Mortgage Lifter Harvest Savored

For the last two months I have been savoring home grown tomatoes from my garden. Not that I am bragging but if you don't grow you own tomatoes, you don't know what you are missing. Rutgers, Cherokee Purple, Beefsteak, Tami G, Sweet 100 and Mortgage Lifter. Of all the varieties the Mortgage Lifter provided the most pounds of big tomatoes.

I was taken by surprise with the massive production of Mortgage Lifter. As a matter of fact, if back in late April, you told me that one tomato plant was going to produce over 22lbs/10kg of tomatoes in one growing season, I wouldn't have believed it. Nonetheless, that is exactly what happened in my raised bed square foot garden.

The tallest plant is Mortgage Lifter Tomato 28 June 2013

Mortgage Lifter Tomato 18 July 2013

Here is how this went down. 

1. One store bought Mortgage Lifter plant was transplanted into the bed on 20 April.
2. On July 6, a 13.7oz/388g Mortgage Lifter was the first tomato harvested from the garden.
3. As of August 31, 22.19 lbs/10.065kg of ripe Mortgage Lifter tomatoes have been plucked from a single vine.

Let me repeat that. I think it deserves repeating.

One Mortgage Lifter tomato vine produced 22.19lbs/10.065kg of ripe tomatoes from July 6 through August 31.

A plant that is still producing wonderfully tasting vine ripened tomatoes.

Mortgage Lifter harvested 6 July 2013 weighed in at 388g/13.58oz

Production was not the most important feature of this variety. For hugh production of a rotten tasting tomato would just be, well, a waste. Of course, the most important feature of any tomato is taste. The Mortgage Lifter has that wonderful old fashion taste you remember as a child. A taste you can only get if you grow your own tomatoes and allow them to ripen on the vine. Or get them from your generous gardening neighbor.

http://carrot.mcb.uconn.edu/~olgazh/photogal/summer08/

I will probably plant at least one Mortgage Lifter again next year. Maybe two. If I transplant any more, I will surely need to set up a roadside stand at the foot of my driveway to sell the surplus tomatoes. Then I could spread to my neighbors, the pleasure of eating home grown tomatoes. I might even sell enough tomatoes to pay for the seeds, soil mixture, fertilizer and lumber for the raised bed frame. I'll have to consider that in the coming months.

In just three weeks summer will die to autumn. I will leave you with a thought I believe you should take very seriously.

Savor your garden while ye may.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

1509 Egypt Road Demolished in Oaks, PA

Demolition continues for the widening of Egypt Road.

1509 Egypt Road, 21 August 2013

The building at 1509 Egypt Road in Oaks is gone. There are no buildings left standing on the south side of Egypt Road between Mill Road and Station Avenue. On 22 August the trees were removed.

Take notice of the building in the distance under the arm of the excavator. That building is on the southwest corner of Egypt Rd and Station Ave. If you look closely you will notice the cupola is not there. That marks the beginning of its demolition.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Chicago Grill Outside and In, Oaks PA

Work began at the Chicago Grill site in late 2012. This is the status as of 20 August 2013.

View of Chicago Grill from Oaks Shopping Center building site

Chicago Grill is far ahead of any building construction at the Oaks Shopping Center site. 

Chicago Grill from Black Rock Road

The walls are up and the roof is on. 

Stone veneer applied to cement block

Some exterior detail work is complete

                           Front   

                

      Interior     

The floor is poured but not much else is complete inside.

Chicago Grill 20 August 2013

The exterior should certainly look impressive when complete.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

1507 Egypt Road Demolition

What a difference a day makes.

1507 Egypt Road, Oaks, PA, 19 August 2013 

1507 Egypt Road, Oaks, PA, 20 August 2013 

At noon on 20 August 2013, the house that stood at 1507 Egypt Road was a pile of sticks.

1507 Egypt Road is the house on the right in this photograph from Google maps. Captured sometime before the beginning of 2013. It is no more. It has ceased to be. It is history.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Road Work Changes Face of Oaks Deli and Pizzeria

22 August 2013

25 August 2013

Entrance to Oaks Pizzeria, 21 August 2013

A wall went up at the entrance of Oaks Pizzeria. This structure will protect the pizzeria patrons from falling off the pavement as well as flying debris as the excavators remove a large portion of the patio to widen Egypt Road. 

Oaks Pizzeria, 26 August 2013

The road work continues through the night.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Oaks Deli and Pizzeria to Lose Patio

Oaks Deli and Pizzeria is another day closer to having its patio trimmed.

19 August 2013

20 August 2013

If those white lines in the photograph above are any indication, when the patio gets trimmed there won't be any al fresco dining at Oaks Deli and Pizzeria. It will be a challenge just to enter the store.

Oaks Deli and Pizzeria from the Oaks Shopping Center construction site, 20 August 2013.

I wonder why the pizzeria is still standing. It makes more sense traffic-wise and business-wise to demolish the building and have the pizzeria move to one of the shops in the rear of the new shopping center. The traffic will flow better. The pizzeria will have a brand new building with loads of accessible parking.

Who am I to make those decisions?

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Demolition to Widen Egypt Rd.

The view along Egypt road has already changed since the beginning of 2013. Widening of Egypt Road near the eastbound entrance to US 422 is a part of the change. The widening will continue on the same side of the road going towards Phoenixville.

Work has already started between between Cresson Blvd. and Oaks Deli and Pizzeria.

The house there is unoccupied and the driveway and front lawn was dug up for utility work.

From the alignment of the utility poles, the patio outside Oaks Deli and Pizzeria just might be reduced in size by the road widening. 

Two buildings west of Mill Rd. have been stripped of all their asbestos shingles.

 

The building with the cupola at the intersection of Egypt Rd. and Station Ave. that is extremely close to the road was prepared for demolition. 

As is the adjacent brick building to the west on Egypt Rd.

The semi-detached houses seem to be the last on Egypt Rd. scheduled for demolition.

The view facing Norristown along Egypt Rd. from Brower Ave. will certainly be different by the end of 2013.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

August 13 Harvest

A few vegetables harvested within this last week from my raised bed square foot garden.

One Nantes and several Kaleidoscope carrots

In this one bowl are 2.9 lbs/ 1343g of Tami G grape, Beefsteak and Rutgers tomatoes and one bell pepper.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved