Summer Bounty

August 25, 2011

It seems like we just put the little plants in the ground and already, Alec has cleared out the first round of squash and beans and put in some late season crops. This morning buckets of green beans, tomatoes and peppers were harvested to share with the staff and our members.  On last inspection, I found lettuce, peas, radishes and beets poking up where the squash and beans used to be. 

The tomatoes here at the warehouse are doing so much better than those at home. We have had a problem with blossom rot, which I understand to be the result of inconsistent watering- first too much, and then, not enough. Here at the warehouse, the yellow cherry tomatoes, tiny yellow pear tomatoes, and grape tomatoes are producing like crazy and are just delicious. It is really helping me stay on my diet, because they are better than any kind of candy you can imagine. We also have these amazing pink tomatoes Alec tells me are an old fashioned variety called “Brandywine”. Yummy! Other good producers are the “Better” type and a small round variety which we don’t know the name of. The Zebras and the Mr. Stripeys are just now getting ripe.

The staff has really enjoyed all of the goodness of the garden- fresh tomatoes on our sandwiches, pasta sauce full of peppers, squash and tomatoes, grilled squash, baked squash… then David found a great way to use up some of the zucchini when we all started getting tired of it. Chocolate Zucchini Bread http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/ChocolateZucchiniBread.html really gave us all a new appreciation for this prolific fruit! He substituted “Reece’s” chips for the regular chocolate ones and it made this bread just a little bit “more better”J.

I told you earlier in the season we had a natural pest deterrent to our aphid issue- ladybugs! Now, we have a new issue. Alec is a little worried because his tender little pea shoots are looking a little ragged. Could it be that the cute little rascals in this picture are helping themselves to a moonlight snack? Dot and Lindy would love to see if they squeak when you squeeze them!