I mostly want to say that it is encouraging to see you here, CatNoHat . Watching essentially daily to see if there is any activity while on my way to another subforum – where i lurk a little but don't participate – has been somewhat dismaying. I could say something about the physical functioning of this forum platform but I won't other than to say that it is clunky. That discourages participation and has for years now.

Those of us who have been here for some of those years may still be visiting and I hope they are and can share. Just be patient and willing to experiment a little with your communication. New folks, please share your thoughts and experiences but realize that carelessly slinging off-topic things out there won't likely be of much help.

Okay, here is a gentle inaccurate "lob" –– I have been buying this and that from Greenhouse MegaStore LINK for a good number of years. Never shade cloth, altho that would probably be a good idea here. They have never disappointed me with the products nor prompt delivery. (Now, I hope there will be others who would like to share thoughts on the subject. :o)

Steve

Well I was wondering what happened to all the Rocky Mountain veggie gardeners! Glad there is a new thread. Cat, I don't know where you are but I've got gardens in both the Denver metro area and up in the mountains. Denver has been very very warm all winter, and the 10-day forecast is for highs in the mid-60s and only very light freezing. (I have a peach tree that is just about to bloom, which I fear will not end well). I started my cold-tolerant seeds indoors on Feb. 1, as usual. But based on the forecast I went ahead and did the unthinkable, planted some Napa cabbage starts in the ground today (three weeks before I have ever planted such things before!) My hope is that they will get going before the late Spring heat, and not bolt so quickly. Broccoli and regular cabbage will likely follow in the next week or two.

As far as tomatoes I've not had trouble with fruit set or sunscald in the past, and haven't looked into shade cloth. But I do get insect-weight floating row covers for my chili peppers that I grow in the mountains because the sun there is intense, as is the wind. I get it from Gardener's Supply and put it over PVC hoops down the row. Works great. For tomatoes I grow the classics, Brandwine and Sun Gold cherry tomatoes. I am still looking for my perfect determinate plum tomato variety - we never seem to harvest enough of those to meet our sauce/paste needs.

Meteorologists record "Winter" as December 1 through February in this part of the world. The University of North Carolina has used averages to rate weather stations. Apparently, I live in an area where the stations were 1st to 4th in the warmest ever!

Here is the website.

https://sercc.oasis.unc.edu/Map.php?date=2026-02-28&var=avgt&thresh=climper&period=STD&map_display=rank&showthrdx=true&region=conus

Hey Cat, so nice to hear from you. 2025 gardens were sad for much of my harvest, so I’ll just try again. I’m still deciding on tomato varieties, but it looks like 12-14 different ones including a few cherry (for the first time). Most are not heat resistant, do get sunscald at times, but i have shade fabric on them most of the season. I’ve been using the kind from Lowe’s for many years.

By the time the Swap comes around, I’ll know more.