I have noticed that the cucumbers’ foliage is wilting during the day even though they are well watered, and perking up in the early morning when the temperature is cool. That is a clue that the overall temperature is too much for them, too. If opening the door and vents is not enough install a simple fan, moving air is a sure way to get the temperature under control and your plants will reward you.

Tomatoes are interesting. They seem to be no more than a weed. Every year I start them in the house, in February, under lights. When I plant them out into the greenhouse beds, I bury the stem up to the last set of leaves, making the plant look like it has been set back two months. Roots form along the buried stem and make for a very sturdy plant.

But this year my logistics were skewed and, ultimately, I planted Brandywines that germinated about an hour before I planted them into the containers. Although they are healthy, they are certainly not as robust as usual. And there is nothing like robust. Methinks there will be no BLTs until September.

There are four kinds of tomatoes in the greenhouse this year, five plants in all. That may not sound like much to some of you but for the two of us, our son’s family and any friends that drop by, that seems to do the trick. I ceased trying to feed the town a few years ago. Those five plants take up a huge amount of room and with this weather, the humidity could cause problems. Thus, I attacked these wanton plants with pruning shears.

Remove any excess foliage, starting from the ground up. This will allow for improved air circulation, reducing the chances of mold or fungus problems. Water just the soil, not the remaining foliage. If your plants are indeterminates (grow to astounding heights), you will need to cut out the suckers that form between the branches and the main stem as well as foliage. If they are determinate (have the sense to know when to quit), leave the suckers and just prune excess foliage. The pruning also allows the light to reach the fruit, making for faster ripening.

You will need to do some pruning on the cucumbers as they get more unruly. You will know the time to do this — when you can’t see the cukes for the leaves.

Keep turning the compost pile. I now have two finished piles that I have combined. The good intention is to spread this material onto the vegetable beds. This is called side dressing. It is the most logical use of your compost. Right about now the vegetables need a boost as they surge forth on their quest to produce something wonderful for you to eat (well, that’s my version).

Couple that with the fact that, once again, I have planted everything very close so the plants are using the available food rapidly. The reason for planting close is to pack as much into a small space as possible, to crowd out the weeds, and to make tending and harvesting more efficient.

Your potatoes should be well up. I cut the tubers for the first time this year. Usually they are small enough that I plant one whole potato but this year the seed tubers that I bought (certified from Palmer) were huge and I had no choice but to cut them, let the pieces dry a few days before planting, and cross my fingers. I know, I know, this is how it has been done forever, but this is my first go at it. I have noticed that the plants are coming up at drastically different rates.

That brings me to the hilling issue. Hilling is when you add soil (straw, hay, leaves, shredded raspberry canes, whatever) to the surface of the soil around the potato plant. I always thought that I would get more potatoes by doing this chore. Not me. But I do get really huge, clean, potatoes that have not seen the light of day, thereby turning them green, bitter and toxic. I get more bang for the buck by taking better care of what I do have. There. That’s my take on hilling.

But these are all coming up willy-nilly, a huge plant here, a tiny little something there. So I just started hilling the big ones and will wait on the small ones. Hassle.

Your lilacs want to be picked. I know that they don’t last very long once cut but the delight that they bring to the house is not to be denied. Make your cut above a set of leaves on the branch, this will be where the bud forms later this summer or early fall. Before you bring them in, give a light shake, there seems to be a little bug that has found a home on my lilac blooms this year and I do not want to introduce them to the cozy indoor environment. Next I take a hammer and smash the end of the cut stem. Supposedly this will allow the stem to take up more water and the bloom to last longer.

The white Mt. Baker has been blooming for 10 days, the common for about four. The Daniel Wyman will be the next and after that comes the James McFarland. That means lilac blooms for an extended period. That means success.