Garden news
July 29, 2008 at 9:46 am | In Aurora peppers, Pole beans, Purple tomatillos, Tomatoes | Leave a CommentI harvested another bean and a cherry tomato today:
I also started an experiment. I planted some seeds in yogurt containers that I hope to transplant. I will plant seeds in containers at the appropriate Florida planting time in a few weeks, and compare how those seedlings do with the seedlings starting now. I have one purple tomatillo and one Aurora pepper:
Multiple colors!
July 28, 2008 at 2:00 pm | In Gardening, Pole beans, Tomatoes | Leave a CommentMy Auroras continue to do well.I took this picture just after a big rain.
The rest of my garden is doing OK. Not great, but not terrible. The lilac bell pepper has suffered a rough season; you may recall that Peanut ate the majority of it just after we moved to Florida. It bounced back and really has flourished in terms of stems and leaves, and now there are two flowers blooming. I was so excited about this until a huge storm (I was convinced it was a hurricane, but that’s neither here nor there) came along and almost snapped the stem at the soil level. I staked the plant in hopes it would be fine. So far, so good. The flowers are still blooming.
The beans aren’t producing quite as much as I’d hoped, but I comfort myself by thinking “it just isn’t the right season.” So far, we’ve had four beans. There is one more that should be ready in a couple of days. There are a few flowers, but after seeing so many drop before producing a bean, I’m not too optimistic about those.
The Golden Boy tomato plant has yet to produce any tomatoes. It doesn’t look so good, either. There are a few flowers, but they’re the same flowers that have been there for weeks. The Early Girl is making a comeback. Four tomatoes. Woohoo! I know, I know. That isn’t much, but it’s all I’ve got. The cherry tomato plant has two tomatoes, one of which is almost ready. It’s a beautiful red color; I’m just letting it sit on the vine another day or two in case it decides to get any better. (But, really, I’m hoping the second one will catch up so I can harvest both at the same time so my husband and I don’t have to split one teeny tomato.) I know I posted awhile ago about hand pollinating the tomatoes with a paint brush, but I never did that. I think that is a necessity here, though, and I promise to do it in my next garden.
We planned our late August garden yesterday. I have some seeds, but I need to find a good garden center that sells vegetable plants. That may require an out-of-town trip. Darn it. 
One red tomato and some ripening Auroras
July 24, 2008 at 7:43 am | In Tomatoes | Leave a CommentI only have two cherry tomatoes and two Early Girl tomatoes, but one cherry is starting to ripen.
I think the four tomatoes I have are likely to be the only ones I get. I’m going to replant my garden in late August to match up with the growing season here.
The Auroras are doing splendidly. A few have turned yellow, and I don’t think orange is too far away. I knew these peppers would be small (the package says 1 1/2 inches) but they really are small. The peppers on my one plant seem pretty crowded; I wonder if that has anything to do with their small size. There are currently eight peppers and I noticed one more flower popped out recently.
First Harvest
July 14, 2008 at 7:12 am | In Pole beans | 1 CommentWell, really, there was only one bean. But it was an oh-so-great bean. Delicious! Fresh! Tasty! My husband and I shared it. Yum! Yes, I did steam just one bean, but come on. I couldn’t leave it on the vine and I certainly wasn’t going to forgo eating it. That half bean made me want more and more and more. There are two or three more beans already, and more flowers pop up every day. Maybe next time I’ll have enough for a whole serving. 
It’s a purple-podded pole bean (say that five times fast) and it really did turn green when steamed. So cool.
Spending time in the garden
July 9, 2008 at 9:42 am | In Gardening, Peanut | Leave a CommentIt’s rather hot today, but Peanut and I hung out in the garden a bit this morning. As usual, Peanut sat in her spot and checked out the view and I stared and stared and stared at all three of my tomato plants in hopes of spotting another tomato. No such luck there, but my aurora peppers are ripening. These peppers supposedly ripen from lavender to deep purple to orange and finally to red. They’re mostly in the deep purple stage, but the largest ones are lightening up a bit, and I think that means they’ll turn orange next. Woohoo!
Beans and tomatoes make an appearance
July 7, 2008 at 7:52 am | In Gardening, Pole beans, Tomatoes | 1 CommentI have three tiny beans and three tomatoes! Two of the tomatoes are Early Girl, shown at the top and bottom of the second picture. The third picture shows my first red cherry. Thanks for spotting these, Mom!
Happy Fourth!
July 4, 2008 at 6:38 am | In Tomatoes | Leave a CommentMy mom and stepdad are visiting us for the weekend. We were giving them the grand tour of our apartment and we ventured out onto the balcony. I was lamenting about my tomatoes, and then my mom saw it. That’s right. A tiny green tomato!!! And then we saw another! Two! Two tiny green tomatoes! One Early Girl and one cherry. No Golden Boy yet, but I have faith.
Finally, some impressive (ok, halfway decent) pictures!
July 1, 2008 at 7:27 am | In Gardening, Pole beans | Leave a CommentI have growth! There are three purple peppers on my aurora plant, with several more on the way. The biggest one is a little hidden behind a leaf on the left side of the picture, but you get the idea!
And I was really surprised this morning when I saw this:
See it? The purple thing on the right? It’s a bean flower!!! I really thought my bean plants were looking puny, but I just might get a bean or two.
I don’t have pictures yet, but I planted some mint and chamomile over the weekend. I hope they flourish because I’m looking forward to making my own tea.
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