nearly there

It seems the weather has turned now, the days are getting shorter and the production of summer vegetables is slowing down - except the beans. I collared some other gardeners today to pass along the joy. Also a local commented on the non-harvest of the beans growing on the outside of the fence and I told him to help himself which he did with great gusto, stuffing beans into his trouser pockets. I also gave him some tomatoes, just to round off the gifts that keep on giving. I'm actually very happy that finally some people from the surrounding community get some of the produce and the guy mentioned he may put in for a garden next year. I hope so.

The nasturtiums seem to have enjoyed the slightly cooler weather and the winter squash are finally flowering. Not sure what kind of harvest to expect since it's all so late in the year. Still, there may be some lovely mini-squash to enjoy alongside my three ears of corn.

Even though it's starting to look a little bit wilty, there is still some weeks of life left in it, it all depends on the first frost. I wished it would rain, I am getting a bit tired of watering all the time. Still, my harvest was amazing and probably will last at least until my next return or even longer.

peppahs

Hopefully the peppers are turning red quite soon ("Banana" and "Nardello's"). It's really hot for September so here's hoping. One of them has the beginnings of it but nothing substantial across the board. Not sure it was worth it, especially as we seem to eat a lot of peppers.

And now as promised the most recent picture of the garden. The squashes are turning mildewy which signals, to me, the very ear end of the main growing season. Still, plenty of things to harvest and water.

grandchildren of the corn

Harvesting is continuing apace. Dug up some potatoes which I think are "Rose Finn Apple". I haven't had a chance to prepare them yet but I very much look forward to more home-grown spuds. Definitely something I will repeat next year.

Yes, the corn is flowering and I spotted at least one cob. So there! Ankle-high by Fourth of July does get you something on top of mockery. I just wonder how I should cook this little treasure - or maybe I should just dry it and place it in a commemorative spot to honour its memory and remember not to repeat this farce of gardening. Do I sound too scathing? I like the process of growing it but the return is a bit disappointing so far...

More tomatoes are ripening - "Striped German", "Momotaro" and what I suspect to be another variety of black tomato.

Had delicious stuffed vegetables on Sunday, followed by tomato soup on Monday, zucchini and patty pan squash "quiche" (without the crust) on Tuesday and today it was green beans with tomato sauce on tortellini. Tomorrow I may take a break from vegetables, especially as I managed to palm off - sorry, share - some of them with a friend. Still have the fridge full and with the recent warm weather there is no sign of slowing down yet.

The winter squashes are putting on lots of leaves and even some beginnings of flowers (I definitely planted them too late...), there is another aubergine growing fast (yay for warm summers) but the peppers are still deciding whether they want to ripen. As I was taking pictures my batteries ran out so - again - no picture of the entire garden. Next time, I promise.

tomatoes and other harvests

Let's take a closer look at my tomatoes: Costoluto Genovese provides amusing shapes, it's like clouds or a Rorschach - but get your mind out of the sewer. The other picture shows the variety I am having at the moment - two kinds of cherry tomatoes ("Velvet Red" and "Yellow Nugget"), "black" tomatoes ("Black Prince") and plain old round ones ("Early Girl"?). I am still waiting for my humongous German Striped (gold with pink marbelling) and some other unidentified tomatoes ("Momotaro"?) which are at the moment a hot pink. Remind me to label my tomatoes better in the future...

As previously mentioned, I planted two different kinds of beans amongst each other (that pesky labelling again...). Now that I can see the pods, one is rounder, the other one flatter. I suspect that the round ones are "Kentucky Wonder", the other ones are some "Tuscan" pole beans that I got from a gardening stall at the Earth Day celebrations. I can't really be asked to separate them when cooking so I cannot comment on their respective tastiness.

I love harvesting patty pan squash "Flying Saucer", although there never seem enough (is something or someone getting to them before I do?!?). Almost too pretty to eat.

No picture of the garden today, mainly because there is not much new (unless you count flowering corn...).