Garden in the First Half of August 2020

 Everything is taking off.  In July the tomatoes began.  In August, they are abundant.

The three that we are growing this year are San Marzano, our favorite paste plum tomato, and Cherokee Purple, a fairly new heirloom, and Azoychka, an orange tomato.  It is new to us and we find it to be a bit sweet, with great texture, and a fairly tough skin.

Our tomatoes are interplanted with marigolds, zinnias, basil and parsley.  Notice that the tomato plants are severely pruned.  Any branch that does not have flowers or tomatoes is removed.  The theory is that it forces the plant to put its energy into the tomato itself, and also that there is better air circulation to reduce disease.

The great crop is Mara des Bois Strawberries.  They are amazingly sweet and they taste like a strawberry should.  The color is red throughout (no huge white core), but they bruise easily and therefore are not sold commercially.

D has decided that 35 plants are not enough, so he has created three new beds.

. . . 

Check out that kneeler.  It has really saved his knees and makes it much easier to get up and down.  It's quite sturdy and has a side pouch to carry tools.  Another benefit is that the kneeler can be turned over to make a small bench when you're ready to sit and admire your work or when sitting would be easier on your back, for example while pruning tomatoes.

The joy of August, in addition to tomatoes and strawberries, is flowers!

Some of the new daylilies are blooming.  

Look at the size of this gladiolus:

This lily is at least eight inches across and has an amazing scent.   It perfumes the entire garden.

The aconite is almost as tall as he is.

It finally bloomed:

Another name for aconite is monkshood.

The flower does kind of look like a monks hood!

Remember the dahlia support cage?  The plants have gone through the knee-high wire lattice and are now going through the chest-high lattice.

This garden has also been planted with zinnias, so there are zinnias and dahlias.

The dahlia tuber for this dramatic creamy orange flower was a gift from a friend in Oxford.  

Isn't it wonderful?

Some delphiniums are getting dwarfed by the nearby plants.

We have so many different little gardens that it is fun to decide where to sit and enjoy!

To see other garden pics:

This page.

2nd half of July.

First half of July garden.

Garden at the End of June

And the first half of June is here.

You can see the end of May, 2020, here.

Here is the first week of May

Daffodils 2020

The middle of April is here.

First week of April.

Fresh Tomato Sauce - Summer's Gift`

We had our very favorite dinner tonight.  Simple, easy, quick, and spectacularly delicious.

Fresh tomato sauce on buttered linguini.

This is a no-cook sauce.  Early in the day, chop heirloom tomatoes, garlic, basil, and add olive oil and allow the flavors to meld.  (We used two tomatoes - Bloody Butcher and Cherokee Purple.  Both are high acid, compared to supermarket tomatoes.  If I did not have an acid tomato, I might add balsamic vinegar.)  I don't refrigerate it at this point.  The garlic was pulled last month, so it's quite pungent and fresh.  The smell is fantastic!

A favorite pasta is Barilla Linguini Fini - it's a bit thinner than regular linguini, but thicker than angel hair pasta.  When the pasta has cooked to the right texture (not too al dente. . . ), toss with butter (about two tablespoons for 1/4 pound of dry pasta).    At the table add the fresh sauce and serve with a good cheddar cheese (We like Cabot Seriously Sharp.).

All gone.

Last of the Red Tomatoes

Today's dinner used the last of the red tomatoes.

We still have a half-dozen Dorothy's Green, but this is the end of the Cherokee Purple.  The rest we have lost to blight.  When blight first appeared, we were afraid we would have no tomatoes at all, since the tomatoes were tiny and still green, so we are tickled to get any!  Let alone more than a month of all-you-can-eat.

Raw tomato sauce:
chopped tomato
garlic
black pepper
oil
parsley
basil
Marinate for a few hours or refrigerate.

Barilla "Linguini Fini" pasta
garlic
oil
butter

Shrimp marinated in
soy sauce
olive oil
grated ginger
grated garlic
siracha sauce
Then quickly sautéed in butter and oil.

First Tomatoes of 2016

The first to ripen are the Cherokee Purple.
This is a tiny one - sitting on a bread plate.  The large ones weigh as much as 2 pounds!!!

The flesh is firm with the liquid exactly as you remember as a child.  It's a tart, flavorful tomato.  Makes amazing BLTs.

Tonight we're having it with English Bacon from Balson Butchers.  We make an order once a year.  It comes in a freezer pack with dry ice.  The bacon is packaged in 8 ounce portions.  It's a real treat.  Tonight D enjoyed the bacon, tomatoes, and baked beans.

In the spring, D started three types of tomato - San Marzano, Cherokee Purple, and Dorothea's Green.  The Green is my favorite tomato ever (but Cherokee Purple is a close rival!)

This is a fully ripe tomato.  Delicious!

We are now in a race with Late Blight to see how many tomatoes we can before they are destroyed by blight.  The middle of the green tomato had blight.  Just cut away the bad parts, and do not compost the rot.  (Septic system loves it.)

Tomorrow's project is freezing if it's hot or canning if it's cool.  I have about five gallons of tomatoes to process.  Lots of gorgeous basil and fresh garlic and parsley to add to the pot.

A fine time will be had by all!

First Tomatoes and Fennel

We had our first tomatoes today.
On the left is Cherokee Purple.
It's juicy and slightly acidic.  Our favorite.

On the right is Golden Queen.
Slightly sweeter - but not too sweet.

 I sliced them for tasting.

With the rest,  I made raw spaghetti sauce.
Chop tomatoes,
garlic, and basil.  Add olive oil.
Serve at room temperature
over hot buttered linguini.


 For the first time, we grew fennel.

Tomatoes have started!

This morning we picked the first Howard German tomatoes.

This evening we added two more:

Cherokee Purple and Golden Queen.

They are heirloom tomatoes, and the flavors are fantastic.

Our tomatoes are grown from seed we have saved.

(Seeds for many are available from SeedSavers Exchange.)

~~~

It's time for the summertime favorite:

Raw Tomato Sauce for pasta.

Tastes best over buttered angel hair spaghetti or linguini.

The ingredients:

Tomatoes

Basil

Parsley

Garlic

Pepper

Olive oil

Serve at room temperature over buttered pasta.