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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

The Last of the Tomatoes

Yesterday I ate the last tomato from our garden.  
The last garden tomato, posing regally by the garlic.
I had a bountiful harvest, which especially picked up towards the end of the growing season (the first frost being around the middle of October).  I had tons of green tomatoes that I didn't want to give up.   
So, I picked them all, and let them ripen around my kitchen and dining room.  To my surprise, nearly all of them ripened beautifully (if not quite so sweet as garden ripe tomatoes).  I did go through them periodically to remove the ones that had gone bad, and towards the end I was putting them in salsas and sauces rather than eating them straight, but hey!  A tomato's a tomato!
It's something I'll definitely be remembering for next year.

What was the best lesson you learned this year in your garden?

3 comments:

  1. I learned to follow the example of the locals, and NOT plant before a certain time. We planted and the next day our seeds got washed away by a rainstorm. So sad!!

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  2. Weed the thing. That's what Pap and I shoulda learnt a long time ago. :)

    I'm so proud of your harvest! My tomatoes were actually fairly plentiful, because they were in barrels all around the front and back yard. I like planting in planters.

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  3. I learned to harvest the garlic when the bottom couple leaves die.

    I learned that grasshoppers LOVE lemon balm.

    I learned that leeks do well with lots of water.

    I learned that black widows will make a home in tomato plants.

    I learned that arugula is hardy.

    I learned that you can never have enough fresh parsley.

    I learned that the window for ripe guavas is quite small.

    I learned that red (post-green) jalapeños are rather sweet.

    I learned that watering squash too much (sometimes to make up for a lack) will cause blossom rot quite quickly.

    I learned to be very specific with the 3-year-old about when it's okay to harvest (this after he proudly came inside with two beautiful but immature watermelons, that I had to throw out).

    I learned that experience is the best teacher.

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