We got 3.5 inches of rain this week which has revived the garden in a big way (yay!) and the grass is growing again (booooo!).
The tomatoes are really coming in and I think I have enough for either a tomato pie or a batch of salsa, maybe both. I think I’ll do the salsa first. I did have to stake up all my tomato cages Wednesday after a major T-storm (some areas lost power & had trees down) Tuesday night. Two of the new cylindrical ones blew over because the tomato plants were so big, they offered a lot of wind resistance & the ground was so soft from the rain, that the tent stakes pulled up. Next year, I’ll put in a nice tall stake when I first put the cages up & then I won’t have to worry about them.
Today, I spent a good part of the day making a pan of Moussaka - used up all the Black Beauties on my one plant. I also used venison burger. It was worth all the work (although it might be a while before I do it again) & was delicious. I still have an Ichiban plant that is producing.
Earlier this week, the crows finally got over being shy about the new fencing around my raised beds. I have to admit I laughed and laughed, watching them stalk around between the beds, staring at all the beautiful tomatoes they couldn’t get to. The fencing took a lot of work & it wasn’t cheap, but it is definitely effective. I’ve also been in/out of the garden quite a bit and the fencing isn’t a pain to deal with.
Put up another quart of sour pickles this week -the cukes are “done”, even with the rain so that will be the last pickle batch. The basil needs cutting back again and I don’t think there’s enough for pesto so I’m going to freeze whole leaves .... have a vacuum sealer so that should work well. I’m getting peppers (finally!): Garden Salsa hot peppers, hot banana peppers, jalapenos, Grand Marconi & Big Berthas. I also have one pimiento pepper plant that is producing - first year growing pimientos.
After this year’s successes and failures, I’m already thinking about what I can do next year to plan my garden more efficiently. As plants come out now, I need to start looking at a fall garden - waited too late last year, but this year I’ll have more room to start plants earlier.
Stay cool if you’re in the heat wave & I’m praying for rain for the drought areas since we were blessed to get enough to make a difference this week.
Glad to hear the crows have been outfoxed a bit. Sounds like a good harvest too.