garden report
The plan for this morning was to turn the compost in the bin, mark the corners of the garden plot (17' x 25'), dig up the little evergreen tree at the edge of said plot, scalp the grass in that area and mow the rest of the lawn normally, tarp the plot (to kill the grass and make it easier to till up), and fertilize the rest of the lawn. I got as far as digging up the little tree (which revealed a good deal about why the poor thing wasn't growing) and was trying to get the mower to start when the rain began. We need the rain, so I'm not complaining.
So I came inside, started some laundry and did a few other domestic tasks, made yellow squash and corn soup for lunch (subbing in a combination of anaheim and ring of fire chilis from my garden for the jalapeño in the recipe), and now have a Bolognese meat sauce simmering on the stove (which I will have with polenta for dinner).
I'm using tomatoes from my garden for the Bolognese sauce; the tomatoes have been doing very well - I picked about twenty-five yesterday.
stupice tomato
The dramatic lighting of this one amuses me.
stupice and costoluto compared
I'm fascinated by the differences between tomato varieties -- shape, taste, color, everything. The stupice is like a large cherry tomato; the costoluto is rounder, flatter, and has slight pleats (more exaggerated on the larger fruits).
stupice and costoluto, top view
You can see the pleats a little better in this photo.
small basket of costoluto genovese tomatoes
You can see the effects of the summer's drought in the cracking (caused by sudden deluge after dry conditions).
larger basket of tomatoes, peppers, and chilis
Stupice tomatoes, anaheim peppers, and ring of fire chilis.
I have two baskets. Two.
Both baskets together. I'm still mildly freaked out that I've succeeded at growing all these things.
I need to see about planting some garlic in the next few weeks, and maybe putting in some late spinach or possibly even kale. I also need to get out the half-moon edger and do some tidying around the paths and the peony bed. And of course the dogwoods need pruning again, but that can wait for one of those odd warm November Saturdays that we inevitably get.
Looking out the study window I can see the stake marking the south corner of the garden plot, and I'm smiling to myself, imagining what I might see from this same window a year from now.
So I came inside, started some laundry and did a few other domestic tasks, made yellow squash and corn soup for lunch (subbing in a combination of anaheim and ring of fire chilis from my garden for the jalapeño in the recipe), and now have a Bolognese meat sauce simmering on the stove (which I will have with polenta for dinner).
I'm using tomatoes from my garden for the Bolognese sauce; the tomatoes have been doing very well - I picked about twenty-five yesterday.
stupice tomato
The dramatic lighting of this one amuses me.
stupice and costoluto compared
I'm fascinated by the differences between tomato varieties -- shape, taste, color, everything. The stupice is like a large cherry tomato; the costoluto is rounder, flatter, and has slight pleats (more exaggerated on the larger fruits).
stupice and costoluto, top view
You can see the pleats a little better in this photo.
small basket of costoluto genovese tomatoes
You can see the effects of the summer's drought in the cracking (caused by sudden deluge after dry conditions).
larger basket of tomatoes, peppers, and chilis
Stupice tomatoes, anaheim peppers, and ring of fire chilis.
I have two baskets. Two.
Both baskets together. I'm still mildly freaked out that I've succeeded at growing all these things.
I need to see about planting some garlic in the next few weeks, and maybe putting in some late spinach or possibly even kale. I also need to get out the half-moon edger and do some tidying around the paths and the peony bed. And of course the dogwoods need pruning again, but that can wait for one of those odd warm November Saturdays that we inevitably get.
Looking out the study window I can see the stake marking the south corner of the garden plot, and I'm smiling to myself, imagining what I might see from this same window a year from now.