I updated my garden on Father's Day, only it wasn't Father's Day, and my mom cannot be trusted

So as everybody but Mulch Boy has been too polite to mention, yesterday was in fact NOT Father's Day. I was misinformed. By my own mother.

The sad thing is that I just the week before confirmed that Father's Day was not until the 16th. But when Mom reminds you every time you talk that "Father's Day is this weekend," "Don't forget to call Dad for Father's Day this Sunday," "Here are my plans for Father's Day this weekend"...  Well, perhaps I can be forgiven for my confusion.

I celebrated Not Father's Day by working in the garden for the first time in a while. Saturday Mulch and I stopped at the garden center and picked up pepper plants (sweet and hot), thyme, basil, tarragon, and four different tomatoes.

Now it had been my intention to start my tomatoes outside from seed once the peas had finished up, taking over the pea spot. Thanks to the long cold spring, though, the peas are only now blooming and producing, leaving no place to sow. Thus, I made an executive decision to just buy tomato plants on Saturday.

I ended up with four different varieties: Brandywine, Old German (I think), Mr. Stripey, and... some other guy. My thinking was to grow a sampler platter and find out whether I had any preferences.

What I forgot was to note whether they were determinate or indeterminate. As my gardening space is limited, I try to stick to determinate.

They're all indeterminate. Whoops.

Well, they're all in the ground now. After a final harvest, I dug out the mesclun from the front of the bed (still producing, but messing up my schedule, and I have more in pots on the back porch) and installed the peppers and basil.

For the tomatoes, I had to improvise. The positive about buying the plants was that I limited myself to four, which (hopefully) will require less space than the rows I would have planted if the peas had germinated on time. I did still have to make room, though, and I managed by weeding around the existing veg. This included pulling out the tiny forest of volunteer cherry tomatoes that surrounded the peas.

I never realized that cherry tomatoes could be an invasive! I literally pulled several dozen little plants in order to clear spots for planting and staking my new maters. And while I recognized the need, I hated it. It always smarts to kill a healthy, desirable plant. It feels so wasteful.

At least I saved a few, I hope.  I picked three of the strongest-looking specimens and transplanted them next to the chain link fence in the Big Bed. They were looking pretty droopy when I put them in, but I'm hoping today's rain revives them.

Yes, I've decided to put some veg in the Big Bed. In addition to the cherry maters, I planted a little patch of green bean seed and a little patch of wax bean seed, plus three cantaloupe seeds. We'll see whether they take to the uncultivated terrain. In addition, I bought one little watermelon vine at the garden center, and she went in the Big Bed, too. What the heck!

While I was digging and planting, Mulch Boy came out to break the news to me about Father's Day. When I finally finished, I had to phone my mom and give her a bad time about it. We both giggled over it (apparently there was a lot of advertising for Father's Day where they are, and she just assumed it must be now), and then I talked to Dad and filled him in on my garden adventures.

All in all, it was a very nice Not Father's Day.