Waited Nine Months for Homegrown Tomato

The first two full size tomatoes ripened 6 July. Both were the Mortgage Lifter variety. Transplanted commercially started plants on April 20, the earliest I have ever placed tomatoes outdoors.

Not quite a handful, this tomato weighed in at 209g/.46lb. 

The shoulders still had a touch of green in them. It was firm. Could have used a bit more ripening. I was impatient. No surprise there.

Sliced they appear dense with very few seeds. There won't be much dribbling down the chin with this tomato on top of a sandwich or burger.

I have waited almost 9 months for any kind of home grown tomato. I really appreciate them. Those pale or tasteless store bought cannot compare to any homegrown tomatoes. I will miss them when they are gone. The time to savor them is now.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Early August Harvest

Graphic:Weather Underground

Early August and the square foot garden has survived a hot July. There were 21 days with temperatures 90ºF/32ºC and above, with very little rainfall, 1.48"/3.75cm of actual month total precipitation compared to 4.35"/11cm normal month total, as reported by Weather Underground. With the help of irrigation and nighttime temperatures over 70ºF/21ºC the tomatoes and peppers are ripening. I am picking grape/cherry tomatoes daily.

From top center, Orange Bell Pepper, Chocolate Cherry Tomato, Green Bush Bean, Cayenne Pepper and Husky Cherry Tomato

This is a sample of the harvest on 2 August. Not much, I will admit, but great in a salad.

From top right clockwise, Red Bell Pepper, Super Sweet Tomato, Early Girl Tomato, Green Bush Bean, Husky Cherry Tomato and German Johnson Tomato

This sample was picked on 5 August. We have been waiting for a large tomato that will cover a sandwich with one slice, one is finally here.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Grape Tomatoes 23 July 2012

I haven't spent much time in the garden because of the heat. Fifteen of the twenty-three days in July have been over 90ºF/32ºC. I worked outdoors for 34 years and I really don't want to go into the hot sun anymore than need be.

weather underground

I watered when needed but I haven't done much more than that.


I have been harvesting. Lettuce is all gone, several varieties of tomatoes, one cayenne pepper and two potatoes.


All the tomatoes are delicious. The cayenne wasn't as hot I it might be, but it was green. It had fallen off the plant when I took up the soaking hose and put down a new piece. The old hose sprung several holes which gushed water and the plot was not evenly watered because of it. The lettuce was great and the potatoes super.


To get the potatoes I just reached into the tower where a potato stem was growing, dug around until I felt a spud and brought it out. The potatoes were small, one the size of a golf ball.

Super Sweet

There are three grape/cherry tomato varieties, Chocolate Cherry, Husky Cherry and Super Sweet. So far, of the three I like Super Sweet the best. The skin on the Husky is too thick as was the skin on the Chocolate Cherry. They were the first of the season and I will give you my overall favorite at the end of the season.

The Super Sweet vine has really taken off and I had to tie it to the remesh I attached to the square foot plot support for the cucumbers and watermelon. It has grown quite long.


I hope the heat goes down below 90ºF for the remainder of the season. I really can't take the heat.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Photo Safari - Ninth St Italian Market, Philadelphia

The Italian Market in South Philadelphia has to be one of the most colorful areas in the city.  Colorful enough to film a few Rocky segments. 

Rocky Movie Locations

An open air market of stalls selling fruit, vegetables, live poultry, seafood and clothing, combined with indoor shops of cheese, meats, spices and of course restaurants defines the Italian Market. Although some of the Italian flavor now has Latino and Asian overtones, it remains just as colorful. When you add in the odors and genuine characters that work there, the sum is what makes the Italian Market a wondrous place to visit and photograph.

To give you a small tour and taste of the market, there is a two hour photo safari planned along the Italian Market in South Philadelphia on Sunday, July 22, starting at 9am.

The photographers will gather near Geno's Steaks at the corner of Passyunk Ave and Ninth Street. The safari will step off heading north towards Christian Street stopping along the way to capture photographic images. Guidance for creating better compositions, exposure and camera use will be customized to each attending photographer. At the other end of the market the group will have the opportunity to stop for a sandwich and a drink with Q and A continuing for an hour.

The images in this post (except for Rocky) were captured at the market last Monday. Monday is the only day of the week when most of the shops are closed. None the less, there were several opportunities for photographs.


Come on down and join us in South Philly for what will be a memorable photo safari. Contact:dativersafari@gmail.com

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Directional Lighting Defines Texture at the Flea Market

Sunrise was 05:37 this day in July. All of these photographs were exposed within an hour and fifteen period when the sun was still rather low in the morning sky. 


Notice how hard* directional lighting creates dramatic contrast and defines texture in the images below.

07:37

07:45

06:47

07:57

 

*The definition of hard light: Light from a relatively small source that creates sharp/hard shadows.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

A Heavy Wet Hot Blanket is Difficult to Breath Under

Weather Underground

Summer arrived on 20 June. Counting 20 June the temperature has risen above 90ªF/32ºC on six of the eleven days to the end of the month.

It is hot.

Then there is the humidity.

I worked outdoors changing billboards for most of 34 years. Back in the 70's and early 80's, when we were still drinking at lunch, I remember the crew leaving an air conditioned bar after 4 or 5 cold mugs of beer. As soon as we walked through the doorway into the sun, it felt as though a heavy wet hot blanket was dropped on us. It was hot, sticky, hard to breath and it felt like a we were each carrying a ton of bricks on our shoulders.

Some of those times the crew just turned around and went back into the bar until it was time to drive the trucks back to the shop to clock out.

I don't miss working outside, at all!

www.wunderground.com

July is just around the corner.

There are 31 days in July.

Historically, of those 31 days the record high for the day has risen above 100ºF/38ºC on 17 of those 31 days.

I can't wait.

The heat is drying everything outdoors.

The grass is turning brown.

The garden needs to be watered frequently.

I guess it is a good thing the garden can't drive to the bar for lunch. It might never come back. 

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved