August 22 Back Container Garden Still Going Strong

 

August 21 The Beet Goes On

 lovely and sweet sliced cooked beets .....

Fred's Tie Dye

and sliced

Russian Black Pear

August 21 Beds 10/11

 Beets just didn't size up, but there were a few worth saving

and the colours were amazing

just may get some seeds from this F1 cross:  Lillian's Yellow Heirloom x Dwarf Speckled Heart

Red Swan bush beans have taken off!! not sure if I will save seed or just eat them all  :-)

Queeny Lime Orange zinnia - better one than none - 

free garden space for more fall sowing .....

Bed 11:  l-r  Arugula "Astro", Arugula "Wildfire", French Breakfast radish and Taiwan Pac Choi

Bed 10:  l-r   Radish "Sichuan Red Beauty", Kincho scallion and Mizuna mustard

August 21 Bed 64

First up Bed 64:  hadn't been to the garden for five days - and look at the tomato harvest - Russian Black Pear (not looking terribly black) and Fred's Tie Dye (stripes) - was amazed no two or four legged critters had helped themselves!!

 time to clear the clutter - Masai bush beans are done and only one zucchini, so out it comes

now to sow fall greens ..... these were scattered on all bare soil

I'm leaving the Sweet Peas for seed saving ........

August 20 One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Couldn't resist posting a pic of this lovely rose - not mine - but I walk by the plant often - always looks beautiful with a wonderful scent

now back to tomatoes - another batch for roasted tomato sauce

the finished product - a good way to store a lot of tomatoes in a small space

Dwarf Mocha's Plum X Dwarf Mr. Snow (cross to be confirmed as NCTomatoman is growing out seed in search of RL and PL) crunchy and thirst quenching - rather unusual taste - love the plant - smallest of the dwarfs I'm growing this year and very dark healthy foliage

August 19 Back Garden

Time to tidy the back 40 ... more tomatoes harvested, diseased leaves removed and a good watering - the 1 gallon containers planted a few weeks back were rather waterlogged and nothing was growing, so they were emptied into the compost bin .... 

however, after removing my zucchini and cucumber from their larger pots I decided to try a few more fall greens ....

and the tomatoes keep on coming - every morning!!  I've never had so many tomatoes and peppers ripen so early - thanks to our crazy hot sunny summer this year

my side garden ..... looking forward to the chrysanthemum in full bloom this fall

Sweet Pickle peppers ...... so colourful

here is the other planter with a cut and come again baby leaf blend

Tasmanian Chocolate - this has been a strange plant - stink bug damage to a few tomatoes, but this fruit looks perfect!!

and sliced - quite enjoyed the taste  - but again - not a knock your socks off flavour

August 18 Tomatoes

Too many tomatoes, time to start preserving; my preferred method is to cut up and roast an assortment of tomatoes (usually what is the ripest) along with onion and my sweet peppers ... then blend in food processor and freeze - great starter for winter soups and pasta sauce

but first - here is Russian Black Pear - so glad to get fresh seed for the one - again nothing too special in taste, but good for salads, etc.

August 18 "R" Garden

Time to make room for the fall veggie starts - Russian Mini Yellow and Apero were removed as they were almost done ...

from l - r:  Santee, Brokali and Bussels Sprouts

Dwarf Mocha's Plum x Dwarf Mr. Snow ....

Dr. Henry Cosmos mix and Dahlias doing their thing - the rhubarb gets smaller with each garden visit

and the Overview

August 17 More Tomato Pics

Loxton Lad (yellow) and Muddy Mamba sliced- unfortunately neither of these tomatoes had a lot of flavour - rather bland - perhaps overwatered - the Muddy Mamba could have used a few more days to ripen

another pick - finally the Dwarf Mocha's Plum x Dwarf Mr. Snow showing colour ....... interesting with the anthocyanin 

August 14 Morning Harvest

a mornings harvest from the back garden ....

August 13 All About Tomatoes

Well, this is what I hoped for way back in February when deciding on my tomato grow lists ...... two plates of Apero F1 grape tomatoes and a heaping plate of Bundaberg Rumball (dwarf tomato project), along with some yummy ripe Donkey Ears sweet peppers

Loxton Lad tomatoes removed from torn branch and nestled in paper for ripening

check this one out ..... Muddy Mamba!!

August 12 Back Garden

Here comes another heat wave - plants still looking good for mid August - I think the vermiculite in the soil and the grass clippings mulch is helping with soil moisture retention

oops ..... a tomato branch heavy with tomatoes and not tied in has detached from the main steam - hopefully these tomatoes will ripen indoors, as they are showing a faint blush of colour - Loxton Lad

Dr. Henry Cosmos mix - where are the pinks?

August 12 Beds 10/11 and 64

 Beds are slowing being cleared out to make space for the fall veggies ......

here is Russian Black Pear tomato in Bed 64

a nice surprise - self seeded Nasturtium looking lovely and aphid free!

my lone Zinnia "Queen Lime Orange"

Red Swan bush beans now contained with my old pea stakes

Lillian's Yellow Heirloom x Dwarf Speckled Heart F1 looking hopefully for seed saving

likely the last of the sweet pea bouquets ..... stems are so short now hard to pick