Slim Pickin's

Day 342: There's slim pickin's in the tomato department this year, and those which are just now coming off the vines are tough-skinned and less tasty than in years past, courtesy of too much sun and too little water. The Romas aren't much larger than the Sungolds, and the Sungolds are about half the size they should be. Here you see approximately two-thirds of the yield so far. No, it was not a good year for tomatoes, not in my garden. While I've noted a dearth of some crops (notably apples and basil, as friends have confirmed), there were some surprising abundances. The gooseberries did extremely well, and the raspberries seem set to follow their example. Blueberries? My bushes yielded precisely four dry, flavourless berries. That said, if I have to accept a tradeoff, I'll take gooseberries over tomatoes any day, although I do miss the "tomato candy" of the Sungolds.