Garden Report II

Earlier this month I gave the first report in a series on the status of our summer vegetable gardens. Shortly after that post the tomatoes started turning red, the cucumbers ripened and the various types of peppers were ready to be used for dinner fixings. All the herbs are flourishing but unfortunately the lettuce is done. Seems as if a seasonal garden has always been close by me since being a small kid growing up straight through adulthood(if that is what you want to call this). The 3 gardens that I have been part of farming this year have been the most productive in memory. All of the Tomatoes: Harlequin, Early Girl, Big Boy, Park Whopper, Brandy Wine, Grape and Cherry are vibrant full of that real acid tomato taste that reminds me of summer. No less than a half dozen of the bigger varieties are coming off daily and the cherry/grape produce enough to keep Ms. Arcen and the neighbor kids busy picking and eating, eating and picking. The little ones make a nice addition to pasta and little bean/pepper salads. Every day for the past few weeks I have been eating the bigger ones in between bread, wrapped in a wrap or just by the thick slice. What these plants are yielding is more than we can consume so I have been able to share with friends and my neighbor Monte who has asked for dibs before I put them in a box labeled Free Produce(Matt Smoke's Street Side Samaritan Idea) along the street in the front yard. Seeing Monte is acting Mayor of Dooleyville I have left him a basket full of red three times in the past 2 weeks.

Lunch from the yard.
Red Big Boy

A nice lot indeed.

This wide angle makes an interesting image of the Cherry Tomatoes.

When they ripen they are bursting with flavor.

Cucumber

Green Peppers

and the Yellow variety.

For whatever reason the Canna Lilly flowers are going off this year as well. As you can see on the center Pistil this tall flower draws in the bees looking to help the pollination process.