The time of the tomatoes

Sunny High 77° F Precip: 0%	Mostly Clear Low 56° F Precip: 10%
Sunrise: 6:06 AM	Sunset: 7:28 PM

I haven't posted much in the past two weeks because the garden has been relatively quiet. At this point, we are still pulling in beans about every 2 days, and I have a bunch of bags in the freezer for eating once the plants die from the frost...which I am expecting to be early this year. The night lows are into the 50s, although last Tuesday we hit 48 degrees at night. It's chilly! The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a long, cold winter for the Northeast, and I think they may be right on target. We have had so many flocks of birds in our yard at the feeder in the past week; it looks like some are getting ready to head south! Some of the trees are beginning to change as well...and not just the maples! I saw a birch with yellow leaves, and one of our neighbors has already broken out the rake. The earlier evenings are another sign of the end of summer. Just 26 Days until Autumn! It's weird that the amount of sunlight we have now is the same as in early April. At least it's much warmer. That is why I love fall so much! Residual heat...ahhh.

Other than the beans, the tomatoes have set all the fruit they are going to and are ripening on the vine. However, the plants themselves don't look too hot. There is a blight in the region from all the rain, and an article ran in today's Metro about how to prevent the spotty and brown tomato leaves--next year. Because of all the rain, the blight really hit the plants hard, but the fruit itself is not affected. However, once the plants are done they need to be pulled, and it is essential that rotation is put into effect for next year's planting as the spores can survive in the soil. So, don't plant tomato or potato where you have either plant this year. Find a new sunny spot!

We are going away on Friday for a trip north to Maine for a week, so when we get back the tomatoes should almost all be ripe. The squash and zucchini haven't set any fruit in about two weeks although they continue to flower, and I think this may be because of the weird weather as well. It's odd as these two plants usually are extremely prolific, but we got maybe 5 zucchini and just 10 squash this season. I guess the beans made up for everything though!

We are beginning to dry herbs for the winter. I tested out some oregano, and it turned out ok until the fuzzy cat sat on it. Not the herbs have hair all over them so they cannot be used (or rather, should not!). This will be a great saving to us as we use herbs for cooking all the time. Especially on chicken. The fresh herbs have been great in the tomato sauce we use on our pizzas, and I don't know what I will do when the basil is done. I'm tempted to dig it up and pot it for my kitchen.

The flower garden is fantastic! I am so happy that I planted a cutting flower garden, and have been able to bring flowers to work, give my friends bouquets, and keep the house filled with fresh flowers. The gladiolus I planted have not bloomed like I thought they would. Instead of the tall multiflower stalks, mine look more like a white iris. I have a different type, and will post a picture later tonight. The zinnias are fantastic, and look wonderful next to the cosmos and ever blooming snapdragons. Next year I plan on doing even more flowers and beginning it sooner.

Well, soon we will begin preparing the garden for fall. Once the squash is done I will either cover the area with compost or plant red clover, which is a great fall ground cover that replenishes nutrients in the soil. Any any ideas for fall plantings? Let me know in the comments!

Rain, rain go away!

		T-Showers High 74° F Precip: 60% A few showers early then thundershowers developing later in the day. High 74F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.		T-Showers Early Low 59° F Precip: 60% Showers likely along with a possible rumble of thunder during the evening. Becoming clear overnight. Low 59F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

It's been raining for weeks. Seriously, weeks. I haven't watered anything is a few weeks and the garden is green and grass is super long. The only thing that doesn't get wet are three window boxes of impatiens that are under the eaves. However, I have thrown some water on them, and they are doing much better than the ones I had in last year!

This past weekend we went to Bolton Spring Farm and Appleseed Farm (Bolton and Stowe) and bought some of the first peaches and a few plants on sale. I was surprised how many garden centers in my area had already closed for the season. Many of the signed said they would reopen in October or November, but also pointed the way towards the newly opened orchards. While it is a bit early for apples, the peaches are coming in as best as they can with the rain. We bought seconds (meaning they had fallen from the tree and not picked) and I made my first peach crumple and peach pie. But wow did they go soft quick. Today, two days after I bought them, the one I didn't use was nearly liquid on my counter. It was a quick trip to the compost heap! By the way, I dug down into the compost over the weekend and really saw what they mean by black gold! I cannot wait to spread it over the garden to prep it for the winter. Until then, I piled up the pile of forsythia and evergreen branches that I had trimmed last week. Our front yard no longer looks like serial killers live in the area. Except my butchered job on the front hedge. But hey, it looks good from OUR side!

So, besides the rain, there has been the coolness. Today's high was about 73, yesterday was 69, the day before in the low 70s as well. As a result of this early coolness, I do not think I will get a watermelon or--and this hurts--my giant pumpkin. The vines continue to grow and sprout yellow leaves, but no fruit. I think that the great pumpkin contest of '08 will need to be called off.
Squash flower....there are tons! If you know a good recipe for stuffed squash flowers, please let me know! The veggie patch has been giving us string beans every day. I've been blanching them (boiling water for 30 seconds) and then freezing two portion bags of them so we can eat them in the winter. Makes me feel like an early settler. Or just smart.

In the flower garden, the cosmos, zinnia, and aster are beginning to bloom, and the morning glories give a great show each day. The snapdragons continue to grow and rebloom, and I clipped a nice bouquet this morning to bring into my office. The baby's breath is almost done, but the bachelor's buttons are just popping out their blooms as well. Today I realized I had a lot of blue flowers, and am hoping some of the aster are bright red. The morning glories are blue and white striped, and even when they close they are interesting--kind of like marshmallow candies...or maybe I just like candy! Below left is one open, and right is one closed. They really do give the broken down fence a new look each day. Next year I am going to see if I can really cover up the entire fence. It's a bit easier and less expensive than replacing it. ;)


Over the weekend my mom and I weeded and weeded some more. With the rain comes the weeds. I planted a delphinium that is bright purple and light blue (yes, yes more blue), and it looks great next to the yellow coreopsis. I also bought some neat bright pink globe thistles. Below is a pic of some of the coreopsis and the white baby's breath. Yes, that IS baby's breath! I double checked the seed packet. While it's not the type that florists usually have in bouquet, I like this version more. Adds volume to bouquets.

One thing that has changed since I began gardening and cutting my own flowers is the desire to cut flowers from other people's yard. Today I had a pair of scissors in my car because I cut the snapdragons while on my way out. I passed an awesome set of black eyed susies and sunflowers and really had to restrain myself from not pulling over and snipping them. Although they were in the community gardens...and I live in the community. Maybe I'll sneak down after dark...