The Veggies Are Taking Off

Does anyone grow Amish Paste tomatoes?  My plant is growing, but it is leggy and not producing very many blooms.  I have 5 other varieties planted, Celebrity, Big Beef, Sweet 100, Better Boy, and Roma.  All have blooms and/or tomatoes, and than there's the Amish Paste.  It's like I have nice voluptuous tomato plants on one side and than there's tall and skinny on the other side.  Update - I checked on my beloved plants this morning, and  the Amish Paste has a few blooms.  Applause, Applause!  I guess all I needed to do was start this post and not finish it for days to get this plant going.  I guess it didn't want to be the subject of my dismay in this blog post.     

All and all, the garden is looking good.   This is a shot of my Celebrity tomato plant (below).  It's blooming and has a few tomatoes.   I can't wait to slice this baby and smother a little mayo and pepper on it.  Yum Yum!  The thought of fresh veggies on a plate excites me. 

The Crook Neck Squash has really taken off.  I have 2 plants, I love fried squash and I have a great recipe for a Squash and Zucchini Casserole.  I'll be sure to post it just in case you're looking for a new, tasty recipe to try this summer. 

The bush cucumber plants (below) were a little slow in producing blooms, but they are progressing nicely now.  I companion planted them with dill, which I will use in potato chip dip this summer.  The kids love the dip.  I have 3 plants, so I'm hoping for a nice yield.  I love cucumbers with onions and vinegar on the side of a nice T-bone steak.  I'm a big pasta person and use them a lot in spaghetti and pasta salads.  I also discovered Cucumber Water in Las Vegas a few years ago.  The lobby of the resort I was staying in had gallons of it.  It was 100 degrees there at 8:00 in the morning, lol, so I decided to try it.  It's just thinly sliced cucumbers in ice water, but it is so refreshing.  I've been drinking it at home ever since.  It helps in getting those 8 glasses of water a day down too.   

My Chili and Jalapeno peppers are off to a slow start.  The Chili Pepper is being quite stubborn, it has grown very little.  The Banana Pepper is producing, I have 3 peppers on that plant now.   Maybe my expectations are too high.  They have bearly been in the ground a month.  I would love to hear from you seasoned gardeners on whether or not I need to exhibit a little more patience.  I've been working on this virtue over the course of the years, I may need more work.   

Check out the Zucchini plant above.  It exploded this week-end.  I'm going to grill and fry these babies all summer.  I love grilled squash and zucchini brushed with olive oil.  Nothing like a plate of fried squash, zucchini, mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, eggplant, and cauliflower.  Do you deep fry any of your veggies?  Not the most healthy means of cooking, but it sure is good.  I was visiting a blog, that sauteed radishes.  I would have never thought of it.  The dish reminded me of fried potatoes.  

I decided to plant Blue Lake pole beans.  They weren't on my list, but I want to can a few jars for homemade vegetable soup this winter and my green beans and corn are a big hit at family gatherings.  If I can hit a home run with store brought green beans, I'll know their socks with fresh beans from the garden.  The beans germinated pretty quickly after a few good waterings.  I'm hoping my homemade trellis will hold them.  I should end up with 12 vines of beans.   

I'm enjoying my time in the garden.  I'm looking forward to seeing the fruits of my labor.  Since this is my first garden, I visited my favorite nurseries for starters in the garden.  I decided to expand my garden a few feet next year and try starting my plants from seed next spring.  I've been looking for a pop-up greenhouse or cold frame to use.  I don't have a basement, so I don't have room for a lot of containers sitting around my house for months.  Besides, I think I have OCD.  I wouldn't be able to stand having containers all over my house.  Organization is a must for me.  Do you have a green house?  How do you start your seeds?     

My First Pepper Has Arrived!

The veggie garden is coming to life.  I'm so excited since this is my first vegetable garden.  I took a stroll this morning, and I found blooms on the eggplants, tomatoes, and cilantro.  My hot banana pepper is producing.  Look it's so beautiful, lol.  The plant actually has two peppers. 

This garden is trial and error for me.  I'm continually studying and making adjustments that won't disturb the plants.  I mulched the tomato plants with dried grass from the lawn this morning.  As I was doing research last night, I learned that I needed to cage my eggplants and peppers.  I'm heading out shortly to purchase a few cheap cages for them.  Ching, ching, 5 more cages.  

                           Eggplant 2 weeks ago.

     Eggplant this morning.  See the bloom in the back. 

The tomatoes are doing great.   Below is a shot of the Sweet 100.  Can't wait to pop a few of these babies in my mouth.  I eat them like grapes.  I had to add a tie to the stake this morning.  This means it's heading up the pole as Mama wants it to. 

This is a shot of my Roma tomato plant.  I'm going to can these to use in my vegetable soup and chili during the winter.  I planted an Amish Paste as well.  I'm a big fan of Amish anything, so I'm looking forward to seeing which of the two I like best for sauce. 

I decided to add pole beans this morning and red onions.  The red onions really didn't look that great when I opened the package.  I found them on clearance at Walmart.  I decided to plant them anyway and see what happens.  I had a little space on the west side of the garden, so I decided to plant green "pole" beans.  I love fresh green beans.  I had a 6 foot stake, so I drove it into the ground.  I ran lines of cotton string down the sides of the pole and staked them into the ground with a few sticks that I had laying around.  It seems pretty tight and sturdy, lol.  I'm trying to garden on a budget and using what I have around the house.  If all the seeds germinate, I should have 12 vines going up my homemade trellis.  I should get a pretty good harvest from 12 vines.  I'm hoping to can a few jars for vegetable soup this winter.  I'm sure most of them will be eaten at family gatherings over the summer.  How's your gardening going?  Leave me a comment and let me know what you're working on.  I'll come over to check it out.