The first tomato!

I planted a tomato in mid-April as a test, to see if there was any advantage to planting then, versus May 1. Either way, you need a Wall-O-water to protect the plants from cold, but I wanted to see if more time in the ground would lead to earlier maturity. Some years maybe it would. This year, the tomato sat through several snow storms, barely growing at all.

When I spotted my first tomato on Monday, it wasn't on that early plant, it was on another, of an identical strain, that I planted two weeks later. So there you go: this year, at least, it didn't pay to plant early.

Now, however, things are starting to catch up. My tomatoes are all peeking out of their water towers.

My lettuce is finally starting to do something, almost a month late.

I planted a pepper, a Japanese egg plant, some basil and flat-leaf parsley on May 15. I'll plant even more basil in the coming days. You can never have too much. Meanwhile, my snow peas are still quite small. The cold must have held them back, but they're growing fast. How are other Colorado Springs gardens doing? Post a progress report below.

The enforcer

Some readers have asked me why I don't have a picture of Stanley, the Chihuahua/dachshund who keeps the squirrels away from my garden. Quite frankly, it's because his ego is big enough as it is and I don't need that little 14-pound terror to attract a fan base, but, against my better judgement, here he is:By the way, the big Mother's Day weekend frost-free date is coming up. That's usually a safe time to plant tomatoes. However, this year has been a very cool year. If you plant, and don't use walls o' water, I'd have a sheet ready to throw over the plants on cool nights.
Most area garden center sell planter tomatoes. I recomment these over trying to start from seed, which can take forever. My favorite, because of the variety, is Good Earth Garden Center.