Last weekend I weeded the small and large Plot Against Hunger gardens and then I weeded our newly lent garden, which is full of tomatoes, onions and squash, not to mention basil. I harvested some things for AFAC, including a lot of red onions.
This was empty when I started weeding our loaner garden!
After laboring for AFAC, I labored for myself. Last week, I dropped a drapery of bird netting over my tomatoes, and lo! this week, I had some ripe tomatoes that had not been pierced by bird beaks or half eaten by squirrels. Hurray!
The San Marzanos are coming on nicely.
There are some big green tomatoes too. I’m waiting for these babies to ripen. One plant is Brandywine, a big favorite, and the other is Cherokee Purple. Both are sweet tomatoes and excellent on a BLT sandwich. Or eaten out of hand, if you can stand all the dripping.
This will be one big, luscious tomato eventually.
I also have peppers and eggplant coming on.
This small plant looks to be prolific. Stuffed peppers, anyone?
The mystery squash is definitely a Butternut, and growing by leaps and bounds!
Quite a change from last week, huh?
And in a triumph of bee stalking (or the attractiveness of zinnias to said bees), I got not just one of the busy creatures with my camera,
Here’s bee #1, packing in the pollen…
But two! I hope your week is going swimmingly…
Bee #2 on a pink zinnia…I have a long way to go to achieve Derrick’s huggable looking bees…
arlingwords 
Your garden is an inspiration, you really seem to have a green thumb (is it an expression in English?). Lots of cooking in perspective for you ! The photos are great, thank you 🙂
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Hi Sylvie! Yes, green thumb is an expression and I am indeed looking forward to making certain dishes with my vegetables. Thanks for coming by and liking my pictures.
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Just thinking of your ripe tomatoes and BLTs has me drooling. Mr. Butternut has grown quite a bit! Do you compost all your garden refuse?
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Unfortunately we don’t compost, but the County does, so ultimately we get some of it back. It’s hard in a community garden to get everyone on the same page with composting. Yes, I’m watching that Butternut, as well as the tomatoes.
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You’re well on your way to being a Derrick-like photographer of cuddly bees! And I love your zinnias….such sturdy little flowers… the color of the one in that first photo is truly lovely.
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Yes, I like that color, too–It’s peachy but something else. I like zinnias as well. I’m pretty happy about getting some good bee photos!
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Looking good there Lisa – you had me thinking longingly of a tomato, fresh plucked from the vine, sweet and slightly warm from the sun and smelling very tomato-vine-ish …………. Yum! Maybe in six months or so 🙂
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I’ve only had one of the larger tomatoes this year. They’re taking their time getting ripe. But I’m looking forward to seeing them get red. All this hot weather should help. Are you having a garden this year? Planning it yet?
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No plans yet. We had such a poor summer last year I’m not really inspired – but you never know what will happen when the sun comes a little closer 🙂
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I hope so! Or you can focus on flowers and have a nice place to lounge on the warm days.
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I was thinking maybe one tomato plant……
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It could be enough if it bears well!
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Ba-zinga ! That is a giant tomato! One slice will fill your whole sandwich. That tomato is for sharing. OR maybe with Bocconcini and fresh garden basil with a thick balsamic vinegar. Now I’m craving it. When I’m trying to lose a few pounds, I’ll nuke egg whites with a small amount of cheese and have that on a piece of toast with tomato slices. I ate it everyday for 3 months and never tired of it. Unfortunately I salt my tomatoes liberally but mmm, mm good!
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Oh, that sounds good. I’ve been known to eat tomatoes and basil pesto sandwiches. Just use the pesto like butter and plop a tomato slice on. Yum!!!
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hmmmm, interesting. You eat nutty stuff Lisa, LOL. I do like Basil Pesto on Pasta though. Maybe thinly spread on a tomato sandwich? Toasted perhaps, with a pickle on the side. Yah, I can dig it. xK
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See there? That’s exactly the recipe. I threw you with the ‘like butter’ description, huh? I always spread that thinly…
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What a lovely harvest and bright colours. I wish I have the land and enough sunlight to grow some vegetables and more flowers.
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Thanks, Mary! I’m looking forward to seeing your orchard growing in the future. Lots of vegetable seeds have now been bred for pots. In fact I buy squash seeds meant to be grown on patios because it saves space in my garden. You could look into that.
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Thanks, Lisa. I do have a trough of asparagus and compost tomatoes that volunteer themselves, and most herbs. 🙂
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Well, that’s something, there.
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I imagine you are quite well now. The butternut squash looks slightly less rude than in the last picture 🙂
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LOL. Yes, it’s turning into quite a large squash now.
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Such bounty! It almost makes me wish I liked vegetables . . . 😉 But I do love zinnias and I’m quite fond of bees–great photos!
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Thanks, Kerry! I can’t believe you don’t like veggies! And zinnias are my go-to summer flower.
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Oh Brandywines!! I had them in my Canadian garden, such taste!!! Even green you can use them like apples in an ‘applepie”…I was so lucky to find of the market the other day…jumjumjum. Such bounty in your garden, it looks good!
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Brandywines are my ideal of how a tomato should taste! So glad you could grab one from the market.
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Oh, the month of tomatoes. At the little house in the big woods, we are bird central, but I have never known them to eat the ripening tomatoes. Country birds vs. city birds? At any rate, it seems as though you have found a good solution. Enjoy those beauties! They are only this good once a year.
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Perhaps Maine birds are simply better behaved! Ours poke multiple holes in ripening tomatoes. I think for the moisture. And you’re right, they’re only this good once a year, which is why I don’t want to share with the birds and squirrels!
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I hear you! We have a bird bath in our yard, and it is used for drinking rather than bathing. (I change the water daily.) Could this make the difference, do you think?
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It’s possible. It occurred to me that they might be thirsty, though there is a birdbath in our garden. Hard to tell. I’d keep yours, just in case it matters!
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Will do! It’s a mighty busy place in this dry season.
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Wow! Looking so good!!! That tomatoes is huge. Mine will hopefully begin to ripen soon. I have many many green ones currently…I was told I could pick some green tomatoes and they would ripen on their own. Have you ever tried this?
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I’ve only done it prior to a frost, when it’s unlikely they’ll ripen. It’s not good. They taste like bad store tomatoes. But at the end of the season, it’s nice to save them.
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OK good to know – thank you! Won’t pick them unless I need to 🙂
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Of course if you have too many tomatoes, you can always fry the green ones–they taste sweet–or pickle them.
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I think it’s brilliant that you’ve captured those bees at all. Your garden is surely looking very abundant…those peppers look especially good!
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I’m very pleased they’re coming on so well. I do like stuffed peppers. They’re fall comfort food!
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Well done on capturing two bees with your camera. those things buzz about at top speed! Anyway, I’m glad to hear your garden is coming along so nicely. 🙂
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Thanks. All my other pictures were blurry because they’re so fast!
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You seem to have a real gift for gardening. I wish I were more of a green thumb, myself. The pictures with the bees are lovely, it does my heart good to see bees busily working away in amongst the flowers.
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Thanks! And thanks for coming by. I was really pleased to catch the bees…
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I’m so happy to see your healthy garden producing fruits and vegies. Congrats on outsmarting the critters. I’ve chased bees with my camera in the past, so I know the challenge well. They do not sit still for long. I’m glad you were able to capture a few pics.
As for the weeds, they never stop, do they? Opportunists one and all. Mine have slowed for awhile, as they aren’t getting any water (no rain for months). When they do grow, it’s right next to the irrigation line. Crafty little weeds.
We grew up eating tomato sandwiches. Just toast, a bit of mayo, and juice tomatoes. (Mom always pronounced it tom-aw-toes.)
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Mmmmm, I have some of those big ones coming on and can’t wait to get sandwich sized slices. Aren’t they good?
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We have lots of eggplants here.
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