End of Summer Harvest - A Return to Blogging

Gees...I don't think I've ever gone a week without posting something. It wasn't really planned. I guess subconsciously, I must have really needed the break. Hopefully you all haven't forgotten about me!

I know that the official end of summer isn't for another three weeks, but from the looks of this harvest, it might as well be now. The tomato glut of summer is officially over. Sure the cherry tomatoes are still producing respectfully, but the slicers on the other hand are taking a hiatus at the moment. I think we'll still get a couple each week, but nothing like we used to.


This may be the last pile of slicing tomatoes for the summer.


I used some of these cherry tomatoes and peppers to makes salsa. The white ones you see are called 'Dr. Carolyn.' I would describe their taste as being very mild and sweet.


Due to heavy rains that came early last week, I lost a lot of my cherry tomatoes to splitting. Still, we ended up with a considerable harvest.


I picked a couple of Rosa Bianca eggplants this week. The honey dew and Charantais melons in this picture are pretty sad. Cucumber beetles have been a real problem for me this year. Left unchecked, they've destroyed my melons and cukes prematurely. Next year will be a different story.


Finally - a sure sign that fall is fast upon us, I picked some lettuce today, which along with some Thai basil ended up in a salad. It's also a sign that the heavier veggies of summer will soon be replaced by the feather-weight greens of fall. I'm close to reaching my goal of producing 500 lbs of food for the year. Hopefully the weekly totals won't drop off too steeply!

This week's numbers:

Cukes (2) - 0.95 lb (The last of the summer.)
Eggplant - 1.50 lb
Melons - 4.06 lb
Tomatoes - 22.68 lb
Peppers - 0.89 lb
Tomatilloes - 2.02 lb
Lettuce - 0.22 lb

Total harvested this week - 32.32 lb

To see what others are harvesting or show off your own, visit Harvest Mondays at Daphne's Dandelions.

The Late July Garden - An Update

It looks like the season for peppers is in full swing now. The poblanos are sizing up nicely. If anyone has a good recipe for them, please share!


The jalapenos are really coming in now, much more than we could possibly consume. And boy, they sure are hot! Much hotter than what you get at the supermarket.


The green bell peppers are pretty much ready for us to pick. Marc wants to wait until they turn red though. Any ideas how long that will take?


I have two purple tomatillo plants, which is quite enough if you ask me. They are ruiting so abundantly. A few have broken through their husks already but are still green.


Yes! I got my first imperial artichoke. It's tiny though. I made the mistake of planting my artichokes in the shadiest part of my garden. They have not worked out for me exactly as planned this year. If I can't overwinter them successfully, I think I'll start over again next spring and plant them in an area with full sun.


I checked the corn today. I peaked inside one husk and from what I can tell, it pollinated successfully. I think a few of them should be ready by the weekend. I can't wait!

Finally, my Rosa Bianca eggplants are flowering at the moment. Planted in the shadiest part of my garden, they are taking FOREVER. I really need to spend a bit more time on my garden plan next year. Maybe this space would be better suited for summer lettuce.