9 posts tagged “tomatoes”
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the first garden tomato of our summer - in JULY. That's the cute little thing nestled in my husband's paw. We ate it during a canoe trip this afternoon. All I can say is: MORE. I want more! And I want them RED!
I put in another round of veggies, the last for at least the time being. The front yard is coming into bloom and looking prettier every day. I still have to lay mulch, but the bulk of it is done. I transplanted some mint to a larger pot and it'll be much happier now. Watered everything down, probably just in time for the next rain storm.
Here's the whole front yard in its greening glory!
The pansies are extremely colorful this time of year.
Here are some veggie pictures now:
More later. Let me know if you can identify the red flower!
Well, it's pouring rain outside and I've achieved an equilibrium of sorts, so I thought I'd share an incredible marinara recipe. Tomatoes are in season, so try this sauce with an armload of fresh veggies from the farm stand or home garden!
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 large cloves of garlic
- 8 medium, very ripe, tomatoes (peeled and seeded)
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2/3 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Heat oil in a wide, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Saute the onion and garlic. Stir frequently and let cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer at low heat for at least an hour, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- The sauce with improve with additional cooking.
Marina Sauce From Fresh Tomatoes @ Group Recipes
I found another horn worm this morning, a much smaller one. It was also covered with wasp larvae, which means it was destined to become lunch for hungry baby wasps. I snipped the branch it was clinging it to and gave it the brick treatment that Aram used on a much bigger and healthier one. That little mother's dead and I hope the larvae all go the same route, to the great tomato plant in the sky.
The garden is looking pretty good, though, at least some of it. I've given up on the front yard. All the rain has caused it to become grown over with grass and weeds. Given my current back condition, I'm certainly not going to be weeding and turning soil anytime soon. There are still nice plants in there, but everything's overgrown.
The peony is not doing well and hasn't been for a while. I don't know if it's the location or the weather or the soil, but it's dying off. I'll leave it until next year and see if it does any better. The snaps are still fine and blooming away. I think the season may be over for the day lillies, though. They're turning into gray stalks, although one plant still seems to be sending up blooms.
The window boxes are fair to middling. Again, I think the rain has clobbered them. Some are okay and some are not. I'm continuing to water them, on the days they need it, and hoping they make it through the season intact. If not, I'll upend them in the back yard and try it again next year.
I never got around to replanting the mint, so it's gone, too. I'm being philosophical about it. I can only do so much, so am keeping attention focused on the tomatoes and the herbs. It would have been nice to have mint, too, but between a crazy work schedule and then a back injury almost immediately after that ended, there just hasn't been the chance to do everything I wanted to do.
I've got thyme and basil a'plenty, though. They're both looking bushy and healthy:
I've got some big, green tomatoes, too. I'm surprised I've gotten any at all, given the weather and the latest blight of horn worms. They seem to be coming in, though, and for that I'm happy:
Finally, Rosie's Iris are hanging in there, tough as can be. My husband accidentally went over them with the lawn mower and they're still going, albeit looking a bit cut down. Hearty little guys!
Well, the bug in question is a tomato hornworm. A caterpillar. Big, ugly and voracious. I brought hubby out to destroy the beast and he he couldn't see it at first. The conversation went something like this:
"Where? I don't see anything? There's nothing on...OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT????!!!!!!"
He got a bigger stick and knocked it off the plant. "Did you kill it?" I asked.
"Uh, no," he replied.
"Could you kill it, please?" I asked. "He'll just climb up there again."
Hubby steeled himself for the task as I went back into the house. I heard some substantial whanging and banging outside the back door, then saw my husband marching for the trash can. "I'm almost sorry I had to kill it," he said. "It's actually quite beautiful." Then he said, "Damn! That was the biggest bug I've ever seen in my life!" He dropped a brick on it, actually. He said it was too big to squish with his shoe.
Yes, it was kinda pretty. But he was going to eat all my tomatoes and that wasn't fair. He could have had some if he'd been willing to leave the rest for me. Looking at that ugly mother*$*#)@ chomping away, it was clear that was not in the cards for this critter.
Oh well. This girl's on bug patrol.
They grow, once it stops raining.
Well, it's trying to shine and actually did for a few minutes. I'm in the middle of cleaning my kitchen, so decided to venture from my back door to check on the side garden. It seems to be holding its own and continuing to grow, despite the downpours. I also checked the Iris that my friend Rosie sent me and I'm getting nice big fans of foliage as the plants take hold. This is good. I'm crossing my fingers!
From here you can see my tomato plants, my basil, my mint garden, more tomatoes, other herbs and - last but not least - the iris!
I have pineapple mint and spearmint as well, although they're not quite as big yet. There getting there, though.
I also bought two tomato cages, for the growing vines I've got out back. I stood in the sweltering heat and weeded before laying them out. Then I took the burgeoning leaves and spread them out in the cage. They immediately looked happier. I'm am so looking forward to tomatoes!
Anyone have a recipe for mint anything? I'll make mint iced tea and will sprinkle the leaves over tomatoes and such, but any new ideas would be welcome!
