Green Tomatoes - things to remember for next year

Seems like every September, I'm left with many green tomatoes. This year is no exception, however the Old German heirloom is doing it's best to eek out a few pinkish tomatoes before the first frost. The Red Brandywines weren't quite as prolific, but the plants are still in decent shape. The yellow one had some nice tomatoes, but not a ton, and the Oregon Spring was probably the biggest disappointment, giving me about 4 tomatoes all season (and they weren't anything to write in the blog about). So that leaves me with the best fruit of all , the Golden Jubulies my brother gave me - i think he bought them at Kane's, your basic hybrid tomato. The cherry sun golds were also a disappointment. This year's plant from Mahoney's didn't produce nearly as many fruit as the sun golds from year's past which I buy from Pemberton. Next year I should plant some hybrids along with the brandywines, like Romas and another red globe fruit, just to satisfy my love for fresh tomatoes.

The garden salsa peppers are their usual self, growing like crazy, even now. Can't beat those babies, I have 2 gallon bags of them in the freezer which should last me over a year.

The African basil was a pleasant surprise, growing ginormous and pretty in purple. The basil did okay, but next year I should plant them in partial shade to make them last longer.

Cucumbers did great and are still producing. I hope to grow them the length of the fence next year (doubling the number). The 6 Romaine lettuces did very well (next year, I should plant arugula after the romaine), and the experimental dill/cilantro plot did too - though I should move them to the back. The 6 red onions were awesome, look forward to doing more of those next year, maybe double. September is the month for great Concord grapes, the garden raspberries this July were great too.

Tricking out the phone

My cell phone is a simple device. It allows me to call people and people can call me. People can even IM me or text me on it, and I can do the same with it. It doesn't take photos, or surf online, or get my email. Just a basic cell phone.

It's simple silver color - which I like - has begun to lose it's luster and recently I felt the need to trick my phone out by covering it with a magazine image of something I like.

The first cover was a picture from a furniture design magazine: it showed several "bad art" pieces framed on a wall. I especially loved the sad clown and naked lady image.

The new phone cover is more slick, with a Russian poster theme. I didn't cut it to really fit the phone that well, and it's a bit daunting to look at.

Still...going...

That is the biggest tomato I've ever grown. About 6" inches across and a deep reddish-pink, I plan to bake/stuff it for lunch.



The garden these days is in tatters and I'm embarrassed to take photos of it. The grass is knee high and the tomato plants look like they've been bathing in acid, many of the leaves yellow and withered. The fruit however is slowly turning red, and orange, the cucumbers are finally finished (I still had 8" ones in late August), and the hot peppers are still kicking with lots to pick. I decided not to plant arugula, having lost my appetite for plant care. The African basil is absurdly large and making for some great flower arrangements in the kitchen.



Concord grapes grown in abundance on the fence, tart and refreshing after a warm day. Zinnas grow in the plot next to mine, a colorful and welcome presence. There's a garden party thanks to Laura this Thursday.