Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The harvest continues

Over the weekend, I managed to can 11 jars of tomato sauce and 6 quarts of bread and butter pickles. From the looks of things, I will be canning another 20 or so jars of tomato sauce tonight. And, if the cucumbers keep coming as they are, another 6 quarts of pickles on Wednesday night.

I planted San Marzano tomatoes this year. They are a Roma style tomato. I can't believe how many tomatoes there are on the vines! If they all ripen, I'll have enough for two years of soup and sauce—plus plenty to give away. The best part is that they have a good flavor. The other tomatoes (Beefsteak, Early Girl, and cherry) are doing OK, but not as great as the San Marzano.

I started the fall broccoli the other day. The seeds sprouted in 3 days. Wow. I wonder if the rate of growth will keep pace. If it does, we'll be eating broccoli from them in August instead of September/October. They will go in the hoop house once it gets cool; I'm hoping they keep producing side sprouts until late October. We'll see...

I also planted a late planting of cucumbers; they sprouted in two days! This heat is good for something, anyway. I have been watering the garden twice a week; the heat and lack of rain definitely sucks the moisture out of the soil. I hope to get eating cucumbers off this planting; I'm not sure they will get a chance to produce enough to pickle.

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