Cool Nights

Fall is in the air....I woke up this morning and actually thought about turning the heat on in the house. It was nice to sit in church last night, I haven't been there for 2 weeks. Couldn't sing, but it was nice to be there. Creston and I both wanted potato soup for dinner, so I made a different kind than normal. It was potato bacon soup which was yummy!!! I smashed the potatoes after they had boiled a while and it made the soup thick and creamy. Served it with sour dough bread and life was good. As you can see, Jord is picking the cantelope. He is excited....didn't think the season would be long enough to grow them. Anyway, I have cantelope to give away if anyone wants any. I've talked with Kat or Petra everyday since they've been gone. Petra calls if she needs a weather update......Kat calls to tell me she is on track with her spending money (I think the reason she is eating hotdogs is so she can spend more money on trinkets). I enjoy Jan's blogging about our kids and their adventures....really enjoy the pictures, just wish I was there lying on the beach!

More Cantaloupe

The cantaloupe are ripening fast. I picked another dozen plus this evening. Creston and I did a little taste taste with three, Green Nutmeg, Hales Best Jumbo, Delicious 51. Creston preferred the flavor of Delicious 51, as did I, but Hales Best Jumbo has excellent firm texture.

Hopefully the Green Nutmeg is a poorly developed Hales Best Jumbo and not actually a Green Nutmeg. It wasn't very tasty, fairly flat, low sugar, firm texture, with a hint of earthy flavor. Hales Best Jumbo was very tasty, and has that firm commercial texture, and an acidy or sharp lingering flavor common in supermarket melons. It is that sharp flavor that makes my mouth itch and my belly ache if I eat it on an empty stomach.  The Delicious 51 is a softer, sweeter, less biting flavor.

I cut up a Tupperware container full take for my lunches this week. It will be interesting to see how they hold up and taste when cold.

Onion Crop

I grew three kinds of onions, Ailsa Craig, Red Zeppelin, and Candy. They all did great. They are much firmer/harder bulbs than the onions I grew in Oklahoma. We've been pulling them since June. We've put up four batches of salsa, and sent several bags to the church. They have dried up, and rain is predicted so I went ahead and pulled them. I'm going to let them finish drying, and then I'm going to try out the root cellar.

And I thought my onions were large. Here is the new World Record onion. Fifteen plus pounds. I would have to only grow four or five onions to get us through the year. I think I found seed. Kerri thinks its ridiculous, but how can I not try and grow a giant onion.

Wind Storm

We were having breakfast this morning watching our Sunday morning Animal Planet when a huge wind began pummeling the place. It blew down my tomatoes down, again, for the third time this season. Definitely going to change my tomato growing methods. The wind was strong enough to blow down a 20' elm tree in the neighbors yard. It was a multi-trunk tree, and it snapped it off at the ground. It blew branches out of my remaining trees. Marty and Kim have poplar and willow limbs everywhere. The wind continued all day, and desiccated my pots and hanging baskets.

Tomato Taste Trials

Kat and I evaluated our tomatoes yesterday. It was definitely not scientific. We picked the best two or more tomatoes on multiple plants. If we tasted a poor quality tomato we give it a second chance by tasting an additional tomato of the same kind. We are at the end of the season, and the tomatoes flavors have noticeably changed over the season.

Our Favorites -Three Stars ***

Better Boy was definitely the Garden Star this season. It produced an amazing amount of fruit, uniform size, an excellent flavor. I don't know where I picked up Sungold, but it produced early sweet cherries. A salad favorite. Large Cherry has the classic sweet cherry tomato flavor not found in any other tomato I grew. Red September was a gift packet Sandhill Preservation sent me to try. Red September was a pleasant surprise, beautiful, medium size fruit, that have outstanding acidy flavor. Golden Rave was another surprise find. A small plum tomato, firm, and very tasty for a yellow tomato. I like the meaty textures of plum/Roma types. This was the star of Kerri's Summer Garden Salads. Colorful, tasty, immensely productive, Golden Rave is a must grow again. One tomato that is not here, and that I could not find was Pineapple. I hope to find the seed for it next year.

Acidy, Juicy, Good Texture, Productive, Tasty

Excellent Flavor, Sweet/Tart

Sweet, Excellent Flavor

Beautiful, Excellent Flavor/Tasty, Acidy

Sweet, Juicy, Tasty

Good Tomatoes Worth Growing -Two Stars ** 

I do like variety, and most of these tomatoes have a quality that is worth adding to the garden. Hughes is one of the best tasting yellow tomatoes with a classic garden fresh tomato flavor. Taxi is productive, but a little bit mild in flavor. The bright yellow color, and firm texture are extremely lovely in salads. Celebrity and Super Sioux are excellent, but do not rank with Better Boy in size and productivity. Box Car Willie is a beautiful heirloom. Its texture and flavor do not quite match its beauty, but it is worth giving another shot. The Striped Roma  is colorful and can be variable in flavor. It is best when firm and not overripe.

Old Fashion Rich Flavor, Silky, Sweet, Tasty

Beautiful, Firm, Mild Flavor

Delicious, Classic Flavor, Beautiful

Soft, Good Taste, Beautiful

Classic Mata Flavor, Tasty

Sweet, Good Flavor, Beautiful, Tough Skin

 OK Tomatoes with some good qualities - One Star *

These tomatoes I found to be acceptable, not necessarily disappointing, but without at least one great quality to require me to want to keep them in the garden. They are all good, but not great.

Acidy, Sour, Good Flavor

Sweet, Silky, Pretty

Mellow, Good Tomato Flavor

Beautiful, Tart, Acidy, Mellow/Flat Flavor

Sweet/Tart, Acidy, Juicy

Good Flavor, Acidy, Large, Soft Texture

 Poor Performers

Disappointingly Poor

Flat Flavor, Acidy, Sour

Mushy Texture, Poor Taste, Spit-Out Yukky

Flat, Poor Flavor, Bad-Blah

Box of Cantaloupe

Picked a box of cantaloupe yesterday. I think most of these are Delicious 51, the other varieties have not ripened yet. I did get one Crane, which I had for breakfast. It was very good. The Delicious 51's have been very sweet. The flesh is softer than commercial varieties, but the sugar content, degrees brix, is very high.

Life will be sweeter one day....

I laughing at myself this morning. I just blogged on Audrey's blog saying I wish I could've watched the girls play....then I noticed the date of her blog and I was at that game sitting with her! Thought her date read Thursday not Tuesday. Oh well....yes, I need to get my eyes checked. Been sick since Tuesday. Came home after the game and bang...hour later started running a fever, sore throat, head ache. Not fun. I worried I was contagious, I set with Brandi/Nevelyn/Audrey at the game, I hope no one gets sick. This stuff is rough. I have tried to sleep in my bed for the last 3 nights and only manage about 1 hour, then onto the chair, couch,floor, shower....whatever it takes. I am feeling better this morning....not good enough to do anything,but no fever and that is great! My house is falling in around me. The kids seem to be gone every night, nothing gets done until Saturday. Gideon went with Jord last night to get straw. He came in to use the restroom and I told him not to look at the house...embarrassing. I do hope that Kat doesn't get sick.....that would not be a fun trip for her. Kim called this morning and Lance has it now. Nancy said Colton had been sick with similar stuff, so I guess its going around. I really wanted to go to Prosser for the day tomorrow. They are having the hot air balloon festival and I thought it would be a great day with my family. But, no go for me. Have a great weekend!

Ripe Cantaloup

The Weather has been beautiful. I have dozens of cantaloup on the vine. I picked one little baseball size melon last week, and it was good. This evening 1/2 a dozen obviously were ready, they had turned color, and fell off the vine. Actually they were just a hair over ripe. Sweet & Juicy!

 

Delicious 51

The tomatoes are coming off in loads, the peppers are producing nicely. I've had enough onions, peppers, and tomatoes to do our salsa, Kim and Nancy's salsa too. I think Kerri has one more batch of salsa, and I would like to do 21 qts of tomatoes.

I'm really enjoying my job. I still haven't got my sleep schedule adjusted. I"m use to going to bed at 10:30-11:00pm, but now I've got to hit the sack by 9:00pm. I get up at 4:45, make my pot of coffee, and get to work at 6:00pm. My first stop of the morning is Memorial Park next to City Hall. It has been amazing watching the sun come up each morning. It is so quiet, and I have the world to myself.

Maybe Crazy????

We debated about whether or not to tackle the Harvest Party this year. Creston and Kat want to have it so we are going to give it another whirl. We decided on a Hawaiian theme.....how to I incorporate Harvest with Hawaiian? Should be interesting at least. I think Kat has Hawaiian on the mind....imagine that! Got a busy weekend ahead. I have to dry a box of pears...I was supposed to can them, but haven't been able to get to them in time. I still have one more batch of salsa to make.....Jord says I need to make two more, but I am about done. Creston needed a pair of hiking boots for hunting season, so I went online to Cabela's and went to the bargain cave and found a pair of $65.00 dollar boots for $19.99!!!! Wow...was so excited. Even with paying for shipping they were still under 30.00 dollars. Gideon sent a picture of his buck that he got yesterday, pretty exciting.

Cutie Pie!!!

Fall Garden Notes

Somewhere in July I stop weeding, and let the garden go wild. It is a disgraceful mess, to say the least. However, there are plenty of vibrant moments throughout the garden. The onions have all laid over and are protected from direct sun with a layer of weeds. They are monsters, and have been wonderful in Kerri's salsa. The peppers are relatively easy to get to. Kerri sends me out to get peppers, so I get to choose the mix. This year it is about 1/2 jalapeno and 1/2 Cayenne, Serano, and Catarina, and a couple of Bells.

My flower gardens are mostly annuals, and were designed as a temporary garden until I get my final irrigation system in. I have loved it. The Nicotiana is extremely fragrant in the evenings, and the Amaranthus glows in the evening light. I am making slow progress, but progress on my irrigation system. Although I don't expect to make green lawn this fall, I can see lawn getting planted first thing in the spring. 

Fall is a time of reflection. How can I improve my garden for next year? I've already been reading spring catalogs. Thompson and Morgan had a summer 99cent sale on flower seed. Their normal rate is $3-5 a packet, so I couldn't pass it up. I picked up about 25 packs of flower seed for next spring.

The potatoes have been a hit. We've been digging and eating fresh potatoes since the first baby reds came off. I've not even dug 1/4 of them. The carrots have continually gotten sweeter. I love the Rainbow mix as they have matured. Kerri loved the Purple Dragons in her slaw. The Autumn King carrots are beautiful and sweet. The jury is still out on the Belgium White carrots. Red Acre Cabbage, Dutch Flat, and Jersey Wakefield are a must. I would like to add a Savoy Cabbage next year. Probably don't need Kale, Chard, or Brussels Sprouts next year. I'm going to do a little taste test with the tomatoes. The only noticeable points of interest is Better Boy is an amazing producer, Pink Belgium has an old fashioned, classic, acidic flavor, Striped Roman has beautiful color and is flavorful in Kerri's Summer Salad,  Taxi is beautiful, firm, and tasty. For the most part my cherry tomatoes and pear tomatoes were a disappointment. I've got to look up the name of a little orange cherry I bought late from Manson Bay Market. It is the sweetest little thing. 

Other notes:

I grew some tomatoes on stakes, and not in baskets - don't work very well

Tomato baskets must be staked and wired down with T-post or they will fall over

Grow cantaloup on cattle panels

Try Tomatoes between two cattle panels

I'd rather grow melons and squash than raspberries and blackberries.

Grow more of what we will use - less waste - although the geese have had a good year

Grow 1/2 as much cabbage

Grow 1/2 as many beets

Don't bother growing picklers, I can't get a good "do" on pickles anyway

Why grow any other cuke than Orient Express II?

Re-think Okra - Plastic Tunnel?

Grow lettuce to eat not just to look at

We've been eating sweet corn from my last stand of corn. It has been really tender and sweet. It don't get much better than buttered sweet corn, fresh sliced tomatoes, sliced cukes, and a little grilled meat. We have enjoyed the garden so much this year.