As you can see (to the left), the soil-afflicted Tomande and the Sweetheart of the Patio have bit the dust. One of the two Gold Nuggets became a feast for the white flies, leaving one heat- and storm-battered Tomande and the Patio Princess and remaining Gold Nugget valiantly fighting off white fly attacks of their own. Next year, come July, white fly traps really have to make an appearance to help out the beleaguered and overwhelmed marigolds.
Still, you’ll hear no complaints here. This has been a great summer for POD and with any luck, those vacated pots will be seeded with peas, chard and lettuce before the weekend is out.
The cucumbers are still pouring in — at last count: Spacemaster: 14, Adam F1: 13 (RIP), White Wonder: 32. That’s not a typo, people. Nearly nine pounds of tomatoes and counting! Not to mention 20 adorable (and strangely hot) little poblanos, gobs of basil, herbs, chard, and two delightful C. Borealis melons.
Squirrels? They suck, but they’ve sucked much less this year than usual. See that tomato on the railing (squint, you’ll see it, top right)? You’d think the least the greedy SOB could do is finish the thing.
Plants On Deck 
We had tons of white flies over in Washington state, too! Very few aphids this year, but tons of whiteflies. Our neighbors across the street had to put those yellow sticky traps on their indoor and outdoor plants. They even got all over my tomatoes; I’ve never seen that happen before.
And the boogers just sneak up on you, don’t they? It’s like they’re not there and then, boom, your plants are dead.