I'm Back!

Hi Everyone,

After a month long absence from the blogging world, I am back--alive and kicking. I apologize for not blogging for so long. Cam has been sick and my great-uncle (my grandmother's youngest brother) passed away. On top of this, I've gone to two children's writing conferences.

I do have one piece of good news: I have two literary agents currently reviewing my manuscripts, so I hope that at least one of them will take me on as a client. That would be wonderful... and a step closer to getting published. Please pray for me and hopefully something wonderful will happen soon.

Back to the garden.... Everything is coming along very nicely, despite the cold fronts that we've had. Tomorrow, there is a frost warning... but I'm hoping my vegetables survive.

The cabbage head was killed off my bugs, the bell pepper plants seem to FINALLY producing fruit, and the eggplants are still going strong. The watermelon is on its last leg--but we've had plenty of watermelon fruit that we've enjoyed. All of this and more on upcoming posts this week and next.

For now, I leave you with a recent harvest from the garden.

Below: Lots of tomatoes... A few beans

Little Tomatoes and Weather Problems

I can't concentrate today for some reason. I just can't. Grrr... I am a little frustrated. I've decided to blame it on the weather.

It is cloudy, and that's it. The rain isn't falling, and I hear no thunder in the distance. I would like to have some rain. We had some a few weeks ago (maybe longer?), but I would love some rain.

The worst thing is that this cloudiness and lack of rain is making me sleepy. I want to crawl into bed with a good book. Except, that's bad. Because I have to work. LoL.

Sorry for my rant. But I want the rain to come and soon.


On a happy note, my cherry and grape tomatoes are finally reddening. This time, it's not just one or two ripening at the same time... lots of them ripening together. More than enough for a salad or two or three. And they are so good. The best news is that the birds only poked a hole in ONE--- that's right, ONE tomato. I am so happy.

Below: The tomato harvest (side view)

Below: Tomato view (from the top)
There are a few that aren't as ripe, but I decided to snatch it anyway. It'll ripen from the windowsill. I don't want any chances of the birds getting them. They are so good and very juicy. The problem that I had with blossom end rot only affected a few. The rest are perfectly healthy and beautiful. I am so excited!

And now for my Luka update (Sorry I can't help but post pictures of Luka!). She finally calmed down (kinda) for one photo.

And this photo, I think is just so cute. What's she looking at? I have no idea. LoL.

Tomatoes Are My Friends

With all the talk about cucumbers, corn, and melons, I've neglected to update you on the status of the tomatoes. None have died. In fact, they are all producing like crazy. Actually, the grape tomato plant has grown so tall that the newest flowers reach the bottom of our tall deck.

Below: The grape tomato and the new flowers... Up high in the sky.

The grape tomato has exploded in size, and the number of baby tomatoes growing on the plant is phenomenal. There are just so many ones growing, and I'm so excited about it. The only problem that I have with this plant is that the tomatoes all ripen at different cycles, so I only get a small harvest every few days. I would love to get a huge harvest (a store-sized carton), but alas, my plant does not want to cooperate. Nevertheless, I am still psyched about all the new tomatoes that are growing.

Below: Lots and lots of grape tomatoes.
Below: Keep in mind, this following photo is not sideways. The grape tomato plant has grown so large that this is one branch that has grown over half of the square foot garden box. It has extended so far that it is almost at the edge of the box!

It's strange because the cherry tomatoes have not been as successful as the grape. The cherry tomato plant does have baby tomatoes growing, but it is not growing at the same rate as the grape. I thought the cherry tomato would be just as bountiful, but alas, it is not. Oh well. I'm enjoying the ones that are growing on the plant.

Below: Cherry tomato plant

The cherry tomatoes that we have are a little bit larger than the grape tomatoes. They both taste just delicious when we eat them, so I'm satisfied either way. I love having delicious tomatoes in the summer. It won't be the same this winter when all my plants die and I'm stuck with going to the grocery store to buy bland-tasting tomatoes that could possibly be tainted by e.coli. LoL.

Below: The newest harvest of cherry and grape tomatoes
By the way, I did listen to everyone's advice and I stopped pruning the tomato plants. I've just cut off any of the diseased, yellow, or dead leaves. But other than that, I've just let the plant grow and flourish. They have all done beautifully since I've stopped my overzealous pruning efforts. LoL. Just letting you know! :-)

The larger tomato varieties are growing nicely, but we haven't had a harvest in several weeks. Still, they are growing and we have several tomato candidates that I'm looking forward to. Thankfully, birds have stayed away from the tomatoes lately. I think its because the foliage of the zucchini has prevented them from spotting any of my tomatoes. Hopefully, this will continue to be the case. If not, I will be pretty steamed.

Below: Big Boy Tomatoes...

Below: Rutledge Tomatoes


Below: I think this is the Whopper tomato. It is the largest of the big varieties. I'm most excited about this one!

And finally, I end with a wild kitten on the hunt.

Oh, by the way, I let her outside yesterday while I was tending the garden, and she climbed, not ONE, but TWO trees. I had to yell at her to get down before she climbed down. She is getting too wild... Only three months old, and I may need to invest in a pet GPS.

Good eats-Tomatoes

Today has been one of the busiest days I've had this summer. And this is going to be one of those really long and tiring weeks, full of business meetings and catching up on work. *sighs*

I apologize for the very short post, but you'll finally hear good news from the garden. I took the advice of Frances of Faire Garden and I've been harvesting a few yellow and orange cherry and grape tomatoes. Instead of letting them ripen on the vine (I guess the birds love to poke holes in the colorful and delicious ripe fruit), I've picked them early and let them ripen in my kitchen.

Below: The newly ripen cherry and grape tomatoes


These little tomatoes were so delicious! Mmm!!!! I don't have to worry about the tomato scare. They were very sweet and left me craving more! Only a few more days until more ripe tomatoes...

Cam thinks the cherry and grape tomato taste the same, but regardless, they were quite a yummy treat!

In other news, I added Black Kow composted cow manure to our SFG beds. My dad uses this brand, and it's worked great for him. You were all right--my soil needed the manure. It's only a few days later, but so far my vegetables are reacting quite well.

Below: One of my large tomato varieties have started to turn color. It's more of a green-yellow color now, but I'll be harvesting it when it turns orange. I don't want to risk the chance of a bird poking a hole in this!

Tomato Update and More Plums

It's been a while since I blogged about the tomatoes in the SFG. Out of all my vegetables, they are doing the best. Although a majority of them are still green, they're getting larger and staying very healthy.

Surprisingly, the larger varieties are getting huge. After the mini-drought of the last few weeks haven't stopped them! The fruit is getting larger and new fruit continues to form. I sprayed organic insecticidal soap on all my plants recently, so hopefully that will keep the aphids and nasty bugs away. Cam also bought a large plastic owl from Wal-Mart. He says it'll keep the birds away from the garden.

Below: The large tomato varieties. Big Boy, Bonnie Original, Whopper




I wonder how much longer I will need to wait until these green tomatoes turn red? I'm not doing anything to these plants except watering. I wonder if I need to do anything extra to the soil to help the fruits ripen quicker.

The cherry and grape tomatoes continue to ripen. Sadly, the first red cherry tomato was not edible. The bugs had eaten part of the flesh, so my much anticipated taste test has been delayed. I hope the bugs don't get any more of my plants.

Below: The cherry tomatoes begin to yellow and turn orange. Red coming up!

The windy days of early June blew many of my grape tomatoes off the plant. I only have a few left, but new ones have started to grow. The ones that survived the wind are also beginning to have color.

Below: The grape tomatoes.

I know you must be so sick of hearing about the plum tree... but man, I'm harvesting more and more plums every day. Sadly, my family cannot harvest them all in time. First, we're all short people and our ladder isn't tall enough to reach the top of the tree. The plums are ripening and constantly fall to the ground.

Below: The ground near the plum tree is scattered with deep red, extremely ripe plums.
It's a sad sight. To think I could have picked all of those plums before they fell to the ground. But alas, they all ripen at different times. As I was harvesting today, several plums fell from the tree and I couldn't catch them in time. They ended up being food for the animals. Maybe a rabbit or two will eat these instead of the other vegetables in the garden.

Not to worry, there is still plenty of plums left on the tree. There are branches that are still full of semi-green and pink fruit. Tomorrow is another day and more plums will need harvesting.

Below: More plums to look forward to...


Below: Here is my harvest for today. Two large colanders worth of plums.

If I had to guess, I think both weighed more than 10 pounds each. I don't know what I am going to do with all the plums. They are definitely way too much to eat. They will spoil. Anyone know any good recipes?

I may learn how to make plum jam. Has anyone ever made homemade jam? I'd love tips.