Thursday, August 8, 2013

Green tomatoes

Finally, we have tomatoes. Tiny green ones, that is. This will go down as the worst summer on record for our garden. Our tomato plants just never took off. We were a little late getting them in their pots this season, planting them all by mid-June. But I thought they'd catch up. They should be tall and full by now. Instead, the poor things are thin and spindly and they haven't produced at all.The rainy June didn't help.Nor did the steamy July. Our harvest should be rolling at this point, but instead our plants have just begun to fruit. If we're lucky, if we don't get blossom rot, a hurricane or some other mishap, we might have tomatoes by late Sept. Wow, what a disappointment!
Fortunately, the lettuce, eggplants, peppers and herbs are doing well. I got a few cukes too, though not the harvest I'd hoped for, and the heatwave knocked off the vines. I was able to save our blueberries from the mockingbirds by netting them.
Still, without tomatoes, I'd have to call the season a bust.

These plants are way behind schedule.
The eggplants are tasty, stir-fried with some green market onions.
The lettuce has been loving it this summer. I have had salad all season long.


3 comments:

Unknown said...

Now don't let your tomato plants hear you talk like that. Give them all the positive reinforcement that you got and they may surprise you.

Tell them how big and beautiful and red and juicy they are. Maybe you can write a special tomato song for them!!

Unknown said...

Don't let your tomato plants hear you talking about them like that. Give them all the positive reinforcement that you can muster up. Tell them they are big, healthy, red, juicy tomatoes. Write and sing them a tomato song. They may surprise you!!

Unknown said...

It's been a tough season for tomatoes all around the area. I'm further north in Poughkeepsie but I've had some of he same problems.

We spoke to a local farmer and he said the heat wave killed off the blooms on a number of tomato species. That explains why I have some 9foot vines with six blooms at the top.

Keep them in the sun and think good thoughts at them!