With September almost here (I know, I’m so not ready for summer to end), I thought I’d give you a “back-to-the-land” update and tell you that I’m pretty well hooked on gardening…who knew? I thought gardening was for other people..you know…Aunt Bea/off the grid type people. But I have enjoyed this and learned so much. The excitement of watching seeds break through the soil, the day to day tending and I’m surely enjoying reaping the rewards. Although I’m still convinced that everything that touches me is a tick. Baby steps.
My pea crop (crop…that’s a bunch of vegetables in farmer-speak) did very well and were a hoot to watch climbing and vining all over their trellis..they were everywhere! But they finished off fairly early and so I pulled them from the box about 2 weeks ago (I know…us farmers have to be harsh sometimes) and added new soil, fertilizer and let that half of the box rest a bit. The tomatoes approved of having the box to themselves because they have gone CRAZY in these last 2 weeks.
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I’ve been picking several each day for the last couple of weeks and more just keep coming. I actually had to use boards (not pressure treated and the sharp edges are covered by an old book bag and some old washcloths) to prop up gigantic, fruit-heavy branches. They grew in cages, but dwarfed them long ago. Half a dozen tiny little sprout-like plants from Walmart sure did get me my money’s worth! (They are Celebration tomatoes, by the way)
It’s all tomatoes all the time right now and 3 out of 4 of us love it. I keep a bowl on the counter and add them to recipes every night, cut one or two up every day with oil and vinegar, or salt and pepper, or just plain. They. Are. Drool-worthy. But do you know what our favorite way to eat them is?
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Yeah, Baby. That’s right. BLT’s. Mayo slathered on white bread, salt & pepper. Oh my ever-loving God are they good. And yes, the bread is toasted. What are we, animals?
So a definite victory over tomato growing. My slacker green beans even caught up eventually and are providing a meals’s worth each day. The green beans had a rough start, if you’ll remember. I jumped the gun and planted the seeds when it was still too cold back in May (ugh) and then they drowned in a week’s worth of rain. So after a two week delay, I replanted and they just never really got going well, that is until recently. The warmer temps must have made a difference because they looked awful a couple of weeks ago. They were giving beans, but the plants were pale, pale green, almost yellow and the leaves would fall off if you touched them. I figured green beans just weren’t meant to be my thing and left them alone to die in peace. Well, I’m glad I didn’t pull them up because they’ve darkened back up, are growing beans faster than I can find them to pick them and are still climbing and vining on the trellis. See the pink tub of beans in the picture below? That’s the last bunch to still be pale and sickly-ish looking, but even that is 100% better than what they looked like 2 weeks ago.
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My one lone squash plant hasn’t disappointed me, either. As soon as I cut one off the plant, 3 more are ready to take it’s place.
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Sorry about the IG photo, it’s the only one I saved to my phone for some reason. But you get the idea…I saute these in butter with onions…hello, lovah.
So as August rolls to a close, the veggies keep rolling in. Yesterday I planted salad greens in the little bit of space the tomatoes left in their box, and I’m looking forward to having those to add to dinners as well. They’re supposed to do well in cooler weather and have a quick sprouting time, so fingers crossed!
