Hey! I appreciate the mention my friend! You’re doing a great job and I love the easy to understand delivery of this information. Keep up the great work educating all of us!

Such wisdom from a younger man than I. Luke, you have not steered me wrong yet. Thank you for doing what you do.

Ontario, Canada chiming in. My tomatoes are about three weeks behind. It’s comforting to read the comments and see I’m not alone.

My tomatoes in Michigan are 5-6 foot tall and producing fruits. I also have peppers that are producing and I only get 6-8 hours of sunlight. Don’t get intimidated that you don’t have a perfect garden. Make the most of what you have. Everything is a gift and a learning experience.

The maturity date makes so much sense. My gardening groups have all been asking why their tomatoes aren't turning red. Thanks for the video.

Growing slowly? This is the wettest summer in a long time, but carrots took double the time to be ready for harvesting. Potatoes aren’t flowering as much as last year, but I’m thankful for the chance to keep up since I quadrupled my gardens this year. Eggplants seem to be thriving for the first year. I a credit it to all the little birds visiting my garden every day - they’re raising their babies in nearby trees and feasting on pests in the garden - GOD BLESS THEM!

My light bulb moment from this channel was when you said to use organic sweet potatoes instead of regular ones. Once I followed that advice now have more slips than I know what to do with. It's the little details that make the biggest difference. Thank you for your service 🙏🏼

I think my garden is behind because of a few of those things you mentioned. Late warm-up, lack of rain and poor air quality. Add in a very hungry groundhog that caused me to have to replant a few things and yeah, things are a bit behind this year. Love that you mentioned The Veggie Boys. Your channel and theirs are two of my favorites.

Love the water oxygen info. I knew rain had acids but didn't realize the oxygen... Thanks!

This is only my second year gardening so I know I’ve made a few mistakes, but this video makes me feel so much better about the state of my tomatoes! Thank you so much for the info!

I've seen spurts of growth when we finally get some heat and I figured the cool weather and a couple weeks with no rain were reasons for the slow start. The smoke in the air certainly doesn't help. One thing that concerns me is that I'm not seeing as meny bees as before the smoky conditions. They wer everywhere in the spring, but very few now. I've been hand pollinating our zucchini every morning to be safe. This morning I saw some flowers starting on the green beans. We've been harvesting herbs & jalapenos, though. Thanks for all the info. Oh...we're just south of Cleveland, Ohio. Zone 6.

Omg shout out to Luke for shouting out the Veggie Boys! My 2 fav garden/farming channels actually know each other (online or offline, which doesn't matter haha). Hope one day you guys can pay each other a visit and let your kids be friends in the garden/farm! How exciting to see that happen in the channels! 🎉 Geneva, Enzo and Callie Rose in the fields seeing cows and munching on fresh peas haha 🤍🤍🤍 My garden is slower than usual too this year. Days can get super hot (above 30°C) and dropping close to zero degrees C at night (in the spring and early summer). Even now, our nights can drop to below 10°C too. Most plants get stunted. And the smokes, too. Some days it's very, very bad here in my area. But yeah, worry not. It's for the fun of it and if I can get something in the end, it'd be a nice bonus. 1 thing a bit weird is out of all the seeds I got from you, there's 1 that didn't germinate at all. Resowing and resowing and resowing, and I decided to stop and try again next year. Anyways, I love today's content. The reason why I subscribed in the 1st place years ago. You make gardening simple and fun! Thanks Luke!

Luke, I am so happy you mentioned Andrew and his lovely veggie family. Veggie boys are awesome!

I knew the wild fires would mostly likely affect my garden. I am glad you explained exactly how and why. Thank you ❤

Each year I adapt to the environmental changes and that’s just part of gardening! Hard to have a perfect year, every year, even for humans! 😉

I just asked this question to a 5b FB group because I am/was so disappointed. This is only my 2nd year w/ a garden (using your seeds + Trifecta this year) and upon reading my FB Memories for this day last year…..I was eating my first tomato sandwich. I’m sure it’s the lack of patience and not the plants….lol Thanks for all of these informative reminders and TIMELY videos. It really helps newbies like me. 😊

You can still see the smoke in the back of the video with the warnings still going off. But yes these are amazing tips and well delivered. I'm glad we are all in this together tho! Our veggies and fruits are coming!!!! Hang in there everyone

You said something in a video I watched 6 years ago about not confining yourself into the "this is how its done" idea. You said to just try because there are plenty of ways to successfully grow food. That resonated and I have watched since. You recently said it again. That was my "aha" light bulb. Never was much on following rules lol

I finally have time to watch this video. I just wanted to say that im here in SE Nebraska. When i let the dogs out for the last time for the night, the smoke smell was just horrendously sick. So for those who think that the Canadian fires aren't affecting them, it most certainty could be. Thank you for sharing you knowledge. Even an old lady can have an aha moment. My garden seems a bit slower this season and all 5 reasons make perfect sense. ❤

Insufficient sunlight has been a major factor in my garden, not just from the smog conditions, but also from my own lack of experience. In the early spring when I'm planning out the garden, it's hard to tell which areas get full sunlight because the trees overhead have not yet grown in their leaves. By this time of year, there is a full canopy of leaves, which blocks out much more of the garden than I anticipated. The plants will still grow, albeit more slowly.

Good stuff sir! I am planting some Roma tomatoes when I get home tonight in Zone 8a. Yep, I know if it likely too late to start, but I am doing it for science 😎

I live in northern Michigan and was watering like crazy in June to keep everything alive. Then we got a rain and ever plant jumped 3 inches over night. I had no idea it was the ingredients in the rain that made such a difference. I saw it happened but you helped me understand what I witnessed! Thanks

Yes! Things are definitely moving slow...but a HUGE growth spurt when we had 3 consecutive days of drizzle!

here in western nys: cold then dry for a while, then a week of constant rain. dry, rain for days. twice smokey/hazy days. it has been a weird year.

NEOHIO checking in, its good to read and hear from others I have had to deal with all the same. Its good to hear im not the only one.

We've had a very dry summer and we had the smoke pollution from Canada. This explains a lot. I have tomatoes but they are taking a long time to turn red.

The smoke this year. Never thought about it. Even here in Maryland the smoke haze has been heavy, smells like leaves burning all day. Thanks.

My aha moment was realizing that my tomato plant that is turning yellow may just need a bit of fertilizer. Thank you from a garden newbie. I love watching your videos specific on growing plants in Michigan and I’ve learned so much! 😊

Love The Veggie Boys channel. Glad you gave them a shout out. They have been documenting the smoke effect on their crops too. Thanks for the information.

Nice video, Luke. One thing I frequently do is wait too long to move my plants from the tray planters to the bed. Seems to takes several weeks for the plants to adapt and just grow like crazy. I also found that a good fertilized and compost enriched soil is a winning plan. I have found the best soil combinations ever so far. I loved the pumpkin video and am anxious to see an update. Mine just started growing in 3 days and in 2 days are 3 inches tall. I think if I had a large patch like that and it was possible, I would use drip irrigation to keep the plants happy and maximize the harvest. You also have to watch for vine borers, which killed past pumpkins for me. The plants that rooted wherever the vine touched the ground were the best for me. May the Lord continue blessing you and yours. Love you right back buddy.

I was wondering this myself this year. Good to know that I wasn’t the only one still waiting for veggies.

Thank you so much..Zone 4B, Quebec Province, was right in the path of the smoke from the fires...and been getting way more rain and cold weather than usual, hot peppers plants are small and still giving fruits...weird...but you know what..i still have 15 weeks before frost...all i do is being patient, Mother Nature will decide what i get or not...will still be happy.

Such good advice! I am having the same problems growing a garden here in New Mexico. It is always a relief to hear other gardeners talk about the same problems.

Thanx Luke! I was WONDERING what’s up…. Your reassurance helps… colder nights, dry weather, trace minerals needed from rain we DIDNT get, smoke from the fires, (btw we LUV the Veggie Boys as well), and yep I am sure to carefully use fertilizer, … I can relax and just let ‘er go… it IS healthy, just slower this year. I needed to hear this!

Risked our planting days, may 13th and 16th, we got bear dz zucchini so far, beets are huge, beans will be insane after this s.e. mich down pour, we checked 2 hills of potatoes today, they are phenomenal, cucumbers are near ready, 80% of seeds are of course from migardener!! Tytyty! Our potato seeds were from a vendor in the thumb in vass city. So happy!!

Thank you for addressing the air quality issue we are experiencing this year. I am in Fort Wayne IN, which has been heavily impacted by the wildfires and I keep asking what effect it has on my garden. Just started following you this year and I am so glad I found someone in my same zone to get ideas from!!

I always wondered why rain water has a better effect on my plants thanks Luke

Yes Luke, my garden has suffered this year. A cold spring. When the temps reached the low 70's smoke from forest fires that lasted days and a dust storm. Then over 5" of rain in 8 days. Then no rain at all. 😫 I wouldn't want to be a farmer and my livelihood depending on all these factors. 😳

The wildfires will act as shade, but also as fertilizer! As the ash comes down it is filled with trace minerals (more then usual), so although it's bad, it's also good, lol. Sadly these fires are necessary due to bad management for years. Too much emphasize on wood (trees) and not the ecosystem (forest), BUT once the fires go through an area, life is renewed, so that is a good thing. Still getting my garden sorted, lol. Yes, it's late in the year, but as I said to my husband, next year will be great! Thank you, Luke. Love your channel!

Definitely didn’t consider how much the smoke must’ve affected the garden! We came out of a drought when it started to clear up and had a couple bugs storms that really made the garden boom after it seemed to be struggling!

I don't expect my plants to grow unless nights are 60 degrees. For some reason, the night temperature matters more than daytime temperature.

All of us in the west are like "Wait, you guys don't normally have smoke coverage in the summer?"

My garden is very slow , tomatoes just now putting on green fruit....beans have done nothing, potatoes is all I've harvested this year,

I had no idea that rain had that many benefits. My ah ha moment. I live in northern Michigan. I planted my garden two or weeks after Mother's Day, also. My garden is growing very slow. This video really gave me some good information, thank you.

My light bulb moment was that plants breathe opposite of us, and that micro pic of a leaf with a mouth! Priceless!!

Thank you so much for this video Luke. I needed to hear this cuz I’ve been feeling a bit discouraged.

My garden is slow growing because I was late getting it in with weather and just life. But happy I am finally done with it.

Thank you for posting this informative video. I planted late because of the cold weather here in Western NY State. Then the day that I started planting, my beautiful granddaughter was born. Also I was the only one planting, so it took me longer. I've been very worried that I did all of that work for nothing!! It's been about 8 years since I planted a garden, because of my health, but I'm much better, and I really want to can and freeze most of what I grow. I've missed it so much. Thanks for telling me to chill and be patient!!! 😊

Here in Wisconsin the lack of rain and all the smoke have really done a number on my gardens. I had my salsa garden in by 20th of may and my veggie garden was way late because of how hard the ground was after 3 weeks of no rain, even watering an empty garden wasnt really helping. My corn got in very late, barely up to my ankles (im not holding out too much hope even for a way late harvest on that one) this year has really been bad all around. Even our fruit trees are not doing as good as last year.

Patience. Your video reminded me that to have patience to let the plants grow at their own, appropriate pace. Thank you!

Very good video, Luke! I'm sure it will help tons of people. I hope this wacky weather straightens itself out, and we go back to having normal temps and weather for each of our different areas.

Severe draught here in Illinois 2023. The last few weeks my plants have been able to relax and grow from the real rain that did not happen in May and June.

leaf mold, white flies and aphids did so much damage to my tomato plants this year. I have never experienced so many issues as I have this year, the leaf mold was absolutely the worst. I was able to save most by cutting back. My tomato plants are just starting to show signs of new healthy growth with flowers just starting to emerge. May was also cooler than usual, we did not get 60 degree nights until June. I also found that there is an infestation of leaf eating beetles. every time I pull weeds I get a serious amount of beetles under the surface of the soil, they have decimated all my pepper plant leaves. As I don't use chemicals the only thing I can do to cut down on them is to squish them with my fingers.

I never knew that rainwater was so different and more beneficial than city water (well, what isn't, actually)! Thank you for this!

Your videos are so unique. You actually get down on the ground , plants height. That makes your videos pop. Thank you for all your hard work.

I am in Mass. and this is the slowest growing year. I got hit by a frost and had to replant in mid june. And its only been rain or 90 degrees! Things are waay behind where they normally are but healthy so I think its just fine!

I am learning each day my teacher 😊 thank you very much migardener 🙏🙏

I totally appreciate this video because I have been concerned about the slow growth in my garden. Thanks. You must have read my ming.'

Thanks Luke for your explanation of why the garden is growing slower this year than last year. I appreciate you so much. Also I like the transformed motto. Grow bigger, so positive.

Thank you for all the wonderful advice and guidance! Here i Maine we don't seem to have had any of the issues with the air quality that others have, but we definitely have had a lot of other things to contend with; late frosts that put us behind getting things into the ground, colder than normal temperatures, almost constant rain from April through June and a subsequent invasion of slugs and snails. Oh for a happy medium for all of us!

I am in South East Michigan and my tomatoes are about waist high, with about 3 clusters of small green tomatoes each, I single stem that I learned from you a few years ago, but yeah, very slow going this year, some of my hot peppers are doing well, and some not so well, I clipped the tips of the small ones to encourage more lower growth, and it seems to have helped. WE are having some warm days, but still cool nights, like 60`s, and quite a bit of rain lately, but I thought it was just me, with the slow growth, and I know you are in Michigan as well, so I feel better about the garden after seeing this video, thanks for the garden update, I have about 80 qt jars I plan to fill with hot pepers and tomatoes, I have 13 tomato plants about 2 feet apart, and 15 hot pepper varieties, 3 zuccinni and 2 English cucumbers, we love all the help and tips you provide us each and every year, all the best to you and your family.

I’m glad we’re not the only ones with a slow growing garden!! I knew it was due to the temperatures but I have to keep reassuring my husband that things will explode soon!

I feel that some years are definitely better than others if my tomatoes do great my cucumbers don't. And vice versa. Last year was the first year my peppers did anything. This year they seem stunted and small

The curse and blessings of YT. MI is the blessing. I was sitting in my garden tonight feeling discouraged and resigned to disappointment this gardening season. And the curdse of YT is comparing my garden to other YTers.Thank you Luke, for educating your viewers. Your video is Exactly what I needed to hear. It answered my questions, gave valuable information, and eased my concerns. My question is, can too much water slow the growth of the garden? I seeded my lawn, which required daily watering, which watered my garden early on. Can too much water slow the growth as well as not enough water?

Loved the Veggie Boys shout out!!! My 2 favorite channels!!

Thanks! I learned some things in this video... I knew that rain water was important but hadn't thought about the micronutrients in rainwater as well as the oxygenation it provides. I also hadn't thought about how the chemicals in water could be harming the soil organisms.

Thank you so much !! we are about 3 weeks behind im guessing from the cool weather and then we had that smoke coverage in our area. But so excited to see everything taking off we have been eating a lot of green beans - they are the only thing on time for us

I think my issue is the opposite: to much rain. The number of full sun days in New England have been few and far between with daily rain. We are far above normal rain fall for the seasons. Either this is causing root rot, stunting from lack of sun and nutrient deficiencies due to rain washing out all the nutrients in the soil. This is the worst growth season I’ve experienced in 7 years of gardening so far, but won’t give up! Planting lettuce and water loving crops instead.

We're just a few hundred miles south of you in Grand Rapids, MI, We store 3,500 gallons of rain water for our plants. Using drip irrigation is makes the most out of ever drop. Of the 94 tomato plants, they are aa bit slow for the reasons you mentioned, but are going very well and setting fruit. Several plants are over 6 ft tall. The rest of the garden is exploding with jurassic growth. I can contribute this to electro culture, compost tea. and great soil.

Thanks for the education and the reassurance. I was just out in the garden this morning (I live in Ann Arbor) and was lamenting that I have just had my first beefsteak tomato. Lots of green ones on the plants, nothing ripening. I was worried that I should have put shade cloth over the plants last week when it was so hot and maybe again later this week if it goes into the 90s. I'll watch and wait and see how things go, thanks to your video.

Thanks, it's tough with all this smoke. Thanks for explaining about the oxygen and more detail about how important rain is. I knew about the nitrogen but not about all the other minerals. Thanks

Thanks for listing these issues for gardens this year. Knowing why rain is better and how smoke and drought affect plant respiration is enlightening. Great job!

Thank you Luke. We seem to be running a bit slow in SW Michigan. Patience is a virtue!

Yes,the garden is behind schedule here. Cold Spring and quite a few days of smoke from the Canada wild fires is what I am attributing it to since I have not changed anything in my routine this season.🤔 It's the best guess that I have.

Love your channel and how you explain how things work or don't work in the garden. This is my first year gardening. I appreciate the detail you go into. Thank you.

Loving the video w/ affects - nice work! Teachable moments for younger generation and us older flock. Love your channel Luke. You taught me how to garden four years ago! Still learning in zone 5B, in the Berkshires, Massachusetts. Our tomatoes are just starting to flower. Great year for peas and kale! Peace

Thanks for adding in the science lesson! Super helpful learning about the stoma. I like learning how the plants work.

I am always impressed with the way the information flows. Learn so much from this channel. ✅

Your videos always help keep me on track. Thanks

My light bulb moment was the smoke. I never gave that a thought. Thanks for the info.

We've been dealing with a lot of weather upheaval because of the Canadian Wildfires. The biggest set back was a weather system that dropped a hailstorm that ripped off small leaves, perforated bigger leaves, and froze a few things (it was super small and packed in, we scooped it all away, but the cold did its worst anyways) Everything seems to be on a two/three week delay, compared to other years. But part of Gardening is Patience (as well as persistence and gratitude) so I'm just doing what I can to take care of what I have.

Love your little pop ups on your video,your so helpful..thanks🌱

Thank you Luke, I've been watching your content for many years. You truly made a difference in my gardening experience. My little Montréal back yard garden is my joy because of your help.

Thanks for the information. I did not know that rain showers had a different effect compared to watering from my well.

Hey Luke, I've been gardening about 3 years and I'm just starting to know my plants growth habits. Done everything right, waited until late May this year to transplant my plants outside, used Trifecta plus, had great soil..... and still slow plant growth. My ahh hua moment was when you spoke of the air quality. I live in Northwest Indiana about 30 miles south of Chicago. For several days we seen the haze from the smoke and for a few days you could actually smell the smoke in the air. I guess I never thought about the air quality of being a factor in plant growth. Great video, Thanks,

Light bulb moment: I was just thinking about how some of my tomatoes varieties are growing slower than others despite being in the same beds. I didnt think to consider maturity dates!

Thanks Luke.

Rain vs watering! I had no idea rain water had the much of an impact. We are in Southern Minnesota and have only have a handful of rains this season.

Makes sense, I live in Central Florida and have been harvesting my Cherry and Roma tomatoes for weeks, while my Cherokee Purples, and Great Whites are still green and growing in size. Thanks brother

Great video thanks Luke! I've been gardening for 4 years now and have been very successful, because of you. I live in Missouri and have noticed my plants growing slow this year. We've had hot days but cool nights and Canadian wildlife smoke, so multiple factors. Also I'm thinking I need to add some nitrogen. I'm going to use alfalfa pellets in water and make that mash I learned from a video you made 2 years ago, because I'm seeing some yellowing of leaves on my melons and peppers .

I live in south western Ontario and its very slow growing here too compared to last year. I couldn't plant until 1st week of June because the night time temps were so cold.

Agreed & High 90 degrees in early spring made most all my mini cabbages an lettuce bolt and after wks of the smokey hazy no sun days the rest of veggies wilted down when we finely did get sunshine, because they were NOT USED TO IT.© BUT i just canned 30qts up pickles .@ Tomatoes are sky high in 8 ft cages loaded with green fruits but some got blight on lower leafs due to humid moist air we been having, but tops look good and they will be fine Pole beans growing slow, but sugar an cascadia peas did FABULOUS. All pepper doing good an are loaded. Just planted second round bush beans & peas for fall harvest along with a LOT of golden acer mini cabs, broccoli and cauliflower……Kales. 7 dif kinds that we eat in protein smoothies EVERY morning, are doing GREAT.% Also, FYI > I grow all my veggies in 10 gal grow bags and the taller 10gal potato grow bags> EVERYTHING, an they all do awesome.

My Better Boy Tomato plant produced the first 2 tomatoes fairly quickly and then the next tomatoes have been a struggle. The foliage is growing but the next 4 tomatoes are staying the same size for a really long time! I think it has something to do with having too much rain. I don't know if that is lack of sunlight or whether it's washing nutrients away. The plant still looks green but the fruit seems to be stagnant. I added biochar about a week or so ago in hopes that would prevent nutrients from being washed away and even trimmed some of the lower branches off to allow for more airflow and to let the fruit be more exposed to the sun. How much time in-between groups of tomatoes is normal for this variety? It's an indeterminate which says 70-75 days to harvest and that it produces all the way through Fall, but doesn't specify how frequently once it does mature each batch of tomatoes are supposed to ripen.

I'm just north of you in Ontario and we had a cooler than usual spring, then the fires with all the smoke hit us. My tomatoes are only flowering now, I just got my first ripe strawberry and my jalapenos are just fruiting. Definitely an off year for weather.

All of my things are slow this year except for squash. I am in the midwest and had horrible smoke. Everything got a late start because of the weird spring, but I'm remembering now how it all just seemed to stall out during those weeks of smoke. I didn't even think about that being a factor.

Here in Maine, many gardens are toast. It snowed as late as mid May, it rained almost the whole momth of June and the temps have been, in general, low and its often cloudy. Its awful.

Tomatoes here in NY are very slow. My freckles romaine from your seeds did great!

Im a first time gardener after a 30 yr hiatus,,lol,, and allot of my plants are from seed saving so I don't have a packet to look at and see the growing parameters,,I have learned so much from you about the things I am growing and why they are doing what they do,,ty,,,I have so much more to learn

Been wondering why my green peppers were lagging, besides a late start. Hadn't thought about the Canadian fires and the smoke pollution. Thanks, for the heads up. I'll have to be a bit patience.

I'm in northern Alberta. The fires have only been really bad for the last 10 years or so. Never used to have alot of smoke.