Wednesday, July 20, 2011

What the Buzz is All About

Whereas last year I didn't have any luck with fruit, this year I tried again and I have one lowley cantaloupe on the vine...however...
There's also a cut in the stem - bad picture I know. It's not deep, but deep enough that I don't know if the plant is going to make it. We'll see. Regardless, next year I need to get the fruit in a place that gets a lot of sun. Thinking about the side yard for next year.

The asparagus beans have turned into a jumble of a mess! They've flopped over the back of the trellis and are just going nuts! I've pulled a handfull of beans, but nothing major. Good thing it only takes two or three to make a dish out of, although I've learned they don't store very well on the counter or fridge. Not even for just a few hours. They get limp and floppy. I need to harvest them right before I need them for the best results.

Here's the tomato harvest today as shown in my handy-dandy, fancy pants tomato basket.

I've got another batch of tomatoes going in the dehydrator now. Sure beats them going rotten on the counter. I don't have enough at any one time for sauce, but I'm not eager to make another batch of salsa. Dehydrating for snacking seems to be the way to go with these since the neighbors are already saying no to taking more tomatoes.


I've lost the little honey bees, haven't seen one of those in ages, but these bumble bees are working all day long. They're power houses!


Other than that, we had about 4 days of very mild weather. Very mild - almost disturbingly so. We got a lot done in the garden and the peppers just bloomed out of control. Hopefully they'll produce something - besides a few tiny jalapenos, I haven't gotten any peppers worth mentioning this year.


The new bee ribbon just came in for the keychains! It's a thinner ribbon for the thinner webbing. I like it a lot. Still can't wait for the chicken ribbon. That's when I'll be doing my happy dance.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

9 comments:

  1. I always throw my extra tomatoes in the freezer and when I have enough for sauce they get tossed in too.

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  2. Love your fancy basket. I use one like that a LOT too! :-D

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  3. LOL, my t-shirts are all stretched out in the front because of the tomato basket! I do what Daphne does sometimes, freeze em' whole and deal with them later! As long as you are canning them the change in texture won't matter.

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  4. Hey, I have a handy dandy tomato basket just like yours! Too bad mine is empty. :-(

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  5. Daphne has an excellent idea. Or, you could just give them to SUE!
    :D

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  6. Love the tomato basket! I have used the very same one for harvesting my pears (the tomatoes haven't done well enough to harvest that way.)

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  7. I'm thinking if the cut on the vine is near the bottom on the main stem you could just cover it up with dirt and see if it pulls through. My Cocozola zuchinni had a bad break and that's what I did to it, it healed and now it's the best producer out there.

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  8. I'm right there with ya on the melons. I hope yours survives. I might try to put some garden tape around it or bury it if it is in a location to do so! I have a giant pumpkin that when it got so heavy and fell down to vine out it broke at the base, but it is still growing strong! Haven't done a thing.
    Nice tomato basket you have there!

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  9. My dad always told me that duct tape fixes everything... maybe thatn even applies to broken cantaloupe plants!

    Your tomatoes look lovely. Dehydrating them seems like a pretty good way to preserve them. I love to throw them on top of pizzas before it goes in the oven.

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