What are You Eating from the Garden?

[SPedigrees]

Yesterday's harvest. It looks like tomatoes are off to a good start. I'm liking these Arctic Plenty fruits, just the right size to easily chop for salads or other dishes, nice and juicy but hold together well. The novelty still hasn't worn off of these lilliputian volunteer Candyland tomatoes, so much so that I may buy new seeds for next summer.

Summer squash are few and far between for some reason. Our local news station has a little weekly segment called "In The Garden" and they were bemoaning the sad state of their melon and squash patch with recommendations for a slow-release granular organic plant food (Plant Magic). From this I gather that my whole area may be experiencing a bad year for these vegetables. I dutifully bought Plant Magic granular fertilizer and applied it, but it remains to be seen whether or not my crookneck squash will proliferate. I admit to having slim hopes. Day after tomorrow I visit the farmers market and will have to resort to buying summer squash.

 

[heirloomgal]

Yesterday's harvest. It looks like tomatoes are off to a good start. I'm liking these Arctic Plenty fruits, just the right size to easily chop for salads or other dishes, nice and juicy but hold together well. The novelty still hasn't worn off of these lilliputian volunteer Candyland tomatoes, so much so that I may buy new seeds for next summer.
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Summer squash are few and far between for some reason. Our local news station has a little weekly segment called "In The Garden" and they were bemoaning the sad state of their melon and squash patch with recommendations for a slow-release granular organic plant food (Plant Magic). From this I gather that my whole area may be experiencing a bad year for these vegetables. I dutifully bought Plant Magic granular fertilizer and applied it, but it remains to be seen whether or not my crookneck squash will proliferate. I admit to having slim hopes. Day after tomorrow I visit the farmers market and will have to resort to buying summer squash.

Couldn't you save a few seeds from one of the Candyland tomatoes so you don't have to buy a new packet?

 

[SPedigrees]

Couldn't you save a few seeds from one of the Candyland tomatoes so you don't have to buy a new packet?

I could, but saving tomato seeds sounds too complicated. (I'm not just an easy gardener, but a lazy one too! ha ha!) I don't mind buying some seeds from a few of the sellers I patronize (Pinetree Seeds, Baker Creek, and others).

I always save seeds from marigolds, petunias, nasturtiums, orange cosmos, sometimes a few others. (The marigolds go back to a flat of flowers bought at KMart's garden section nearly 20 years ago.)

 

[flowerbug]

tomatoes, beans, onions and peppers.

 

[heirloomgal]

I could, but saving tomato seeds sounds too complicated. (I'm not just an easy gardener, but a lazy one too! ha ha!) I don't mind buying some seeds from a few of the sellers I patronize (Pinetree Seeds, Baker Creek, and others).

I always save seeds from marigolds, petunias, nasturtiums, orange cosmos, sometimes a few others. (The marigolds go back to a flat of flowers bought at KMart's garden section nearly 20 years ago.)

As someone who sells seeds, I appreciate your willingness to support good quality seed producers!
That said, saving tomatoes seeds is only a messy, stinky affair if you're doing lots of tomatoes; with a single cherry tomato, you can just smear it on a piece of computer paper, let it dry, and that's it. It is very easy on a small scale.

 

[digitS']

Starting with cucumber slices, Fish Chowder with grilled tilapia and our onions & potatoes – a very common choice for us.

On the side was amaranth and ..

. sweet corn.

Steve

 

[SPedigrees]

As someone who sells seeds, I appreciate your willingness to support good quality seed producers!
That said, saving tomatoes seeds is only a messy, stinky affair if you're doing lots of tomatoes; with a single cherry tomato, you can just smear it on a piece of computer paper, let it dry, and that's it. It is very easy on a small scale.

Thanks! Maybe I'll try that - nothing to lose.

 

[ducks4you]

For tonight's dinner. Harvesting is different--I have to knock some of them down to let them fall and pick them up below. The vines are producing on the other side of the chicken wire fencing.

 

[ducks4you]

I picked 4 cucumbers to have with dinner. I went back to the fencing to look at the newer cucumber and I found that I had missed two more when I harvested earlier. Boy, hybrids sure produce!

 

[SPedigrees]

Eating lots and lots from the garden today, my own little garden as well as those belonging to others. My visit to the farmers market yielded organically grown peppers, carrots, red and purple plums, a few ears of corn, potatoes, some jars of home pickled vegetables, as well as grass-fed steaks from 2 different farms, one the next town over and the other neighboring NY state, a quart of raw milk, a dozen eggs, a hand crocheted windspinner for my porch, and home-baked goodies (doughnuts and bread). My shopping bag was so heavy I had to make a trip back to my car midway through my shop-a-thon to unload it into a big cooler.

It's exhausting to make the trip, but this farmers market is a wonderful place. It has grown in the past years, but every vendor is required to have actually produced what they sell, and they've had to move to a newer spot in the town with more room. Town it's in is a tourist town, so they get a lot of shoppers from out of state as well as locals. I buy a large portion of my groceries there, making a brief stop afterwards at the supermarket for what I can't get at the market.

Last night I also tried out a new business in town for a couple large take-out pizzas. They have this huge wood-fired oven that takes up half of the shop, a behemoth of polished copper with open flames inside. It's a sight to behold!

I went from depleted reserves to so much food that I'm struggling to not let a single morsel go to waste, freezing what I can, and using the rest for dinners, lunches, and snacks. Mabel the dog is sharing in the bounty.

From my own little veg patch, I'm overrun with tomatoes (going to make salsa today) and more crookneck summer squash.