but those tomatoes....

8.26.2018

I'm just going to start by saying that I'm very pleased with my tomatoes this year. Of course I have too many - but I'm incredibly pleased with the varieties for this year. It's a Grade A+ assortment. Not to be outdone, the flowers are also putting on quite a show. It's like the whole garden knew that I was moving and wanted to really go out with a bang.

Vegetables

Beans // completely overgrown.... and have taken over the other trellis where the snap peas were. I should really pick all of them asap and put them in the freezer.
Greens // I am just not very good at maintaining lettuces. They would probably be fine if I cared for them at all... but every now and then I chop the top off ... and promptly forget they exist.
Carrots // Crushing it. Just the right amount this year. Not an excessive crop that I'll never make my way through.
Peppers // continued failure. I think I was only moderately successful in the first year. I know last year was a failure.. and this year is as well. I also know that it is not the plants because my dad has the exact same ones.... so it's just my garden.
Tomatoes // so much to say here.
  • 4th of July (2) // complete homerun. Ripened the soonest (early August). Perfect shape and size. Excellent early red tomato flavor.
  • midnight snack (1) // total attention grabber. They are front and center in the garden so everyone sees them. The color is really beautiful and they are very tasty for a cherry tomato.
  • sunrise bumble bee (1) // very fun. if you can wait until they are just the tiniest bit orange/red, then they are the most delicious but still good a bit early. 
  • black truffle (2016 and 2017 graduate) (2) // Always a winner. Forever and ever.
  • Shimmer (1) // Really interesting. Like a black truffle and a san marzano had a baby. Wonderful color and more flavor than a san marzano. 
  • black cherry (2017 graduate) (1) // A little later to ripen compared to last year, but still amazing. Lots of fruit on the plant still but not nearly as productive as the other cherry varieties. I think its just a weird thing because last year I was swimming in black cherry tomatoes.
  • black krim (2) // I've always wanted to try this variety... and now I have. Its one of those heirloom varieties that you can say you are growing. I think they get a little too big for me. I'd be a bigger fan if I was making salads or using sliced tomatoes more often.
  • sweet tangerine (1) // beautiful orange color. Not super juicy but a great sliced tomato.
  • big rainbow (1) // just ripened this week! such a late bloomer. haven't cut into it yet... but soon.

Flowers

Just like the tomatoes, every year this side gets a little bit better. The sunflowers are really shooting up each day. I could stare at these flowers all day long. Last year I had a better cutting garden and could easily pull together bouquets. This year the cosmos are taking longer to take off.... and the dusty miller is no where near as big. That being said, I can actually walk around the flowers ... which is very nice.

  • dusty miller / so like 80% of the "heritage" dusty miller died off this past winter... and this Lowe's planting just did not take off like the other versions. It's obviously still alive but not nearly as voluminous as my Floret Flower seeds were. Will have to start from scratch next year. 
  • gladiolus / These were nice - and a total last minute add. I bought the bulbs on sale at the local hardware store. I think only 3 of 5 bulbs actually bloomed but that's fine.
  • dahlias / going great so far! I love the size of the white dahlias and the big colorful ones are shooting up as well. Two of them fell over last week in a storm but I've staked them up and I think we should be good for the rest of the season. Fingers crossed.
  • cosmos / super late planting but the first bloom showed up a couple days ago. I did a much better job spacing the seeds this year and will have to remember this for next year. It looks so much more organized.
  • blue bitty flowers / I have no idea what this is named - but it looks great.
  • sunflowers / going well! I will absolutely start some of the seeds inside again next year. Last year I planted some of the fuzzy sunflowers (Teddy?) but never got any because the birds ate them all - this year I have several. Would love to figure out how to plant them so that I have blooming even later into the season but I think I need more space for that... and I'm not sure that I want this to take up any more space than it already is.

© WHAT JEN DOES • Theme by Maira G.