Your cucumber/tomato mix looks very refreshing. I made Thai cucumber salad this week with some of my cucumbers. My one planting is giving me enough for myself and some to share with my neighbor. And my other cucumber is growing up my bean tower. It's in flower now, but no fruit yet.
My large tomatoes just started ripening about a week or so ago after we had a week or more of over hundred degree F days
My early garden (lettuce, peas, kale, spinach, broccoli, etc.) did well, but a bad car accident in early April that caused my tibia to break off from the bottom of my knee required surgery and metal and screws to put it back together, and no weight bearing on that leg for 3 months, meant my dog, cat and I had to stay with my sons in laws who also happen to be good friends. Good thing I had a drip system installed in the new raised beds I created last summer when I first moved into this house. Also, the fellow who does my lawn cutting planted a few veggies I had in pots, ready to plant. I just told him to plant them anywhere and when I was healed enough, I'd transplant them. He also kept the weeds down a bit when he did the weekly lawn cutting.
I didn't get back home till mid June, so my peppers, tomatoes, beans and cucumbers didn't get planted till the end of June since that was the earliest the surgeon said I could walk without a walker and with full weight. So now I'm getting cucumbers, and the past couple of days I picked my first rip Brandywine tomatoes. I've been getting serrano chiles and bell peppers for a week or more and am still getting broccoli side shoots, and my first planting of golden bush beans have slowed down and later planted ones and pole beans still have a way to go; but I see that some of the pole beans are now in flower.
Yesterday I picked my first Italian, heirloom zucchini and made a layered dish using that in a mini casserole with onion, tomatoes, herbs, parmesan cheese, olive oil and a bread crumb and parmesan topping.
There are several butternut squashes on my one plantings, so my growing season hasn't been a total bust due to the car accident. My second planting of snow peas are up a couple of inches, and the small number of beets seeds that I planted in a large pot less than a week ago, just broke through this morning. I planted a few carrot seeds near the peas and some have come up. So between some starts I bought, and seeds now up an inch or so, I will have a fall crop of lettuce, more beans and as well as these other veggies.
I use remay to cover the tender veggies before the first frost and can keep getting lettuce till around Christmas. I'll harvest any unripe tomatoes after the first light frost and put them in the basement on newspaper and covered with newspaper, like last year and I should have a ripe tomatoes in late fall. There are a few brussel sprouts plants, but they're planted too close, so I don't have much hope for them this season. I planted another late planting of spinach in a couple of window boxes and in a little bare spot in the veggie garden and those are up about an inch or two.
My one asian eggplant doesn't look like it will give me anything much. It's too close to the butternut squash and the plant looks stunted with one one small fruit on it. I've had great success with the larger eggplants grown in earth boxes in the past, so next year I may go back to that. Those earth boxes gave me the best peppers as well.
Something is eating all my little cherry tomatoes and San Marzanos and other plum tomato, but leaving the Brandywines and my one larger cherry tomato alone. This is the first year I only planted one of the really small cherry tomatoes, and of course, that's what some critters are eating! I also had escarole early in the season, and I have lots of herbs like tarragon, rosemary, sorrel, thyme, dill, loads of basil, parsley, oregano, and just transplanted a few cilantros now that it's cooling down a bit.
I picked the last artichokes two days ago and if they survive the winter I should have much bigger fruit next year.
I have a fig tree (new this year) in a pot, but something is eating those and I've yet to have one for myself! Next year I'm going to put a net over it! I don't mind sharing but they could at least leave me one!
This spring I also planted several raspberry plants and I picked a few of this second crop today. I also planted 4 of blueberries and a packet of asparagus. Next spring I think I want to extend the asparagus bed and grow fewer tomatoes, fewer broccolis and omit the fava beans.
I have about 30 strawberry plants and pick a few every day since the birds and other critters are sharing these as well. The bed of June bearers should do well next year, although one grower told me the ever bearers do better here in the Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon.
And lastly, the two grape vines I planted this year, each have one bunch of grapes. I hope the rodent population doesn't get to them before I do! Well, that covers my veggie garden this year.
Aug 01 2016
Last year was not a good tomato year for me. I have a 4X8 raised bed garden and just plat tomatoes. The past six weeks we have had hot humid weather and not much rain. I have been watering about every night at 8 PM when it cools down some. I had been putting out 6 plants but this year since where I bought my plants they came 4 in a pack I put out 12 plants. I had big boys, Roma and Rutgers.
My little garden is full of foliage and I think this has helped hold the moisture in the ground. I have a lot of tomatoes on the vine but they are slow ripening. So far I have had 3 bowls of the Roma and Rutgers like the one shown. The Roma looks like Roma cherry tomatoes. Out of those I had 4 or 5 with bottom rot. A friend said all hers had bottom rot. I am hoping to get some big boys for sandwiches and enough to make a couple quarts of sauce to freeze.
I went to my eye doctor this AM and he gave me drops that dilate the pupil. I can hardly see after he does this. It takes several hours to ware off so I napped most of the afternoon.
A good neighbor brought us a couple of big cucumbers so I peeled and cut those up with some onions, vinegar, water, salt, pepper, garlic and a little dill weed. I found these tomatoes from my garden to add.
Tasted good with some leftover sloppy Joe’s and Mac n cheese.
Smokin Don
