AUG
17

Holy Tomatoes! {garden update}

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I stressed almost the entire 8 days we were gone about what our garden would look like when we got home. I knew my neighbor was watering for me, yet night after night I had dreams of coming home to dead plants. I was so pleased to come home, instead, to a beautifully kept garden (that had grown significantly in 8 days) and lots of fresh produce to pick.

Precisely,

18 Roma Tomatoes
8 Mr. Stripey Tomatoes
2 Better Boy Tomatoes
4 Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
64 Yellow Pear Tomatoes
60 Grape Tomatoes
2 Zucchini – baseball bat sized!
3 Bell Peppers – 2 red, 1 yellow
5 Jalapeno

Did I mention lots? Especially tomatoes. I wish I could share them with all of you! So many tomatoes! I’m dreaming of a tomato tart with a herbed crust. If you have a recipe, send it my way!

The beefsteak plant has lots of tomatoes on it, but they seem to take a long time. And for good reason, they’re pretty big and sooooo tasty! We had our first two this week. I hope we get lots more!

We got off to a pretty good start early on with our tomatoes, thanks to our exceptionally warm spring. I was able to plant them pretty early. But the season is really picking up now. I can’t go many days without picking handfuls and handfuls. I usually end up going back in the house for a bowl to put them in as I pick.
And throughout last week there were even more:

6 Roma
1 Better Boy
2 Beefsteak (delicious!)
28 Yellow Pear
40 Grape
1 Green Bell Pepper
7 Jalapeno
1 Honeydew Melon

Today I cut into our first honeydew melon. It was pretty good, but probably should have ripened one more day. I was getting a little impatient and Madeline kept asking for the “ball.”

No worries on that though, because there’s already another coming along nicely and lots of flowers and a few teeny tiny melons forming. My neighbor is growing cantaloupe. I hope he shares, because I think I prefer that to honeydew. I’m thinking next year we might try watermelon.

I don’t know why, but some of the jalapenos have started turning red and they seem smaller than jalapenos sold in stores, but they were labeled jalapenos when I bought them – unless someone switched the tag on me.

And the season count (so far!):

  • Grape Tomatoes – 215
  • Yellow Pear Tomatoes – 145
  • Mr. Stripey Tomatoes – 11
  • Better Boy Tomatoes – 5
  • Beefsteak Tomatoes – 2
  • Zucchini – 11
  • Bell Peppers (red, yellow, and green) – 15
  • Jalapeno – 12
  • Honeydew Melon – 1
  • Strawberries – 12
  • Green Onions – 8 bunches
  • Sugar Snap Peas – 110+ (I lost track) The peas are finished for the season.
  • Bibb Lettuce – 8 or 10 heads (the lettuce is done for the season)
  • Plus virtually unlimited access to green onions, fresh basil, cilantro, dill, tarragon, and parsley

It’s a good thing I had planned to write an article on homemade salsa for my 4 week series Cooking from Your Garden over at Craftzine. Week 1 and week 2 have already been published. Week 3 is this Wednesday (salsa). Next week I’ll be harvesting my rhubarb!

Posted by Katie on August 17, 2009
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  • 1
    Real Life Sarah - August 17, 2009 @ 1:19 am

    Great harvest! We had tons of green beans, and our tomatoes are starting to come in, too! I love Mr. Stripey and Pear Tomatoes!

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  • 2
    oneordinaryday - August 17, 2009 @ 11:29 am

    Wow. I'm impressed! My container gardens surely didn't put out much of a harvest. Next year, I think I'll go all out and plant a real garden. I need all those tomatoes, I just know I do!

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  • 3
    Les@SpillingBuckets - August 17, 2009 @ 12:44 pm

    Jalapenos turn red, just like green peppers turn red (or another color) if left to ripen. I've heard that the more red they are the hotter they are – you'll have to test it out.http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/518634

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  • 4
    squirrelbread - August 17, 2009 @ 2:08 pm

    don't you love how Mother Nature can surprise you like that? we planted rather late, so we're still quite a ways from harvesting anything except basil. we love this recipe for roasted tomatoes with lemon and rosemary [http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=642248] – great for putting on top of crostini, in pasta, or as is on the side of an antipasti plate.Cheers,*Heather*

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  • 5
    Zoe - August 17, 2009 @ 3:29 pm

    Lucky you!

    [Reply]

  • 6
    koshercamembert - August 17, 2009 @ 3:41 pm

    gorgeous, just gorgeous.

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  • 7
    Retro Housewife - August 17, 2009 @ 7:43 pm

    I happen to know someone who lives close by and wouldn't mind taking a few tomatoes off your hands if you just can't handle all of them!Hope your trip was great, what a wonderful treat to come home to.

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  • 8
    We Are Not Martha - August 17, 2009 @ 9:29 pm

    Ahhh I'm a bit jealous!! I really wish I had a better garden situation in this city!!Sues

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  • 9
    Kristilyn (The Domestic Goddess) - August 20, 2009 @ 3:51 pm

    What a great harvest! Our garden is doing poorly this year – I think we'll be adding a lot of compost at the end of summer to get the soil a little happier. Isn't it amazing being able to eat fresh out of the garden? Sometimes I wish I was somewhere warmer in Canada where we could eat fresh every day!K

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  • 10
    zested - August 22, 2009 @ 1:30 am

    I'm really impressed you are able to grow honeydew! That's amazing. I manage to cram a lot of plants into my tiny brooklyn patio, but I (barely) resisted the urge to plant melons…

    [Reply]

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