ripening chiles
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From top left: long red cayenne, anaheim, jalepeno M, large cherry, hungarian wax. Capsicum
fall planting timeline
I copied this fall planting time line from Tracey at Life in Sugar Hollow. I removed some of the fall crops I don’t grow and added others I do grow. I think Tracy’s timing for zone 7 is pretty much what I go by here in the warm end of zone 6. Peas – July 7 – August 15Kale – July 7 – September 1Broccoli – July 15 – August 15Spinach – July 21 – August 21Beets – July 21 – August 21Carrots – July 21 – August 21Leaf Lettuce…
heirloom tomato taste test
Since my tomatoes are late this year, I bought five different varieties of heirloom tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market. My thought was to taste test and pick the best tomatoes for my garden next year. The unsliced tomatoes varieties are (clockwise form top left): Brandywine, Orange Blossom (not an heirloom), Prudence Purple, Flame and Black Prince. I thought this would be easier, but it turned out to be impossible to pick the best! I think maybe the nicest thing is the way all of the different varieties look (and taste)…
weekend garden work
I just received a bunch of seeds that I mail ordered from Sand Hill Preservation Center. Mostly fall greens – lettuces, endive, arugula. Also garlic top sets and pea seeds. Today I planted a tepee of the fall peas (Alderman/ Tall Telephone). Sand Hill says that sometimes a fall crop of these works out – depending on the weather. We’ll see. My pinto beans that I planted a couple of weeks ago are growing beautifully now. This weekend I also transplanted some lettuce, arugula and escarole seedlings I seeded several…
tomatoes
Early Girl and Chadwick’s Cherry Brandywine and Big Girl Big Boy and Big Beef New Girl and Rutgers Moskvich and MarglobeThese are the tomatoes in my garden this week. Ripening in the August sun. I find them very photogenic, whether green or red. Skippy and I check out the progress of the fruits every day or so. We poke around in the shade of the vines and enjoy the bitter green fresh smell of the quintessential summer plant.Solanum lycopersicum
pickin’ a few tomatoes
Just for my records, I’m posting the tomatoes I picked today. One Big Boy (the bigger one) and two New Girls. They tasted yummy. (Solanum lycopersicum)
tomato season
Though my tomatoes are still mostly green, they are lovely looking fruits and they’ll ripen soon. In the mean time, I’m sampling fresh local tomatoes. One problem with having my own garden is not being able to stock up on summer farmer’s market produce because I have my own produce filling my counters. Until my tomatoes ripen, I figure I try some different heirloom varieties and see which ones I’d like to grow myself next year. Brandywine is my old favorite. What is your favorite tomato variety? Solanum lycopersicum
Capucijner peas
My purple podded Capucijner pea harvest is done. These are a Dutch soup pea that has been very lovely to grow this year with their bright pink flowers, 6-8 foot vines, and of course purple pods. The peas dried nicely in their pods as the vines turned yellow and dried also. I let most of the peas dry completely in their shells on the vines, but some I picked fully ripe but not dry and let dry inside in an open bowl. The bowl photo above has a mix of…
farmers market day
Another beautiful day at the local farmers market. But HOT!! I always like to see what the local real farmers are harvesting – and see how far behind my garden is 🙁 Today they had lots of tomatoes, peppers, squash and eggplants. Also blueberries, raspberries, corn, broccoli, garlic, onions, beets and potatoes. Cut flowers. Since I’ve been complaining about what a bad year it is for tomatoes, I asked the farmer from Belmont Farm CSA what she thought. Well, she said its an awesome year. She got her tomatoes in…
This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy thinks the garden is his, even though I do all the work. We're located near Boston, in USDA zone 6. I have bees, chickens, fruit trees and berry bushes, too. I use all sustainable organic methods and strive to grow all of my family's vegetables myself. -Kathy
weeks and counting until my last spring frost
My garden this week
Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!
