Monday, September 20, 2010

What's Growing

The nights are getting chilly around here ... my husband says it's "Mexican weather." Time to bring in as many tomatoes as possible. I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti is one of my favorite meals. We also made tomato juice, a family recipe - with extra tomatoes we bought from the Amish farm - so refreshing in the middle of winter! It also makes a #@!* good bloody mary.


I've been harvesting brussel sprouts for dinners. Had a little trouble with black rot on these and ended up trimming off the bottom leaves and using a copper spray to keep it at bay. If I had caught it a little earlier I don't think it would have been troublesome at all. Not bad for my first attempt at growing these little brussels - I still have a good harvest. But sure would welcome any tips or advice from vegetable gurus.



Still harvesting the super swiss chard! And it still tastes and looks beautiful. This plant would look good in any border or landscape whether you ate it or not. Definitely on my list for next year.


My potatoes look like alien creatures! Maybe I'll put them out for Halloween.


IMPORTANT NOTE: Next year I will grow all the root vegetables in the raised beds. Nice soft dirt should make for more appetizing shapes, right?

Nasturtium is taking over my potager. It's a jungle creeping into my paths and climbing over my beds.


The flowers look so beautiful to me, how could I eat one?


I never did ... until now. Why not? It's a jungle out there! The flowers are delicious - the leaves are good, too. I am now a shameless flower eater. I love how they look and taste in my salads. Borage is another I've been munching on and will grow again for next year.


Taste before beauty I say.

4 comments:

  1. Dear Violet, your nasturtium are so beautiful. I have them growing but they are bright yellow with an orange stripe. I don't know where they came from. I prefer either the cream or dark red. But I guess I do love the way they do their own thing. I also have borage, it's quite rampant. They do look beautiful in salads. btw - I'm a vegetable appreciator not a guru - but there's room for both in the world. cheers, catmint

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  2. Oh Violet, You make me miss my veggie garden so much... it did look a lot like yours... except for the tomatoes ... I have allergies to. I never had the problem of black rot ... but would prefer that to rabbits that eat everything. I wish I could help you there but would guess more air circulation... not sure. Most likely it gets into the soil ... only guessing here. Lovely post! All of your photos are so enticing and filled with light. I bet those potatoes still taste yummy. ;>)

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  3. Violet...wow..everything looks mega-awesome!! Fabulous post..such gorgeous blooms and awesome yumminess...enjoy your harvest!

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  4. wow, everything looks so great! is this your first year growing brussel sprouts? i'm only on year two myself and have had a vast improvement over last year's crop of tiny, but tasty, sprouts. i've read in a few places to slowly remove the bottom set of leaves once the sprouts are 1/2" in diameter. then harvest from the bottom up, slowly picking off sets of leaves to allow the higher up sprouts to fully form. i didn't do this last year and have already noticed a difference this summer. letting them get hit by a frost also helps develop their flavors. i'm saving mine for our big Thanksgiving Day dinner, but i'm not sure i can wait that long to eat them :)

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Thank you for joining me in my garden in the making!

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