GardenDesk

Olympic Sized Pink Tomatoes and Purple Beans!

Matron at Down on the Allotment posted a very creative fruit and vegetable olympic rings logo, and asked which veggies in your garden are worthy of the olympics. She asked which ones are FASTER, HIGHER or STRONGER than any others? Well I'd like to add BIGGER to that list and nominate my Glick's Brandywine tomatoes and my Chinese Red Noodle Beans.

My brandywines are more than a pound each!

 

This one weighed in at 1.8 pounds - a monster!

 

They are not supposed to weigh that much so I don't know what happened. They sure are big and delicious!

Even crazier than that are these Chinese Red Noodle Beans:

 

These beans are two feet long!

 

Look at them growing on the trellis compared to the Kentucky Wonder Beans next to them.

 

I measured them and they really are 24 inch pods!

 

It was hard to measure them accurately because our kitten Maggie kept playing with them and pulling the beans away.

 

I'm not really sure how to eat these Chinese Red Noodle beans. I'm going to try some smaller 18 inch pods in stir fry or simply sauteed. The only problem is that Maggie may eat them all before I can cook them. :)

 

 

Glick's Brandywine and Chinese Red Noodle Beans; Veggies of Olympic proportions!

Great post idea, Matron.

Producing Prolific Produce!

July has seen great yields from the vegetable garden. Our new harvesting containers are these "Peach Baskets", and now it is taking three or four baskets to bring in all that is ripe.

July has been the month of the tomatoes, cabbage, onions, garlic, green beans, potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and now peppers and okra.

Regardless of what else is in the basket, there are always tomatoes. The extra-early tomato plants have done very well - we are now at 400 ripe tomatoes picked! The main season tomatoes are beginning to come in and my wife says it is time to stop counting the number of tomatoes harvested. I'll probably still try to sneak a count though.

Every time we bring a basket in, our cats Macy and Maggie have to check out what is new.

I can't let them look for long because they soon begin to want to sample the veggies. See Maggie licking her lips?

We quickly put everything away in the kitchen and set the baskets down to be ready for the next harvest day. Sometimes the cats think they can get a head start on us by hanging out IN the baskets!

July has gone by way too fast! I have been overly busy. Sorry that I haven't been able to post or comment on other garden blogs. My normal job has been very busy. I work in management at a large television production company and we are in the process of moving our entire operation to a new building - hectic! I will be working the next couple of weekends as well.

I have still had time to tend the garden though, and it is doing very well. I have many pictures and a few stories to share when I get caught up.

I have a few posts in my mind ready to go and pictures to go with them. Please let me know which one of these you would like me to write first. Maybe I can squeak out one or two of them in the midst of the move. Here are the posts I have in mind:

• How my corn is doing and the extraordinary pest deterrents I am employing.
• How my new experiment with extra high raised beds are doing well and why.
• My first attempt at worm composting. The success and failure and surprises I've seen.
• This years tomato support systems.
• How great the trellises are doing now that they are covered with pole beans.
• This years chronicle of a nest of baby robins growing up in front of my camera.
• Another garden insect photo safari.
• An update on the potatoes in the garbage can.
• My plans for the Fall garden.

See, I've still been active in the garden and thinking about posting. I just haven't been able to do it.

So what is the main one or two items in the above list that you would like to read about and see pictures of? I will begin posting these things in about a week.

Thank you for your continued patience and happy gardening!