Garden Update

[javidan]

Back in June I posted some pics of the new garden plot we planted and I'm now happy to report our hard work has begun to pay off. Our growing season has been a bit tricky this year---late freezes around the end of May, tropical rains in July, not enough really hot days...I'm amazed we can actually grow tomatoes. But here's the proof:

Comments

[willow_wand]

WOW! Those are gorgeous! I dunno about recipes, but there is nothing like salsa with home grown tomatoes. Yum!! :)

[javidan]

Yes, salsa is perfect, especially since I've grown my own hot peppers to spice it up.
At the moment I'm roasting a whole batch of tomatoes which will then be pureed and frozen for future use. My goal is to have enough stored to last through the winter.

[kacie223]

Wow! You've got all sorts of good-looking produce there! I do have a good tomato recipe, but as it involves peeling the tomatoes--which is an absolute pain in the back end--I don't think you'd really want it.

I do like your rabbit-proof fencing. Squirrels get into my mom's tomatoes and we tend to find them strewn all over the yard with one bite taken from each.

I don't plant sunflowers anymore because the day after they all bloomed spectacularly, I came home from work to find they'd all been beheaded and the flowers were scattered around the yard. I wasn't growing them so the squirrels could hold their own Olympic games, but because I wanted to look at their prettiness.

[javidan]

I'm not a fan of peeling tomatoes either, I'd rather just put up with eating the peeling.

We don't have squirrels but deer are the big issue here. Also the occasional rabbit, mole, voles, and ground hog...

I have not had luck with sunflowers either since the deer seem to love them. That's funny that the squirrels are beheading yours!

[kacie223]

We don't have squirrels but deer are the big issue here.

Would you like me to ship some to you? We have quite a surplus and I'm sure no one would notice if a few of them were transplanted? When I was a kid, my grandma would trap them in a humane trap, put it in the trunk of her car, and drive them to the forest preserve where she would let them go.

That's funny that the squirrels are beheading yours!

They behead them because it's easier to get the seeds out from the center of the flowers when they're on the ground. Clever little buggers...

[vnfan]

Wow! With our identical countertops, I can almost imagine that they are in my kitchen!

Mmm... I make my own spaghetti sauce sometimes. I just parboil the tomatoes and run them through a mouli (a what? I think that's what it's called -- a strainer with a grinder thing on top) to keep the seeds from getting in the sauce. I just cook the juice with a bit of garlic and oregano and salt and pepper and a hint of sugar if needed, all day on low. *is hungry*

[javidan]

That sounds good...my version of roasting is similar. Later in the winter when I take out a frozen bag I can boil it down, add seasoning, puree if wanted, etc. They have so much more flavor than the canned version and I can feel good that nothing "extra" is present.