It is a cloudy, mild day (17 degrees). The air is full of those tiny little flies that swarm sometimes during the summer. Feels like it's going to rain today, too.
I have started to blend the tomatoes as they ripen to use in sauces and chilis. The freezer is very full, and I can get more tomatoes into each container this way!
The jalapeno plant is covered in tiny peppers. It still looks really healthy, but I'm not sure if the peppers will grow much bigger, as we aren't getting the heat they love.
A few I picked this morning...
Sunny, very breezy, and 20 degrees today.
One of the eggplants that shriveled up and turned brown after I doused it with my terrible aphid potion has sprouted new leaves and is recovering. It's a shame we don't have a longer season - I might have been able to get an eggplant out of this one after all!
I can't bring myself to remove the little eggplants on this plant (two in this picture) even though I know they won't grow any larger. They're pretty cute. Maybe next year...
Mid-summer, I planted about 10 Golden Beet seeds. Here is the first one of those beets.
Some of the leeks I harvested today. I sliced them, triple-bagged them, and put them in the freezer. Tomorrow I will give some to my chiropractor, along with a white tomato and some beets. Hope he likes vegetables.
In the Belly of the Beet. (Sounds like a thriller)
Saj in the plant room enjoying the first sunshine we've had in two days.
Some Tene's Bean pods I strung on thread to hang to dry.
Saving seeds from our Black Krim tomatoes.
I discovered four big Black Krims hiding at the back of one of the tomato plants. Here are three of them. The fourth had a deep split before I picked it, and then I dropped it on the front step while bringing them inside. SPLAT! Suffice to say, it ended up being less than photogenic and went straight to the cutting board.
Another hot, sunny day (24 degrees at 1:00pm). Why couldn't we have had this weather in July? Perhaps we will have an Indian Summer. By this time last year, we had had several hard frosts.
Earlier this week, I tore out the crispy remains of the pea patch, composted them, and pulled up the last of the carrots. Next to harvest will be the leeks, which have done really well this year.
This morning, we drove to my brother-in-law's place out of town to visit and deliver some vegetables, including a Great White tomato we picked today. It's the largest one yet at 1 lb 11 oz.
R is outside right now digging up two rows of potatoes, supervised by Saj.
Three monster 'taters in the bunch...
Gomphrena
Saj by the catnip
At long last, two of my Opalka paste (aka Gnome) tomatoes have ripened!
I am not in love with my hand. Holding the tomatoes just gives some perspective re: their size.
Some Speckled Algonquin beans drying in the plant room.
More Tene's beans drying in the plant room.
I will never have to buy nasturtium seeds again...
The first green tomato (Emerald Evergreen) has ripened. Like the Great Whites, these are big.
We have a new neighbour kitty who likes to join us when we're outside. (Sheila? Sheba? Sheena?) She is the fluffiest cat I have ever seen in person. Her fur must be three inches long. She looks like a '70s shampoo commercial when the wind is blowing or when she's trotting full tilt to come say hello. Thankfully, she is well groomed by her owner, who must brush her daily and who cuts out her knots. This kitty wears a little bell on her collar, so you often hear her before you see her. It turns out that, like neighbour kitties Karl and Butters, she is quite comfortable walking into our house uninvited and helping herself to the cat food buffet in the living room.
We found another ripe Great White tomato today.
Rose Mallow (Lavatera)
Saj resting on the step.
Opalka paste tomatoes
If you can see it, this is one of the many robins hopping around the yard this weekend.
A small patch of the Anasazi beans I planted have produced some pods.
Speckled Algonquin bush beans (rare)
Yellow cherry tomatoes
Saj in the shade. (The camera decided it was more important to highlight the details of the weeds than the details of my little cat!)
