Didn't Water

So, I got busy with summer, planning our homeschool year and taking the kids to camps and the pool, and I just  didn't water my garden.  Now my tomatoes are dead.  I feel like an idiot. 

I still have hope for my peppers and tomatillos, and I've harvested tons of basil that has made delicious pesto and herb rubs.  My other herbs aren't doing so well since my sweet husband accidentally mowed my herb garden down.  I think I'm going plant an herb garden in one of my beds.  I've decided that I really have too many beds(!) for my level of interest right now.  And to think that at one point I wanted to double my beds! 

The problem is that my motivation for things changes, and I can only concentrate on so many hobbies at a time.  Right now, I've been focusing on weight loss, learning Spanish, and getting ready for the upcoming homeschool year.  I vow to do better next year. 


I have five 2-cup containers of pesto stored away for the winter, which is pretty good.  If I get about 12, then I'll have enough to use 2 containers every month for six months.  I've also decided to repurpose small glass jars for my pesto and herb rubs, rather than freezing them in plastic containers. 

I have nothing against plastic containers; it's just that the glass ones are free, and the plastic ones wear out eventually.  I'd rather use them for putting snacks for my kids when we go out, than freezing food in them.  Also, it's more difficult to clean the oily sauces from the plastic. 

I'm going to start my fall crops!  Lettuce and spinach.  I'll also be starting some tomato seeds for container varieties, as I'm going to experiment with growing them in the cold months.  They'll be in pots, so they can be outside when the weather is nice and indoors in front of a sunny window when it's not. 

Worm Bin: Six Weeks

It's been about six weeks since the purchase of my Worm Factory.  There's not really too much to say about it.  I shred up cardboard, crush up eggs, put in vegetable/fruit scraps and coffee grounds, and the worms eat them.  The cardboard is so absorbent that I haven't had any drainage at all into the reservoir.  I prefer using cardboard to shredded paper because of that.  The paper gets so soggy.  I just stick my shredded paper in my backyard bin. 

I do wish that I had bought more worms initially so that they could have eaten all of our suitable fruit and vegetable scraps right away.  I was cheap and only bought 500.  But that's okay--they will be fruitful and multiply. 

I do love opening my bin and checking on my worms, even though I know it's bad to disturb them. 

Freezing Tomatoes

Well, after my first batch of tomatoes turned into a disaster (I blanched them for 5 minutes instead of 30 seconds--got them confused with green beans!), I have successfully frozen several baggies full. 

With the bigger tomatoes (beafsteak and roma), I blanch them for 30 seconds, plunge them in ice water for 30 seconds, peel them, dice them, scooping out seeds but not worrying too much about it, and then stick them in the freezer.  With the cherry tomatoes, I don't bother peeling.  They taste just fine in stews with the skin on. 

I love freezing the tomatoes because we use them in several recipes during the winter in place of canned tomatoes.  The homegrown tomatoes have such a nice, strong flavor--the difference is obvious.  I use them for beef stew and chilli.  My husband uses them for his delicious jambalaya.  They are perfect for any recipe that calls for canned tomatoes. 

The tomatoes were ripening en masse, but now things have slowed down a lot, since it's gotten so hot.  I hope/expect to have another big crop in the fall. 

Tomato Screw-up

So, I screwed up freezing my tomatoes.  I blanched them for 5 minutes instead of 30 seconds before bagging them and putting them in the freezer.  I am rather annoyed about it.  I think what I will do is try and remember that batch is too well cooked and just add them at the end of a stew rather than the beginning.  Sigh. 

Worm Farm: 3 Weeks

I continue to like my Worm Factory.  After 3 weeks, I have had no problems with it.  Like everything else I do, I have been totally unscientific about it.  On most days, I add a small amount of vegetable scraps or coffee grounds, but I don't measure it out.  Every few days, I've been added damp shredded cardboard from cereal or K-cup boxes (tearing it up is therapeutic).  When I use eggs, I grind them up in a paper towel, wet them, and stick them in to keep the soil loose.  I've been surprised at how fast things are decomposing.  I don't cut my scraps up into tiny pieces or freeze them either because I don't want to.  I've had no pests and have decided that worms make the most interesting and low maintenance pets. 

What to Do When You Break Your Tomato Plant

Yes, I broke a branch off of one of my tomato plants today.  I was very sad.  It was one of my tasty 4th of July tomatoes, and it had a number of delicious looking green tomatoes on them.  As the saying goes, when life hands you a broken tomato branch with green tomatoes on it, cook them. 

My husband broiled them, and we had them as a side dish to our hotdogs.  I made up a delicious basil-mayo sauce to go with them.  I use this recipe for the tomatoes and the sauce. 

There are few things more tasty than grilled/broiled green tomatoes.  I love them.  I love fried green tomatoes too, but grilled tomatoes are a whole easier to cook, and they are definitely lower in carbs/calories than the friend version. 


For lunch today, I made whole wheat pasta with my favorite pesto sauce from a book called Pasta Pizza Presto.  It really is the best pesto I have tasted, and it is especially good when it is made from fresh basil from the garden.  It has been a huge hit anytime I made the recipe for a potluck.  My children love it.  I mixed the pasta with some pre-cooked frozen grilled chicken from target for protein.  My husband and I each cut up a small 4th of July tomato to mix with our pasta, and our younger son ate some Sun Golds. 

For dinner last night, I harvested green beans and carrots.  I just cooked them in butter and salt and pepper.  Can't get much better than that.  This year, I grew some baby-type carrots.  Wow--I can't believe how much better they tasted than store-bought.  I definitely plan to grow more carrots in the cool seasons from now on.  They are worth the extra watering. 

I love planning meals around my garden's harvest.  I tend to find cooking boring in general, but the fresh vegetables from the backyard inspire me, and I find it more enjoyable than I usually do.  I enjoy the vegetables even more if my husband is the one doing the cooking. 

Plant Review: Tomato Short and Sweet

I bought two Tomato Short and Sweet plants from my local garden center back in the early spring/late winter in order to jumpstart the tomato season.  I put them in an Earthbox, and they grew pretty well at first.  I kept them inside on cold nights and wheeled them back outside for warm days and nights.  I got my first tomatoes in early May.  They were not great.  They were grocery-store quality in flavor.  Also, they tasted bad once they got really ripe.  It was nice not to have to buy little containers of tomatoes from the grocery store, but the flavor really was a disappointment.  The plants died earlier than I would expect for a determinate variety.  I suspect a mineral deficiency and wish I had added dolomite when I planted.   I did add fertilizer.  I'm not sure the dolomite would have improved the flavor of the tomatoes.  I doubt it. 

Anyway, I liked the concept of growing tomatoes in a container early and will do that again, but next year I'll try a different variety.  I'm really happy that my other varieties of tomatoes are ripening--they are delicious and tangy and taste like what I'd expect out of a homegrown tomato!