Taste of Garden Harvest

The best producers measured by weight have been reported. Now it's time to talk about taste.

Since the majority of plants in the square foot garden were tomatoes, that is where I will start. Here is my list, starting with the best taste.

1. Black Krim
2. Mr. Stripey
3. German Johnson
4. Super Sweet 100
5. Husky Cherry
6. Big Boy
7. Early Girl
8. Chocolate Cherry

The first three tomatoes are heirloom varieties. The taste of all the heirloom tomatoes far exceeded the taste of the hybrids, except for the Super Sweet. The Super Sweet were just delightful, small, sweet with just enough acid to say tomato. The taste of the Husky Cherry was good but the thick skin detracted a great deal from the eating experience. The Big Boy and Early Girl were just pedestrian compared to the heirlooms. Compared to tomatoes available in supermarkets these two were much better as was their texture. Probably because they were vine ripened. I had great expectations for the Chocolate Cherry. Thinking that they would taste somewhat like the Black Krim because of their similar color, they fell short of my target.

The cucumbers had good taste and very few seeds. There was quite a bit of flesh compared to seeds. The cucumbers were firm and great raw in salads.

The bell peppers were crisp with good taste but there just weren't many of them. The cayenne peppers were productive for one plant but they were not spicy. At least not as spicy as I thought they would be.

The green beans had a strong taste. Especially when eaten raw in a tossed salad. They were good when boiled or steamed.

The potatoes, as small as they were, tasted quit good and very fresh. I will adjust the method of growing them next year with hope that they will grow larger.

In the early growing season the snow peas were very sweet and much fresher and smaller than if bought in the supermarket.

Even though the lettuce had a slow start the taste was delightful.

After evaluating the fruits and vegetables from the garden in 2012, I have decided which will return in 2013. And the winners are, in order of priority -

1. Super Sweet 100
2. Black Krim
3. Mr. Stripey
4. German Johnson
5. Snow Peas
6. Loose Leaf Lettuce
7. Burpee Burpless Beauty Cucumber
8. Russett Potato
9. Yukon Gold Potato
10. Red Norland Potato

Planning of the square foot garden for 2013 has begun.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Summer's Garden Gone - Recipes Needed

The last day of summer and the plants in the square foot garden had just about given all they could. Many of the leaves were yellow or brown and the fruits were very slow to ripen. The daytime temperatures were fluctuating between 68ºF/20ºC and 85ºF/30ºC, the night time temperatures dipped as low as 51ºF/10ºC. Not much more ripening was going to happen this year.

It was actually a couple of days past the last day of summer when I cut down all of the plants in the square foot garden. There were already signs of cold temperature damage.

There were some ripe fruits.

and even more immature fruits.

Once the produce was weighed and put into a bowl, it looked like this.

Above you see Mr. Stripey, German Johnson, Big Beef, Early Girl, Husky Cherry, Chocolate Cherry, Super Sweet 100 and some green volunteer grape tomatoes. There are also Cayenne, Red Bell and Orange Bell peppers along with cucumbers and two green beans.

I have been weighing all the square foot garden produce since first I planted a seed. I will post the graphic once I have it ready. For now I present some figures from just this one harvest.

Total weight of ripe fruit was 2187g / 4.8lbs. The immature fruit weighed 2889g / 6.4lbs. for a grand total weight of 5076g / 11.2lbs. 

The ripe fruits will go into salads, grilled cheese with tomato sprinkled with oregano sandwiches, omelettes and fritattas. I am not sure what to do with the immature fruits. I guess, what I need are recipes for fried green tomatoes, green tomato relish and the like. Maybe a mixed pickle would be good? If you have favorite recipes for green tomatoes and or cucumbers, please leave a comment so I can get to work.


©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

First Day of Summer's Eve 2012

Below are some images captured the evening before the first day of summer.

The above daylily - Hemerocallis - is of unknown variety. It was purchased from a local hybridizer.

Red Hot Poker, Torch Lily, Tritoma - Kniphofia uvaria
This plant was started from seed some 15 years ago and never moved or divided.

Butterfly bush - Buddleia weyeriana "Honeycomb".
Purchased as a plant via mail order again some 15 years ago and never moved.

Honeysuckle - Lonicer sempervirens "Alabama Crimson".
Purchased as a plant via mail order again some 15 years ago and divided at least once from a self-rooted low hanging branch. Purchased to attract hummingbirds using natural red trumpet shaped flowers, it has worked well doing just that over the last four years.


The 2012 growing season continues in USDA zone 6b.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved