A few weeks ago I was speculating that we might not have planted enough tomatoes this year. Well, let's just say that I'm not feeling that way now.
I'm happy to say that we've now preserved enough tomato sauce, puree(for soup) and salsa to get us through the next 12 months. Sure we weren't able to give away as many tomatoes as I would have liked but 20 plants seem to be the magic number for us. More than that just creates more unnecessary work and would waste valuable growing space.
Our peppers have done really well this year, particularly the Hungarian Wax. I've been roasting, peeling and freezing all of them. I have a lot of Jalapeno peppers that I think I'll let turn red and then make hot sauce.
Before this weekend's storm arrived, I pulled the rest of my soy beans.
We ended up with a good haul of pods, which has since been frozen. Edamame is a great snack for kids because the steamed beans are so fun to shell and eat.
I also picked two of our Blacktail Mountain watermelons and acorn squash. The squash vine was practically dead from borers and powdering mildew.
The first watermelon I picked was good.
All of your produce looks great!!! So glad someone had a good gardening year!
ReplyDeleteYour tomatoes are beautiful...I branched out and grew some orange and yellow and green zebra tomatoes this year and now I'm hooked! Time to experiment with white and maybe even black!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, those 'maters (and everything else) look wonderful! I wish I could say I have enough maters canned up for then next 12 months :(
ReplyDeletecan you share your salsa recipe/technique?
ReplyDeleteWe love edamame around here too, but we've never actually tried to grow it. Does it take a lot of space to get a reasonable harvest? Great harvest this week! The toms and peppers look so sweet.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful tomatoes! How hard is it to grow soy beans? Yours looks so good.
ReplyDeleteYour harvest is absolutely beautiful. We had a very poor year for edamame. Terrible germination rate, and then I noticed that a critter had eatten the seeds right off the plant! Most of the pod was still there, but the seed area was nibbled away. Grrrrrr! Maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteIm growing the same kind of watermelon. How do you know when it's ready. I've never grown watermenlon and I've heard you go by the hollow sound made when thumping or the little curly vine near where it attaches will be dead. But I'm nervous about picking it too early. So what helped you detetmine it was ripe?
ReplyDeleteEverything looks beautiful and so tasty btw!
Anonymous - I use Annie's recipe, which is pretty famous around the web. It's the best I've found so far. You can see it here: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/harvest/msg0710385222591.html
ReplyDeleteJody, I have good results growing soybeans sown 3-4 inches apart in raised beds in all directions. The yield is pretty good, much better than bush beans grown the same way. I find that I get a much better bush bean crop if I plant them in a single row only, seeds sown 2 inches apart.
Nartaya - I learned the hard way that like most beans, soybeans germinate best in warm temps. I'm always anxious to get them in to the ground but invariably, the early crop never does nearly as well as the ones I sow in late May. What you decides is a tell tale sign of mice. I have tons of mice in my garden but they seem to stay away from the soybeans as long as they stay 6 inches above the ground.
LNL - Look at the tendril closest to the melon. If it has died back then the melon should have begun to ripen. I usually wait an additional week or two after I've spotted this. Also, the vine should look as though it's seen better days - not dead, but the leaves should normally paler and a bit stressed. i hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous tomatoes beautiful harvest, hope the storm didn't do much damage to your garden.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks fantastic. I am so jealous of those amazing tomatoes! I'm growing some Amish Paste tomatoes from seeds that you sent me. The plants look great and have a lot of good looking tomatoes on them, but nothing is ripe yet...
ReplyDeleteHello there!
ReplyDeleteI am really good friends with Kate and she gave me your blog address. You are so inspirational...we are trying to start our own Urban Homestead here in Haverhill. Would you mind sharing your recipe for your tomato sauce...I am hoping to can some this year.
What a great harvest! Your tomatoes look great, the peppers even better and then that water melon!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful harvest. Those soy beans look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteHoly Tomatoes and Peppers Batman!! Gorgeous harvest!! I have some soy beans also. I've been keeping an eye on them to see if they're ready to harvest. Mine aren't quite ready yet! Yours looks amazing!! Now I'm craving edamame!!
ReplyDeleteWell your garden outdid itself this week with all those lovely tomatoes, peppers, and some ripe sweet watermelon too! Garden heaven! :D
ReplyDeleteFabulous harvest I too love the look of the edamame - what are your summer temps like? And do they need full sun?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely gorgeous. Period.
ReplyDelete:-)
Thanks for your comments everyone.
ReplyDeleteFunkymommy - I'll try to post a recipe this week. I don't know if the recipe is appropriate for canning tough. I might suggest canning fresh tomato puree instead and making the soup from that.
Liz - our summers here in New England can be described as unpredictable. It's hard to categorize really. All I can say is that Our last Spring frost is usually late April - early May and our first fall frost is usually in late September - Early October. Melons have grown reasonably well for me these past couple of years but from what I've gathered from other local gardeners, they aren't always a sure bet.
A beautiful harvest, Thomas.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful harvest this week. Lots of tomatoes and peppers for us as well. Seeing your watermelons have made me realize how much I miss them this year. I must find room for them next year.
ReplyDeleteTomatoes were the same for me...Just when I was thinking I may not have planted enough to get a good harvest, they began to ripen and my counter top filled up quickly. I will be making a huge sauce this weekend.
What a beautiful harvest! I'm in awe.
ReplyDeleteIts amazing heavens of vegetables and straw the healthy seeds of the green vegetables much more fruits of variety.
ReplyDelete