It's been an odd year so far.

It's my second year of container gardening on my deck. I reduced my
plantings by half after last year. No cabbages or brussel sprouts
because the cabbage worms ate them to the bone. Fewer tomato and
pepper plants just because they got out of hand last year.

I plant carrots and onions in mortar tubs. Last year I planted the
seeds in rows and found it a pain in the ass to thin them so this year
I scattered the seeds across the tub. I must've sowed more seeds than
I realized, because the tubs are wall to wall seedlings and thinning
is even worse than last year.

Onion sets simply died, no reason. Likewise Swiss chard. I don't use
insecticides and I fertilize with Miracle-Gro every two weeks. No idea
why things died. I'm beginning to suspect the city water.

Tried some Bak Choi and found out the cabbage bugs love that too, so
that went on the compost pile.

I have a wren nesting in one of the tomato containers, so I have to be
careful to not flood the nest when I water.

I had a couple of nice sunflowers, about five feet tall, staked and
held with wire ties. One of the ties cut into a growing stalk until
the stalk just broke. No more wire ties.

I'm doing cucumbers in whiskey barrels. So far, so good. Saw my first
cucumber today.

Once again, I planted lettuce too late and it went to seed when the
heat hit it. Gotta get it in earlier next year.

I have one egg plant. Not that I like egg plant, but it was something
different. Lots of foliage and flowers, but so far no egg plants. I'm
curious as to how the plant will support the fruit when they appear.

My one artichoke that made it through the winter is again putting out
lush foliage, but still no sign of artichokes.

I have strawberries in a 4' plastic wading pool. They didn't amount to
much last year, so I pulled up all the plants and composted them. I
was ready to plant something else there this year, when all the plants
came back from the roots. We got a half dozen strawberries before the
squirrels discovered them.