I had a bear that did that twist a few years ago. After the second year of my complaining, they came and hauled him away. Took him about 2 weeks to return and he wasn't shy about letting me know he was back. We actually made peace that year with each other. I started leaving berries and such away from the garden for him and he quit rolling in my garden. All good.

I guess 3000 miles doesn't mean a darn thing! Shade is shade and all good at least this year!!!

Same exact scenario here, 3000 miles west of you! My leaves are deep green, almost BLUE!! So many yellow blossoms and little green tomato's I am already making plans for how to deal with the bushels of fruit we are going to have. Its almost too good to be true and I am waiting for disaster to strike in the form of a Texas style hail storm or Mr Bear does the twist on my tomato plants.

I don't know but you can visibly see the line in my garden plot where the shade is. The leaves that are deep, deep green and thick while the leaves on the plants that get full sun all day are a lighter green and not nearly as thick! I may plant under the trees next year too! : )

Most of the directions or planting suggestions on the seed packages say to plant in full sun. This year in my new garden location the sun is only shining directly on the garden for approx 7 hours and I have noticed a monumental difference in the quality and size of everything I planted. My tomato plants are the best I have ever grown. Do you suppose this years seeds were healthier/better/more robust or is it the less hours of direct sunlight?? My garden is shaded by huge fir trees until about 10:30 am and goes into the shade again at about 6pm. My last location the plants leaves burnt up and the tomato's had sun scald from too much sun and hotter temperatures.

I am gardening in very tight quarters this year. All down the side and rear of our home and I have a small area 12' x 20' that ends into a large lilac tree. Previously I have always had a large garden in an open area but this year I have realized how much better plants do in shade!! Half the garden plot gets sun only when directly overhead since it is shaded by the lilac tree. That half of the garden is much happier than the half that is fully exposed. Our house has 3' overhangs so the plants along the side are shaded almost the entire day. The ones nearest the front and rear corners are least happy than the others that have shade all day. The plants along the back of our house get full sun most of the day since they face east and they are the least happy of all. This is a new experience for me. I have 5 tomato plants and they grow and are producing the most on the plants that are the most shaded. The smallest plant is at the corner and is about 2' high with four tomatoes. The 5th plant in is the most shaded and is taller than I am and has at least 30 tomatoes on it and is covered with flowers yet. I am rethinking how I will plant next year and may cover the other side of the house since it is shaded most of the day too. Perhaps along the sides of the garage too. Am I behind in this knowledge or does everyone but me know the wonders of shade?