The month of July with the heat and rain really gave the vegetables a huge boost in growth. The plants are quite large and put out an abundance of vegetables. I have been so busy trying to keep up with all the produce.
This year, I grew San Marzano, Tigerella Stripped, Sauce, Beefsteak, Snow Cherry, and Black Cherry tomatoes. I am pleased with the amount each variety has given me so far.
You can see the plants' health and the fruit size of each type.
The radish is done and I will plant another round once the days cool off. Many varieties did not do well, perhaps I started them too late as they put out all leaf and now roots.
The eggplant I started back in late February is full of blossoms and one plant has a nice-sized fruit on it.
The last of the bush beans in the tower garden were harvested and preserved this last week. I haven't decided what to plant in the empty spots yet.
The Habanero peppers planted at the top of the towers are starting to blush with a bit of color this week. They are the only thing growing in it at the moment. I can't wait until they are ready so I can make some Caribbean Hot Sauce.
I strung some twine into the Lilac tree to let these Asian pole beans grow. They are already over 8' tall and the beans are averaging about 24 - 30 inches each.
We had the first round of beans for dinner with a dash of balsamic vinegar. They were much firmer in texture than the bush beans. I will be canning the rest of the crop for the pantry.
The yellow squash is doing very well this year. I can see damage at the base of the vines due to squash borers. So I started another round of seeds to continue getting a crop well into fall.
All the pepper plants are full of fruit and I should have a large harvest once they are ripe. I still have not used all of last years that I have frozen. I think I will pull them out of the freezer and make some pepper sauces.
I will be going out this morning to start picking Jalapeno peppers that are ready. I will make them into Jalapeno poppers for the freezer. We like having them as an appetizer once in a while.
There is nothing more satisfying, to me, than knowing I am growing the best, organic produce I can for my family. Being self-sustainable as much as I can gives me comfort with today's worldwide situations.
This will end this week's vegetable garden update. I need to get out in the garden before it gets too hot to bear. ;-)
Until next time, this is Sunscape
Sun. Scape. Ing Your Day
