Hello gardening friends! I'm a bit late in sharing my garden journal for the month, but I had to prioritize a little hysterectomy recovery over getting on the computer. Luckily after just over a week filled with lots of rest and recovery, I'm feeling good enough to ease back into some computer work again. Recovery has had some challenges (mostly being patient with the process), but I am so very much looking forward to the benefits ahead that it was absolutely worth the surgery!
Back to the fun stuff--tomatoes! We've had a great season with a number of our garden goodies, but this has got to be the best tomato season we've had in years. Last year we had some solid cherry tomato harvests. This year we got big ones, too!
As usual it seemed to take forever to see any of the sea of green to start turning red. Perhaps due to the weather, perhaps dumb luck, but somehow we avoided the plague of hornworms that we usually have to contend with eating our harvests. We did see a few handfuls, but nothing compared to normal. This allowed us to actually let some of these big beauties start to ripen on the vine. A few were a full pound in weight!
My favorite were the Cherokee Purple (shown above). We have grown these before, but again, this was a record year for those coveted beauties. So juicy and full of fresh tomato flavor, I have saved most of these to eat unadulterated in their natural form.
The other larger varieties were a new Bread and Salt tomato, which were the ones that often got really huge! They were delicious, however they seemed to start to go soft a lot quicker than other varieties. Still a great producer that we would plant again. The other ones we had were from volunteer plants, so I'm not sure of the variety. They gave us quite a haul for just popping up from compost, though!
The cherry tomatoes were a solid investment of space, as always. Lots of different varieties that have produced for a solid month. They've definitely slowed down in the dog days of summer, but we'll see if the heartier looking plants bounce back next month if we leave a few of them to grow like last year.
From left to right:
Sungold Select
Green Doctors
Volunteer Plant
Sunrise Bumble Bee
Black Cherry
Given our good harvest, I've been using them A LOT in cooking!
The cherry tomatoes are easy to toss right into salads, but they also made a gorgeous vegan tart. A little herbed cashew cheese spread over phyllo crust. Lots of sliced cherry tomatoes, a sprinkle of flaky salt and basil. Summer perfection!
A chunky salsa was another no-brainer. I don't think I even ate any of this first batch because @dksart gobbled it up pretty quickly. A simple mixture of chopped tomatoes, minced hot pepper, red onion and lots of fresh lime juice and zest.
Finally, a tomato bisque made out of roasted tomatoes, onion, and squash came out so creamy and rich when blended with cooked red lentils and coconut milk. Roasting the veggies first was absolutely the way to go. Worth heating up the kitchen for the end result! A bit of purple basil from the garden didn't hurt.
Tomato season is coming to an end soon, but we'll enjoy our harvest as long as it lasts! I did also dehydrate some of the cherry tomatoes to extend that season just a little bit longer.
Of course I can't help but sign off with a last look at the other top producer--the epic Candy Roasters! We've gotten 55 pounds off of three vines. Luckily these babies will last for a while, so I have time to work my way through them and share plenty, as well!
I hope everyone else has had a great month or two in the garden! I'm hoping I'll recover quickly enough to start planning the next season of gardening, but for now I'll enjoy the fruits of our labor as I ease back into kitchen time and the regular routine.
Happy growing (and eating)!
The Cherokee purple tomatoes caught my eye! Chill them, rinse, slice, grind some Himalayan salt on them and have a feast! Excellent bounties from your garden. Glad to hear you're recovering from your surgery - don't overdo things.
Have a terrific weekend!
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 65/75) Liquid rewards.
They are heaven on a plate! So happy we finally had a good year for them!
Yes, trying to take things nice and slow, especially now that I'm starting to feel better. I know it's still a long road before I'm back up to full speed, but I'll get there eventually! Perhaps even better than before. ;)
Congratulations again on the bumper crop! Yes, you will be better in many ways. Two things come to mind. You'll never have to worry about wearing white again. And your purse will forever have extra room. Heck, you won't even need to carry a purse!
!LADY ❤🤗
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wow it's great and get well soon. :)
Thank you!
I am also planting tomatoes, even though my plants are small. And I'm fighting against the humidity, there have been many rainy days around here.
Your harvest looks super delicious, and I love how the tomato soup looks, I will make it at home.
I hope you get lots of fruit soon! Nothing better than fresh tomatoes.
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Your varieties of tomatoes are awesome! The Cherokee Purples are so so good....Black Krims too...oh hell, they're all good lol. Nice haul on the Candy Roasters too! I'm glad you are feeling better!
They really are all so good! I love trying at least one new variety each year, though I may start running out of bed space if I add much more, haha.
At least the Candy Roasters we let just trail out into the yard, otherwise we'd really be tight on space! Every day getting a little better. Hopefully in a few more weeks I can really get back into the garden.
I've not yet had a Candy Roaster but the name alone makes me hungry lol! Slow and steady on the work load...take care!
Glad you're on the mend! Fabulous crop. I have to start thinking about tomatoes and where to plant. And how to manage them as I don't have co-management any more.
It is a process, that's for sure. Some days feels like two steps forward and one step back, but definitely over the hump of the first acute phase I think. Feels good to get moving around again here and there, like going to the market today. Would love to get out in the garden and start pulling up some of these plants that are done for the season, but still a ways to go before that level of activity. Hope you can figure out how to manage at least a small amount of the fresh stuff. I know how much work it can be on your own. 💚
You've been curated by @plantpoweronhive! Delegations welcome!
I have been looking for this kind of tomato for months now, I really like to plant this kind of variety or similar.
I hope you can find them! They really are so delicious. Good luck!
Loved the photo of the bowl of different tomatoes, so pretty! And the last photo was great! And from only 3 plants!
Aren't the cherry tomatoes so lovely? The green ones were one of my favorites this year. Those Candy Roasters have been the epitome of prolific! The last time we grew them I only got a few, so must have been happy in the spots we planted them this year. :)
I hope you're recovering okay. Can't wait to see what energy you'll have without the constant pain! Amazing. And i've just read a heap of posts where people didn't have such a successful season with tomatoes - you seem to have no such problem!
I LOVE tomatoes, basil and a bit of fetta on toast (vegan fetta of course for you) - it's like summer on a plate. Yum. Thanks for finding the time to share. And that phot of @dksart with the candyroasters is fantastic.
It's been a process for sure, but seem to be feeling better every day! At this point I need to keep reminding myself even though I feel pretty good, I'm still recovering. Trying not to push too fast, too soon! Definitely can't wait to be all healed up and truly enjoy the benefits ahead.
I really don't know what we did to have such a good harvest, but I have been 100% enjoying it. We've still got a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes coming off here and there, but it's about time to start pulling them up so I can try to get some beets, kohlrabi and other fall veggies started soon!
Wow! You have way more and much bigger tomatoes than I do.
You're the Tomato Queen 👸
Haha, thank you! We really got lucky this year with how well everything grew. Luckily the squirrels didn't find them until later in the season, as well, so we didn't lose as many to pests either!
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