When it's this hot (105, 104, 106 degrees) I go to the gardens early in the morning about 6:30am and water and weed and groom and pick.  This is the early eastern sky.  A few clouds, but no chance of rain.  

Early, this spring, I planted the tomato plants.  I started 32 cells from seed.  

I planted 7 plants and decided that didn't look like enough, so I planted 7 more. 

They were small and I wanted to be sure to have plenty of tomatoes.

Well, as you can see.  Each plant is producing fruit like crazy.  I've got TOMATOES. 

NO pesticides.  NO seven.  Just beautiful tomatoes. 

BASIL is planted between the tomato plants and that keeps the pests away.

I usually don't let the basil get this big and go to bloom, but one plant is always nice.

When I brush up against it the smell is divine.  

All the other basil plants get a regular pruning.  I have so many that I don't always 

"harvest" the leaves for cooking.

I just toss the cut stems at the feet of the tomato plants.  When the garden is watered the good basil 

anti bug properties are leached right into the soil.

I've been interplanting with basil (in this garden) for five years and nary a tomato pest. 

There is a marigold plant in the above photo.  This isn't the kind of marigold that repels pests.

This plant is a volunteer and I love the bright yellow so I let it stay.  

In the fall, when cleaning up the gardens, I empty my flower pots onto the veggie plot.  So I get 

volunteer marigolds and petunias all the time.  I usually just let them grow where they've put down their feet.