Stilly,

More, please, about ants and nematodes. Although fire ants have been reported in the county for several years, I have yet to encounter them. I do, however, have huge anthills in the lawn and garden beds. Once I determined they were not fire ants, my approach was to ignore them, thinking that anything that loosened and aerated this heavy red clay was a positive. However, the nests are so extensive they create air pockets around the roots of plants and grass., and the large heaps of the anthills smother the grass.

Re: trellising the tomatoes. If the plants stay healthy, I am reasonably certain the cherry tomatoes will be attractive on a trellis. Not sure about the big guys. One very real glitch that I don't think I can overcome - the long raised bed is oriented north-south, parallel to the road, in the only space that gets close to 6 hours of sun when the trees are leafed out. Most sun is morning sun. the beds are shaded for most of the afternoon, then get another 1 to 1 1/2 hours of sun late in the afternoon. Because the total sun exposure is marginal for veggies, I can not allow the tomatoes to shade the rest of the plants from that last bit of afternoon sun. so the trellis will have to be oriented east-west. A bit of an aesthetic problem. As I type, I am finally accepting that I can either grow several tomato plants, and perhaps a little basil in the long bed, or I can limit myself to two tomatoes, and also plant a couple of summer squash, cukes and a few bush beans. The raised beds provide adequate space for a nice little spring and fall salad garden - but not for a diverse summer veggie ,garden.

Grrrrr.   I hate it when Mr. Reality strolls in and smacks me in the face.