Gifts from the Garden

For all the rewards of growing a garden, there are also disappointments. Sometimes gardening can be downright humbling. For example, today I spent some time looking over the tomato plants for signs of ripening tomatoes, and just to see what needed to be done. I noticed that the husky red tomato plants were so husky that in some cases they were smashing their own fruit. All summer long I have talked about what beautiful plants these were and felt they were doing fine. Now that it is too late, I see where I should have staked up stems or pruned away suckers. In trying to make up for it now, I popped 3 nice green tomatoes off the plant. If I would have noticed the need for this 3 or 4 weeks ago, I would not have had this problem. As it is, it looks like we'll be enjoying some fried green tomatoes for dinner.

Some things to add to my do's and don'ts list for next summer:

1. Don't be afraid to use some Sevin dust (after the plants have finished blooming) on the squash vines;
2. Do space the garden boxes further apart. Consider some kind of climbing supports for the cantaloupe and cucumbers;
3. Don't mix different types of plants in the boxes;
4. Do be more diligent about tying the tomato plants to the stakes.

For all the rewards of gardening, it is also a lot of work. I think that sometimes, people who do not have gardens feel like homegrown vegetables have no cost. The extra tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash your gardening friends share with you aren't really free, however. It takes a lot of planning, sweat, and hard work to have a successful garden. Seeds, plants, soil, chemicals, mulch, fertilizer, and sometimes even water, must be paid for. We gardeners feel these cost are justified and that it is worth the expense to know where our food comes from. We like the ability to be able to enjoy our vegetables fresh from the garden. We have the freedom to choose the varieties of food we grow and eat, and the peace of mind that our harvest is safe. We like to share with our friends and neighbors because we are rightfully proud of our harvest. So, if you know a gardener who offers to share some gifts from their garden with you, be sure to remember the hard work behind the harvest, and smile because they are happy to share their harvest with you.

It's a start!

Here they are . . . the first official homegrown, ripe tomatoes from our garden! We have some large tomatoes which are starting to turn red as well. All of this hot weather is paying off at last.

Chicken Tomatoes

What are chicken tomatoes? Tomatoes the chickens planted, of course. Last year, our small flock of poultry enjoyed overripe tomatoes from our garden. Nature ran its course, and now the spot where the chicken pen sat last year looks like a miniature jungle. Not only are there a variety of very healthy volunteer tomatoes, you'll also spot the odd ear of corn (and of course, some weeds). Early this spring we began to see the volunteer tomatoes popping up all over the place near the chicken pen. Even though we realized they are not in a sunny area, we knew the soil there was very fertile--also compliments of the chickens--and decided to leave the plants alone and see what happened. Now, several of the plants are covered with small green tomatoes. I doubt we'll get a whole lot of high quality tomatoes from the chickens' plants because of the low light and overcrowded conditions, but you never know! If nothing else, I am sure the chickens will enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Below is a picture I snapped on impulse this evening. The end of the large flower garden is a bit weedy around the crabapple tree, but I couldn't help but be impressed by nature's colorful display. Technically, the Queen Anne's lace is a weed I suppose, but it sure compliments the purple coneflower and black-eyed Susans. I am going to be sure and pull the wild morning glory vine, however. I hate those things!

Photo Album

Here are a few pictures I snapped this afternoon. First are a couple of pictures of an heirloom tomato planted from seeds I brought home from Buffalo Springs Herb Farm. I don't know the variety because they are from seeds I took out of some tomato slices served to us at a luncheon that I put onto a napkin and saved! They may be "Mr. Stripey" judging from the stripes on the shoulders. I can't wait to see how they look when they are ripe, and I especially can't wait to taste them. These will be a good sized tomato.

Next is one of the ice box melons that are coming along very nicely. The vines have grown way out of the garden boxes and are all over the garden. It is really hard to walk between the boxes to fill the water reservoirs without stepping on a vine! We also have two varieties of cantaloupe growing, Ambrosia and Loupey-Lou.

Worth the Wait

At long last, the first batch of green beans has been picked. There were only a few, but many more will be ready for harvest in only a few days. We will enjoy these cooked with some crisp bacon and a sweet onion from the garden. On the flip side, the zucchini has bitten the dust, victim to the squash vine borer. Despite my best efforts, I could not save the plant. This may be the only year I am ever able to say I didn't get enough zucchini! Something else has been chewing on the Brussels sprouts, and we pulled a nasty tomato horn worm off one of the yellow bell pepper plants, but not before it did quite a bit of damage. I do think it will bounce back, however, at least I hope so. Despite my wishes to stay organic, I broke down and got some liquid Sevin and sprayed the sprouts and also the eggplant which was being attacked by flea beetles. The tomatoes are growing and look great, but are still green. Some of the tomatoes are really interesting looking with striping at the shoulders and I really must take some pictures of them as they ripen.

Oh, my! It looks like someone left their shoes out by the back door for too long!

Summertime Lull

Hurry up and wait. That is how I'm feeling right now. I thought the gardenboxes would never arrive this spring, but they did, and now everything is big and growing and all I have to do is wait. I'm not good at waiting. I have tons of tomatoes--still green, mountains of melon--still small, a bunch of beans--almost there, but not quite. The eggplant and peppers still have a ways to go. The last cabbage has been picked, we're beyond tired of lettuce, you can only eat so many onions in a week, and the zucchini is already zonking out. Hurry up and wait. I don't sit well. I'm a gardener between harvests without much gardening to do. . . and it just feels wrong. (OK, I guess I could weed the flower beds.) I won't say I miss needing the tiller or the hoe, but it does feel strange to have nothing to do but fill the water reservoirs every evening. I'm ready to harvest that first ripe tomato and share them with friends and neighbors! I'm ready for tomato and mozzarella salad, fresh homemade salsa, and plain ol' tomatoes eaten from the hand warm from the garden. Hurry up and wait, and wait and wait...

Weekend Update

We had a bit of rain yesterday, and the temperatures are milder today. I hope this means relief from last week's heat wave. I noticed today a lot of weeding needs to be done in the flower beds, but it just isn't possible to do a whole lot in this heat.

The vining plants are starting to take over the garden area! Today I saw a nice sized icebox melon growing between the slats of the freezer basket I put on the ground next to the plant to give it support so the weight of the melon would not pull the plant out of the box. The plan backfired on me because I didn't notice the melon stuck halfway between the inside and the outside of the basket until it was too large to save. I thought I could bend the metal or push the melon all the way inside the basket, but all I managed to do was pop the melon off the vine. Darn it!

I gave the plants a good once-over for pests and feel we are in pretty good shape. Since there isn't too much more to report from the vegetable garden, here are some pictures I snapped of some of our flowers in bloom.

This daylily is in a neglected part of my herb garden. Talk about an incentive to get out there and weed! Isn't this the most beautiful shade of red? I've always been an herb person, but you wouldn't know it by the state of the herb garden this year. I still hope to get on top of it before the end of the season.

Here are some more daylilies. I am always amazed at how much return you get from daylilies for so little attention and care.

The false sunflower plant, shown below, has to be at least 7' tall and is just beginning to bloom. I recently read where you should avoid planting false sunflower. I can't imagine why. This is our 4th summer with it and it is one of our favorites. It is a beauty in the garden if you have the room.

The fountain was one of Nick's birthday gifts. I think it is so neat that he wanted a fountain for his birthday. We all enjoy it. Not only is it pretty to look at, the sound of the water is so soothing.

Here are some "red" poppies I direct planted from seed. I'm not sure why they turned out pink, but I really like them.