Promises, Promises

Up early on a Sunday  is one of my favorite times. The stillness save for the birds is lovely. Even the truckers on the highway less than 100 yards away seem to take a break on Sunday morning.

The heat the last week has been oppressive and required daily watering of the plants but it sure put on the growth. After some enthusiastic storms last evening it seems to have cooled considerably so I went out to poke around in the morning light.

Cucumbers have been come thick and fast, averaging 2 lbs per day for the last 6 days. But it is the tomatoes that I am waiting most keenly for.

The Roma’s above are loaded with fruit and one or two are ripening up , but there are many that should come to ripen at the same time. This should provide  quality time with the canner.

These beauties are Sungold. I’ve not grown them before but I  think one plant will be enough to provide plenty of tomatoes for salads.

I really like the way they form in sprays. They are very handsome don’t you think?

This particular plant is sharing space in one of the  Growboxes with a reservoir. These Growboxes would be drained dry daily during the heat wave. They work, but being ‘self-watering” is a bit of a misnomer.

In any event I like the way the fruit looks. Here are two symmetrical sprays at about the same stage in development.

But it’s not all tomatoes here. The celery is another new crop this year. I’ve been picking some leaves to add to salads and the flavor is much more intense than store bought. I don’t know if the ribs will get as big as commercial celery but the taste has it beat hands down. I’ll be wrapping a couple of the plants to blanch in the next weeks.

Another new crop this year is leeks. Being a first time grower, I didn’t realize how much they like water. It was during the heavy rains of June that these really took off. Since then I’ve been sure to make sure they get plenty – the stalks are attractive with a bit of a blue tint to them. I can’t wait for potatoes and leeks together!

There is so much going on right now, that I could fill two posts, but for now, I’ll leave you with a general view of the garden. In this one shot there are tomatoes, bush beans, carrots, herbs, potatoes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkins, peas, pole beans and onions. It’s a jungle!

How does your garden grow?

Until next time, Keep Digging and Eat Well!