After talking last week about the zinnia coup in the garden, I got in there this week and started to fight back. I was feeling immensely guilty about ripping some of them out, but along came a fellow gardener who was eager to transplant them into hers. I hope it works. After all the rain, there were a lot of weeds to take out as well.
The weed pile was impressive…
I had quite a few tomatoes, a cucumber, and some peppers, which made for a nice harvest. There was also a large white turnip, whose seed was somehow mixed in with the radishes. I’ll be cooking it with some of the carrots I still have from earlier this year.
Part of the harvest…
I am excited at the possibility that I may be able to make tomato sauce this year. it is so much better than anything I can buy. The tomatoes are in their August doldrums, but still bearing.
The San Marzano tomato plant is pretty loaded, but also succumbing to the fungal wilt that’s in our soil. I hope to get quite a few before it stops bearing.
Other things look good, too. I’m particularly pleased with the sage plant.
Those shameless zinnias photo bombed the sage!
In the next couple weeks, I’ll do some more clearing, make a few decisions, and start putting in seeds for the fall garden.
All in all, there are still plenty of zinnias for bouquets.
Meanwhile, I’ll keep enjoying the zinnia crop.
This week’s flowers for the house…
Gorgeous zinnias! One of my favourites! Personally I would pick all those green tomatoes now and let them ripen on a bench somewhere! That fungal thing is merciless!
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I do love the zinnias. As for the fungal thing, I’m hoping there’s time for the tomatoes to ripen. We’ll see…
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The flowers are beautiful and the thought of homemade tomato sauce …… Mmm – mmmm! Are you cooking up all kinds of storms in your lovely new kitchen? I hope the transplant works out, and if it doesn’t maybe some seed might set and take for next year.
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It would be good to have some tomato sauce in the pantry! We’ll see whether I get enough. I do keep eating them in salads. As for the zinnias, they are so colorful and beautiful, I’m glad someone wanted to take them.
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I like this week flowers for the house again. I can smell the tomato sauce, but your garden looks like it is a lot of hard work.
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Part of the wonder of the garden is the labor. For me, so much in my own head, it’s good to get out and do something concrete. It’s also immediately satisfying, since I see the work. But not everyone likes gardening. I always joke that it saves me thousands of dollars a year…in therapy bills!
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Oh, I love zinnias! Such a beautiful bouquet. The slugs ate all my seedlings, save four, that are just starting to bloom now. We’re going to invest in some copper flashing to corral the seedlings next year to keep the slugs off. I used it for the dahlias this year and they are looking good.
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Ooh! I am lucky that my garden is so well drained–a good thing in wet years, not so good in dry. In any event, I hope you get some zinnias next year. They are so bright and sturdy and long lasting.
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Beautiful zinnias. I’m still waiting for our first tomatoes – they take an age to ripen.
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I agree. Once you see those green tomatoes hanging on the vines, it seems forever until they turn red.
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Lovely zinnias, and I like the gnarled tomato
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Thanks, Derrick. That’s your photographer’s eye at work.
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🙂
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Such a beautiful bouquet – must be hard ti rip them out.
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Yes, the only thing that made it better was the fact they were getting transplanted!
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Yes, that is a comforting thought.
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Those zinnias are beauties, even if they do spread a little too much. Funny to read about how your tomatoes are winding down. Mine are still green on the vine. This summer, the weather in Maine has been delightful for humans, but not so much for tomatoes and basil.
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I had a not from Anne Wheaton in England, who’s still waiting for tomatoes to ripen. I think it’s your northern climes. The tomatoes are only winding down because of the wilt, which I can’t do much about. if they survive it through August, they often have a resurgence until frost. We’ll see…
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Oh, tomatoes! Good luck!
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I think they like hot nights…which you don’t get in Maine in a normal year…
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Not so hot, but the tomatoes do eventually
come. It just takes them a while. 😉
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What a harvest you’re getting — flowers and vegetables both!
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I do miss the flowers in the winter, especially when I see their prices in the store!
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Ha, who’d have thought the zinnias would be such (lovely) thugs! Our tomatoes are just coming in–not enough for sauce yet, but we still have some from last year to finish off. In the meantime, we are freezing veggies every day.
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LOL. That’s what they are…Sounds as though your garden is thriving. May you have many more goodies from it!
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Lisa, your title cracked me up! Well done. Your Zinnias are gorgeous and so varied, but I can appreciate how they might crowd out your veg. I’m glad you have yummy tomatoes for harvest and tomato sauce, and a fine kitchen to prepare the sauce. Do you now have room for all your canning goods in your kitchen? I think you mentioned once that they’re in your bedroom. Enjoy!
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Hey Alys! I just spent much of the day canning–tomatoes, bread and butter pickles, and strawberry rhubarb jam. I do have room in the kitchen to store canned foods. I used to keep my canning jars, lids, and cooker in the front closet, but now they have their own cupboard!! Which is handy. And there was room to put everything today as I cooked away! I should have taken pictures, but alas! I’ll have to figure out something else for the blog this week.
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The Zinnia bouquet is beautiful, Lisa.
And how fortunate that another gardener wanted to take the ones that were crowding out your garden. Can’t wait to hear how your canning labors turn out!
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Thanks, Laurie! I do like the zinnias. The tomato sauce, pickles and strawberry jam turned out well. I’m already eating the pickles!
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