Garden goodies
We've had another cool summer here in the northwest, which means that the garden just started offering up its bounty within the last few weeks, and now it's kicking into gear big time!
The cherry tomatoes have been coming on since late July, which has been good for salsa making, but the larger paste and heirloom tomatoes have just started within the last week. I've got a gallon of sauce made up so far, and I'll have another gallon tomorrow. If the frost holds out through September, I should be able to get at least 10 gallons put up for the year.
The tomatillos that i planted aren't doing as well as I would have hoped, but it seems a squirrel decided to plant one for me last gall in a bed about 40 feet from where they grew. Those volunteers are MONSTERS! They should more than make up for the poor showing of the planted ones.
I planted 4 types of Zucchini this year, and three of them are going gangbusters. Plenty of them for stir-fry and zucchini bread. Pretty soon I'll have to start leaving them in cars with open windows.
It never really got hot enough to keep the eggplant happy, even under the plastic tunnels. We're only going to get a few fruit that set during the hot few days in July. Pretty dismal for 15 plants. Too bad, I was looking forward to the eggplant lasagna dish Laurie whipped up last year.
We had the best blueberry year yet. It wasn't so much because of the weather, just the plants getting bigger and more productive. I think they have finally produced enough to pay for themselves.
I limited myself to about 150 chile plants this year, and I'm kinda bummed about the production of the hottest varieties. There are lots of bell and banana peppers, and even a reasonable crop of New Mexican chiles, but none of the habanero varieties are producing. Even under the plastic, they just didn't grow worth a damn.
The early apples have been coming in nice and juicy with good texture from Yakima, so that's a good sign. It's not the same as cooking apples, but at least there should be a crop.
Has any decent sweet corn shown up in your farmer's markets yet? I've only seen a few ears, and none of the bodacious yet. It's usually here by the end of August.
It was a bad summer for the hot crops in the Portland area too. Even the farmers' markets have been light on tomatoes and chiles this year. The quantities, quality, and variety are way down from the last two years. I am hoping that there will at least be a decent crop of apples to make up for it. I have been waiting (impatiently as always) for the Gravensteins and the Orange Pippins to make their way into the stands.