Hello all,
The batteries in my camera have died and I have not managed to buy some more yet. The sad thing is my garden is so pretty right now. The Jet Stars are just starting to turn red. It seems fate that the tomato bunch I took a picture of first for the blog are the ones turning red first. YAY!! I have an immense amount of grape tomatoes now – this weekend I picked a bunch for omelets and in the afternoon, picked newly ripened ones for a salad for dinner. It’s amazing how fast they can ripen. Granted, the ones I pick at night were partially ripe (read: orange) in the morning. But I do have to share with you my revelation about grape tomato picking: the ones that are ripe fall off in your hands when you think about picking them. This knowledge is very useful to me when I try to pick them after dark for a late dinner.
My two bell pepper plants are producing nicely (and still flowering!) - they look totally different. The Giant Marconis are slender and the other plant is producing typical sweet bell pepper fruits. I’ve harvested some GMs already and they have a thin, yet very crisp and bright tasting flesh – it’s a bit different than the regulars. The jalapenos man, WOW spicy! Lisa, remember how Grandma would send us jalapenos in the mail? You mentioned to me that they were the spiciest peppers wou’ve had. I seasoned my eggs this morning with 1/4 tsp of chopped, seeded jalapenos and my lips were on fire! My fingers were still burning, 36 hours later. I’m impressed. I do need to find a good use for them or give them away. Can I freeze them? Maybe slice them and freeze them single layer on a sheet and freezer bag them till needed?
My beans are past eating at this point. Any produced are very fibrous and not so tasty. I should pull them, right? I’m thinking of replanting and going for a fall crop. What do you all think?
My volunteer tomato plants are officially cherries!! They must be leftovers from last year. They are sweeter than the grapes – more dainty. Girlie tomatoes. The grapes are definitely manly – so says me. I don’t know why, but they are my male tomatoes – they spread out and take over. Don’t ask. Makes sense to me.
I’ll add pictures when I get batteries. Thanks for your comments!
can the peppers! Yes! You can do it! If you pickle them, you don’t need canning equipment. You can buy jars with sealing lids at the grocery store for cheap and you can use the jars over and over again for eternity (you only have to buy new lids for a new seal each time). Basically you need vinegar and Kosher salt and peppers. Call me and we will discuss. This is what I would suggest and then you can use them all year. It’s SO AWESOME that you are getting super hot peppers and lots of them. Peppers are not going well on the West Coast this year… mine are in sad shape and my mom and Auntie Chel both say the same for theirs. Who knows why.
As for the beans – pull ‘em and plant new ones NOW so you can be sure to get some for the fall. last year I planted my fall crop too late and only got a few beans.
Volunteer tomatoes are often cherries because they are hybrids of whatever multiple kinds you grew the year before (and the bees happily cross-pollinated)… but they’re generally good. It’s cool that they’re sweet! I still only have green tomatoes, but the plants are growing, flowering and setting fruit like mad now, so soon I will be getting some myself
p.s. the manly vs. girlie thing makes perfect sense to me
Of course, it would…