I am starting to get small to medium sized ripe tomatoes from them now in small numbers. They are in as full a sun as I can give them now. The sun angles change noticeably in the fall of the year. Celery continues to grow and it is on my deck now in full sun. I have a few things to plant at the moment, just have to make final decisions on the "where".
I keep an eye on my amarylss and removing leaves as they yellow or brown. They really need to move into their rest cycle (no leaves) very soon if I want them to bloom in January/February indoors. I hate to simply cut off the green leaves. Otherwise, they will bloom outdoors (June-ish) after I move them out of the house in the spring.
Yes, the heat is "On" inside the house now although it doesn't run much. My wife would not be happy if I held out and not turned it on at this point.
eisman
You are definitely in "rhodie land" in the Pacific NW.
Broccoli and cauliflower are growing well.
taldesta
I am amazed you can get the tall sunflower inside the house to protect it without breaking it. I guess it's the last of the summer bloomers. The pictures are nice.I still haven't over seeded my lawn yet. It's getting to the point that I might not do it this year?? I'm in a bit of a slump with the drought (Rated Extreme Drought presently) and other things going on in my life. We did get a tad over an inch of desperately needed rain yesterday and early this AM combined for the first time in over a month that we got an inch. Technically it was not over a inch for the day as I go 12A > 12A on reading the rain gauge. But it was essentially the same rain event. Temps are supposed to drop to the low 40's tonight. We can anticipate a frost just about any time after Halloween for the most part. My geraniums are liking the cooler weather on the front porch. They should last until around late November before temps get into the 20's at night. The front porch is a bit warmer (due to the house) than the regular outdoors and they are protected.
The July container tomato plants continue to grow, but not vigorously and I am starting to get small to medium sized ripe tomatoes from them now in small numbers. They are in as full a sun as I can give them now. The sun angles change noticeably in the fall of the year. Celery continues to grow and it is on my deck now in full sun. I have a few things to plant at the moment, just have to make final decisions on the "where".
I keep an eye on my amarylss and removing leaves as they yellow or brown. They really need to move into their rest cycle (no leaves) very soon if I want them to bloom in January/February indoors. I hate to simply cut off the green leaves. Otherwise, they will bloom outdoors (June-ish) after I move them out of the house in the spring.
Yes, the heat is "On" inside the house now although it doesn't run much. My wife would not be happy if I held out and not turned it on at this point.
eisman
You are definitely in "rhodie land" in the Pacific NW.Broccoli and cauliflower are growing well.
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For sure, fall can be busier than springtime, if that's possible.
You folks are all putting me to shame. I am blaming the rain here when I don't get what needs doing done. Sorry the drought has been so severe in TN - the trees, in this climate here at least, need lots of water in the fall to over winter well.
Broccoli and cauliflower will turn to gold in the grocery store here soon - so would be a great choice for the veg garden. Perhaps when I expand it next year.
I am leaving the planters in place mostly. The containers can handle the freeze/thaw cycles if turned on their sides (just so dirt remains in them). I've pulled the tomato plants and placed them in a cold compost near the veg garden. In their stead I have placed a simple round of rocks for a campfire this fall. In spite of the rain, I still won't take a chance with the long grasses to set a fire in the open.
Not to forget that the 'raised' edge on the veg garden is made of turf which also makes for a fairly comfortable bench seat around a fire
I've had to pick up store bought tomatoes - bland, bland, bland
Outside ... gaillardia, second wave of hollyhocks, wild black eyed susans are the only blooms standing other than the pampered sunflower.
Well, today may see some showers but the temps make for great working weather - so I'm off to play at the woodpile. Gotta catch up to the rest of you!
You folks are all putting me to shame. I am blaming the rain here when I don't get what needs doing done. Sorry the drought has been so severe in TN - the trees, in this climate here at least, need lots of water in the fall to over winter well.
Broccoli and cauliflower will turn to gold in the grocery store here soon - so would be a great choice for the veg garden. Perhaps when I expand it next year.
I am leaving the planters in place mostly. The containers can handle the freeze/thaw cycles if turned on their sides (just so dirt remains in them). I've pulled the tomato plants and placed them in a cold compost near the veg garden. In their stead I have placed a simple round of rocks for a campfire this fall. In spite of the rain, I still won't take a chance with the long grasses to set a fire in the open.
Not to forget that the 'raised' edge on the veg garden is made of turf which also makes for a fairly comfortable bench seat around a fire
I've had to pick up store bought tomatoes - bland, bland, bland
Outside ... gaillardia, second wave of hollyhocks, wild black eyed susans are the only blooms standing other than the pampered sunflower.
Well, today may see some showers but the temps make for great working weather - so I'm off to play at the woodpile. Gotta catch up to the rest of you!
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The lawn care people were trying to bum tomatoes from me... just about anything from the garden still growing. I still have remnant red beets that have rejuvenated in the cooler weather. They wanted those as well as the peppers. They wanted the beets not so much for the beets but the greens I think.
I need to either buy or make another general bird feeder. I have shrubs under the general bird feeder and the cats hide there waiting for birds to come and they swat them. We have some happy cats, but they are hard on the finches especially. The sunflower feeder that the cardinals hit is higher and mostly avoid the cat impact. Noticed some blue birds at one of my blue bird boxes over the last week.... I think they start to bunch up for shared warmth as it gets colder and stay inside protected spaces over night.
Leaves are finally changing to their fall colors here.... the early stuff most noticeably at the moment. Peak should be the first week of November I think or a tad later. We mostly have a oak-hickory hardwood mix in the forests and they turn to browns and yellows mostly versus the beautiful reds you see with maples in cooler climates. The maples in people's yards here are about half turned to yellows, oranges, and reds now. The season marches forward.
My Gaillardia died out in my beds, probably due to the less than optimum drainage and possibly not enough sun. Neighbor planted some along the "line" between our properties and they have bloomed very well there and continue to bloom for now. There used to be tall hedge type shrubs there that they cut out. Never cared for the shrub variety, but I got used to the privacy which is lacking now in my back yard. I have stuck a couple Knock Out roses along the same line to add some low maintenance height and interest. They need sun to do well and I have to choose the spots carefully or they won't do much. I never cared for their hedge. This was years ago now and the removal was last year, but they planted the hedge along the short side between houses between our properties right on the line..... that was fine when the bushes were small but when they got 12 feet tall, half of the shrubs were on my property (maybe 8 feet into my yard) and using up my limited space. That gave them room to walk along their side of their house at my expense. I grumbled a bit but ultimately ignored the issue for neighborly harmony; So I was actually pretty happy when they had that row of bushes cut down. I have grass growing now on that side where there previously was too much shade.
When I plant stuff near property lines, I plan for their adult height and breath.... or at least I try to plan for those things 20 years down the road with growth. Most people would never think of such things. They just plant the little plants and say... they look nice.... and then they grow and grow.... The one exception for me has been a Natchez Crape Myrtle (blooms white) which get pretty tall and can be a bit of a specimen tree (house height). I keep the branches trimmed to above head height.
I occasionally drive by my old house (in Knoxville TN) that I landscaped heavily to see how the landscape has matured. After 20 years, it is still quite nice and they made very few changes to that effort. The oak trees have really done nicely.
They wanted the beets not so much for the beets but the greens I think.I need to either buy or make another general bird feeder. I have shrubs under the general bird feeder and the cats hide there waiting for birds to come and they swat them. We have some happy cats, but they are hard on the finches especially. The sunflower feeder that the cardinals hit is higher and mostly avoid the cat impact. Noticed some blue birds at one of my blue bird boxes over the last week.... I think they start to bunch up for shared warmth as it gets colder and stay inside protected spaces over night.
Leaves are finally changing to their fall colors here.... the early stuff most noticeably at the moment. Peak should be the first week of November I think or a tad later. We mostly have a oak-hickory hardwood mix in the forests and they turn to browns and yellows mostly versus the beautiful reds you see with maples in cooler climates. The maples in people's yards here are about half turned to yellows, oranges, and reds now. The season marches forward.
My Gaillardia died out in my beds, probably due to the less than optimum drainage and possibly not enough sun. Neighbor planted some along the "line" between our properties and they have bloomed very well there and continue to bloom for now. There used to be tall hedge type shrubs there that they cut out. Never cared for the shrub variety, but I got used to the privacy which is lacking now in my back yard. I have stuck a couple Knock Out roses along the same line to add some low maintenance height and interest. They need sun to do well and I have to choose the spots carefully or they won't do much. I never cared for their hedge. This was years ago now and the removal was last year, but they planted the hedge along the short side between houses between our properties right on the line..... that was fine when the bushes were small but when they got 12 feet tall, half of the shrubs were on my property (maybe 8 feet into my yard) and using up my limited space. That gave them room to walk along their side of their house at my expense. I grumbled a bit but ultimately ignored the issue for neighborly harmony; So I was actually pretty happy when they had that row of bushes cut down. I have grass growing now on that side where there previously was too much shade.
When I plant stuff near property lines, I plan for their adult height and breath.... or at least I try to plan for those things 20 years down the road with growth. Most people would never think of such things. They just plant the little plants and say... they look nice.... and then they grow and grow.... The one exception for me has been a Natchez Crape Myrtle (blooms white) which get pretty tall and can be a bit of a specimen tree (house height). I keep the branches trimmed to above head height.
I occasionally drive by my old house (in Knoxville TN) that I landscaped heavily to see how the landscape has matured. After 20 years, it is still quite nice and they made very few changes to that effort. The oak trees have really done nicely.
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Ha! "Bum" means borrow to my generation ... and I doubt that those tomatoes if given in your generosity are going to be repaid ... more likely "scrounge" or the TN version of same ?? What the heck, it is great to be generous and even more so when the fruits of your labour are enjoyed beyond what you can use. If your table can enjoy them, so much the better. I love beet greens too.
My last digs, of course, was the dreamed of retirement home of my parents, which they built and I inherited. I put in years of manual work there after they had gone, clearing, winching, removing 40 years of machine shop operations ... metal recycling, revitalizing the house, landscaping - mostly manually without resources... modestly in all ... as posted here on BF.
I do not want to see one change the new people have made. I remember my parents' home precisely as when they lived there. A home with great and simple bones and loving people. I would not look there again to see change. That's me as I look back.
Yet, it is a gift to the heart to see old plantings of oaks especially thrive as you have planted them. Good work with a lifetime of endurance
My last digs, of course, was the dreamed of retirement home of my parents, which they built and I inherited. I put in years of manual work there after they had gone, clearing, winching, removing 40 years of machine shop operations ... metal recycling, revitalizing the house, landscaping - mostly manually without resources... modestly in all ... as posted here on BF.
I do not want to see one change the new people have made. I remember my parents' home precisely as when they lived there. A home with great and simple bones and loving people. I would not look there again to see change. That's me as I look back.
Yet, it is a gift to the heart to see old plantings of oaks especially thrive as you have planted them. Good work with a lifetime of endurance
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I gave away about half of the ripe tomatoes I had that day. Don't really care if I am repaid in any way. I didn't give any peppers. I knew that we wouldn't use all of the tomatoes, so I gave a bag full to someone who would appreciate them. Peppers grow slowly and I always look forward to the new ones getting larger.
Funny about houses and places we have lived.... I worked my butt off on the landscaping at the house in Knoxville TN. It was a labor of love and I was learning too. It makes me feel good that someone apparently liked what I did. Now... on the old homestead where I grew up.......I really don't want to go back there since my Mom and Dad died and we sold the house/property to people we thought would make it there home for a long time and raise a family. It is a good place to raise a family. I don't really expect them to continue the huge garden we had back then. It was a lot of work and took all hands to keep it going. I don't want to change my memory of the place I grew up in. It will always be home for the most part to me. But it was my parents home.
That said, if I visit the grave site, you go right past the house on the way there. I haven't visited in 10 years.
My house I had in Texas... don't care what it looks like now. It's probably some rental house now as it was not real expensive. That was in 1980.
Here are photos I took today of one of the two container tomatoes and a status shot on the celery. I wanted to show how large the celery plants have gotten. They are big enough to use now if I want to. The tomatoes are self explanatory.... guess I may have them going for another week or two before it frosts; may get lucky and be a bit longer. They are still blossoming.
To the right of the tomato plant are the broccoli plants that are about a foot tall now. They aren't big enough to develop heads yet. But they are fairly cold hardy. I just like to grow stuff.
Funny about houses and places we have lived.... I worked my butt off on the landscaping at the house in Knoxville TN. It was a labor of love and I was learning too. It makes me feel good that someone apparently liked what I did. Now... on the old homestead where I grew up.......I really don't want to go back there since my Mom and Dad died and we sold the house/property to people we thought would make it there home for a long time and raise a family. It is a good place to raise a family. I don't really expect them to continue the huge garden we had back then. It was a lot of work and took all hands to keep it going. I don't want to change my memory of the place I grew up in. It will always be home for the most part to me. But it was my parents home.
That said, if I visit the grave site, you go right past the house on the way there. I haven't visited in 10 years.
My house I had in Texas... don't care what it looks like now. It's probably some rental house now as it was not real expensive. That was in 1980.
Here are photos I took today of one of the two container tomatoes and a status shot on the celery. I wanted to show how large the celery plants have gotten. They are big enough to use now if I want to. The tomatoes are self explanatory.... guess I may have them going for another week or two before it frosts; may get lucky and be a bit longer. They are still blossoming.
To the right of the tomato plant are the broccoli plants that are about a foot tall now. They aren't big enough to develop heads yet. But they are fairly cold hardy. I just like to grow stuff.
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LEGION 12
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Looking good I had so much eggplant and peppers I got sick of them , gave away a lot .
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It was your posts and rimfire's from earlier posts that made me try peppers this year. Of course, I took the need for shade to heart ... but planted my four green peppers on the East side and way too close to the overshadowing tomatoes. Good start, they survived ... no fruit worth a pic let alone picking
Perhaps next spring, in the expanded veg garden, I'll try for some peppers worthy of a picture (even if not to eat )@22-rimfire I know you would just be very happy to give away your extras from the garden absolutely without repayment and I apologise if my playing with a word I rarely hear nowadays suggested otherwise. It just hit me 'funny' because of the old memories it holds for me personally. I believe gardens are generosity in play and I get your love of gardening to this end.
LEGION 12
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It's always hard to give in to the cold was still getting Poblones but I wanted to clean up the raised bed , still have to put some compost down . Next year I may build a cover expanded my growing season .
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I think your thinking related to the my word choice of "bum".... I bummed a sandwich... I bummed a tomato.... You made me think about the other places I have lived and that's okay. I wish getting back to PA was easier for me, but it is a pretty good drive. Plus I am not one to generally "bum a bed for the night" from my brothers or sister there, hence I would be moteling it which adds cost. I would like to visit my parent's grave again. Last time was in fact the very last time I was in PA visiting. I see two of my sisters relatively often. But it has been ages since I saw any of my brothers.It was your posts and rimfire's from earlier posts that made me try peppers this year. Of course, I took the need for shade to heart ... but planted my four green peppers on the East side and way too close to the overshadowing tomatoes. Good start, they survived ... no fruit worth a pic let alone picking
@22-rimfire I know you would just be very happy to give away your extras from the garden absolutely without repayment and I apologise if my playing with a word I rarely hear nowadays suggested otherwise. It just hit me 'funny' because of the old memories it holds for me personally. I believe gardens are generosity in play and I get your love of gardening to this end.
30's.... it was probably time to call it quits for the year and the tomatoes certainly won't be ripening with temps like that at night. I will probably take a look at the forecast when the time comes and see if the low temps will be a couple day thing or something that will stick around for a while. I have a number of things to bring indoors. It will get congested and I feel certain my wife will not like it much. I will need to bring in our large Norfolk Island pine (house plant) the first night it drops below 40 degrees. Probably should have already brought it inside. It is tall and just about ceiling height now with the pot. We have been using it as a Christmas tree the last couple of years as Christmas is mostly just us with a few visitors. No need to have a big regular Christmas Tree any more. Plus we kind of like the Norfolk Island Pine as it has personality.
I have to admit, I tend to try and extend my growing season a bit, selectively with certain plants Tomatoes and peppers will not be one of them. More than likely I will cover them the first couple of predicted frost nights, but that doesn't help much if temps get much below freezing.
I have been cutting my Lantana off at ground level even though they are still green, but not developing new blooms. For some reason the reddish ones seem to be more tolerant of cooler night time temps and keep chugging along. Have been planting pansies in this bed as well as in a number of my containers. But I need the space to finish out the pansy spread rather than working around basket sized plants that will be gone at first frost.
I will probably give the Lantana another week or so and then get rid of most of them even though they are still blooming. Need to move forward with stuff.
I resist the season changes and almost always become comfortable with whatever season I am in. Spring is generally a little different as I'm ready for things to stat growing again. By February here, things are generally starting to warm up and you see the daffodils and so forth going into bloom. So, winter is really only a couple months here with occasional late season snow (sometimes substantial) into March. That's one of the reasons I like it here.... you still get the seasons, but winter tends to be short.
Cleaning up the beds aren't hard, but I tend to have stuff planted year around, so I am restricted in the spring as to how much digging I can do. I like to get a load of mushroom compost, till my large front bed and blend in the compost into the soil. But last year I had all of these pansies blooming and it looks like 2020 will be the same.
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annr
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Now that’s what I call positive spin!Looks like a big harvest compared to the single, small, green tomato I have left
My mom, born and raised on farms, says, “Aren’t you glad you don’t have to make a living that way?” She has a point.
You mentioned the bland store bought tomatoes, and I was wondering if you get the same Canadian tomatoes we get in our stores, it’s all relative, or they export the tasty ones to the US.
The reason: generally, the Canadian tomatoes are the best tomatoes in the supermarket.)
annr
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Nice! I thought maybe you (or someone else) could explain to me:Last batch .
My first batch of (red) peppers was bright red. The second batch, though they were on the plant as long or longer, never turned red. Any thing I could have done differently?
LEGION 12
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I don't think it really matters that much some of mine turned red some didn't , I think the red one's were just slightly sweeter .
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I think the "red" is a matter of the amount of sun the plant is exposed to (and time). I like regular bell peppers, and have grown them for years. But this year they just didn't do very well and the yellow bells and red bells did better. But they take a longer time to mature to their red or yellow color versus green.
I think there is a reason why the really hot peppers tend to be grown in the south as I understand it. I'm just guessing about this as I really don't know. I'm open for suggestions.
Added: I do know that if you want to grow peppers well, you need to give them some space so they aren't competing with stuff like tomatoes for light. I have a small garden and space is generally at a premium. I believe this is the dominant reason my green bell peppers didn't do well this year...... I planted them too close together. I think this is why I need to think more about containers for peppers in the future and leave the garden for other stuff and maybe a couple peppers.
I think there is a reason why the really hot peppers tend to be grown in the south as I understand it. I'm just guessing about this as I really don't know. I'm open for suggestions.
Added: I do know that if you want to grow peppers well, you need to give them some space so they aren't competing with stuff like tomatoes for light. I have a small garden and space is generally at a premium. I believe this is the dominant reason my green bell peppers didn't do well this year...... I planted them too close together. I think this is why I need to think more about containers for peppers in the future and leave the garden for other stuff and maybe a couple peppers.
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annr
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I suspect
LEGION 12
you will be correct about the taste, but good to know it doesn’t matter that much.
22-rimfire
I bet you are right about sun exposure. Even though the tomatoes and peppers weren’t competing for sunlight, the days were getting shorter, cooler, and the angle of the sun changed in such a way that maybe they got the best exposure earlier in the season.
Oops… I left a couple stragglers on the plants. (The big joke is “Goliath” tomatoes! Hate to see the puny ones.)
LEGION 12
you will be correct about the taste, but good to know it doesn’t matter that much.
22-rimfire
I bet you are right about sun exposure. Even though the tomatoes and peppers weren’t competing for sunlight, the days were getting shorter, cooler, and the angle of the sun changed in such a way that maybe they got the best exposure earlier in the season.Oops… I left a couple stragglers on the plants. (The big joke is “Goliath” tomatoes! Hate to see the puny ones.)