J. wrote:
It's odd, but every year some things get better and others get worse
with respect to my backyard vegetable garden.

This is indeed a slow way to learn. So I ask your advice.

For the past two consecutive seasons, my tomatoes and cucumbers for some
reason have not flourished as I know they could/should have.

The transplants just kind of sit there -- and do nothing!

Sounds like they're not getting pollinated. Are they in greenhouses that
keep the bees out? Have you noticed a decline in your wild bees? (No
problem with bee numbers up here).

You can try pollinating the plants by hand. I did it last year with my
first crop of cucumbers since they were in the greenhouse. IIRC, I just
used a q-tip and wiped inside a male flower and then dappled it in a
female one (thinking now...yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the female that
becomes the fruit...it's the flower that looks like it's a tiny cucumber).

I might also suggest a fertilizer that is lighter on Nitrogen which can
promote a lot of green grown but fewer flowers.

Curious to see other responses.

..

Zone 5b in Canada's buzzing Far East.

--

We must change the way we live,
or the climate will do it for us.