Oh, Those Tomatoes!

 When will I ever learn?  Every year when I start to sow seeds for the garden (early spring), I have dozens of folks claim, "Oh, I would love a few plants for my garden!"  So....I sow.  I plant far too many seeds and, when the time comes, I cannot pawn the plants off on anyone!   Well, two of my sisters-in-law, took a few plants but, other than that, the others made excuses.  I heard..."I cannot dig my garden plot." to "Gardening seemed like fun but now it is too hot."  Yeah, well, what am I to do with a bajillion tomato plants?  I plant...and plant...and plant.  The garden plot has nothing but tomatoes this year.  Then, there are those that are dotted in the flower beds and any other available spot.  Thankfully, Mark made a ton of garden boxes this spring so the cucumbers, squash, peppers and green beans all have their own space...but, oh, those tomatoes.

  The plants grew to unheard of heights and started plopping over onto each other.  Each was crated but they soon outgrew the crates and decided to hug each other.  I hated to try staking simply because each plant was loaded with tiny fruit...seriously...loaded!  For the past week or so, those tomatoes have started ripening.  Usually, they are allowed to fully ripen on the plant as that gives them the sweetest flavor.  Even the cardinals that also occupy the Small Gardens decided that the fruit were delectable.  Before I knew it, five large tomatoes were half pecked to pieces by the male cardinal as he toted tidbits back to his ladylove on the nest.  While this is awfully heartwarming, the critter was ruining my plans of harvesting ALL of the tomatoes.  (I am also positive that he ate his share, as well.)  There was nothing to do but pick the ripest tomatoes. 

  While I understand the cardinal's plight of finding food, I have difficulty seeing the positive side of people's desire for my ripened tomatoes.  Sorry, folks.  If you cannot make the least bit of an effort to care for a plant after it is offered to you, do not assume that you can raid my garden.  Yep, I am that way.  I will give and give to those in need, the elderly and any who lift a helping hand but not those that come across as lazy and greedy.  It appears that the "Little Red Hen Syndrome" is spreading.  (If you are not familiar with the term..look it up.  It is a real thing...just based on a children's book from back in the day.  It says volumes even though it is a short, lighthearted tale.)  Folks, my advice is this...if you wish to reap the rewards, lend a helping hand.  I will give "til the cows come home" but not to those who will not help themselves.  But...in the meantime, oh, those tomatoes!  Those beautiful, ripe tomatoes that will soon be tasty sauce for the pantry shelf!

The Garden Baboon

   It is funny how things work.  The other evening, I was telling Mark that the tomatoes were doing well and I was going to save several large ones for him.  He works away from home and misses so many things from the garden so I thought it would be a nice surprise.  His response was "Thanks!  That will be great as long as some baboon does not come along and eat a bite out of each one."  We both laughed at the idea of a baboon making its way from the other side of the world just to grab a bite of my garden tomatoes.  Still...that did bother me a bit thinking that the squirrels or coons might be likely to raid the garden some evening.

  The next morning, I was surprised...yet a bit heartbroken...to find that something did, indeed, take a bite out of one of the nice sized tomatoes.  That "garden baboon" struck during the night!  Not really a "literal" baboon...more like a grasshopper.  One of the huge Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers had spent the night on a tomato and munched a good bit of it.  Ugh!  I HATE THESE GRASSHOPPERS!  The lubber grasshoppers have been outrageously bad this year.  The huge monsters are everywhere and are eating my gardens to bare stalks.  Obviously, they are not happy just eating leaves and have taken a liking to the fruits. 

  Not much can be done about these critters, though.  Nary a predator will tackle them as they are a bit toxic and sprays (if I did use them in the garden) are just about useless.  The only option is to smash them one by one and when there are thousands about, that is a nigh on impossible task.  Hopefully, they will leave a couple of tomatoes for Mark.  I shall have to be doubly watchful.

Tomato Sauce? Pizza Sauce?

   I am one of those types of cooks who will just throw stuff in the pot and hope for the best.  Rarely is a recipe used and, if it is, most of the time, it will be altered to fit the ingredients that I have on hand.  A smidge of this and a tad of that is how I measure things.  Thankfully, the food is somewhat edible.

  This is also how the home canning is done.  The procedure is followed to a T but the ingredients are whatever lands in the pot.  With the tomato season upon us, it was necessary to start making sauce and canning it for future meals.  That precise measuring came into play!  (Yeah, right!)  Of course, you usually cannot go wrong with tomato sauce, although, Son tells me sometimes I create pasta sauce or something else.  This time, he claimed my tomato sauce tasted exactly like pizza sauce.  Well, pizza is good, right?  I am just happy to be getting tomatoes!

Fried Green Tomatoes, Anyone?

  The gardens were doing so well.  You noticed "were"?  Yeah, well, they were doing so well.  The tomato plants had outgrown their crates and were so heavily laden with green tomatoes that it seemed that we were to have a bumper crop.  The squash plants were three feet tall and had dozens of blooms and tiny squash on them.  We were already enjoying daily meals.  The bell peppers were full of blossoms and tiny green peppers.  The key word in all of the statements is "were"...past tense.  Today, Son and I pulled all of the squash plants, cut back our beautiful four o'clock flowers, picked all of the green tomatoes, snipped every leaf off of the bell peppers and literally mowed the sweet potato vines to the ground.  None of these things were to my liking but were necessary.

  Tiny caterpillars first attacked the four o'clock plants and then quickly spread to the tomatoes and bell peppers. Finally, they made their way to the sweet potatoes.  Every leaf on these plants were riddled with holes.  This happened within a span of three days and during those three, I sprayed with numerous "organic" pesticides.  I refuse to put toxic chemicals on my vegetable gardens so found several things that touted to do the job safely.  None worked.  Sadly, the plants had to go.  Since the sprays contained nothing but herbs that are non toxic to fish, the plants (with caterpillars intact) were tossed to the frogs.  They loved them!  Hopefully, that will get rid of a lot of future moths.  The squash plants met a similar fate due to the squash bugs gnawing the stalks.  Nothing works on them other than to eradicate each larva...one by one by slitting the stalk and removing the critter.  Nope. Gone.

  The tomatoes were not only being attacked by caterpillars, the squirrels have taken a liking to them.  Every day, the thieving critters would steal ten or fifteen green tomatoes.  I could have lived with that but when they started knocking off dozens and dozens to get one tomato for one bite, something had to give.  All remaining tomatoes were picked and are in trays in the entryway.  Now, every table, shelf and even the floor is covered with green tomatoes!  Hopefully, the squirrels will not figure out how to open the door!

  Now the gardens look barren.  It saddens me but, at the same time, I am thankful for what we did harvest.  I told Son that I am going to plant flowers for the remainder of the summer then try again with a winter garden.  I am not adverse to spraying insecticides on non-edible flowers and during the winter, there are no caterpillars!  Oh, well.  Things are what they are and we cannot change that.  On the bright side, fried green tomatoes are always tasty!

A Sad Situation For All

  With our potential new neighbors clear-cutting the property to our west, we are being inundated with critters.  The poor things have no place to go other than here.  They are confused, agitated and hungry so...they raid the gardens.  I fully understand that this is merely an act to survive and has nothing to do with meanness but I really was in hopes of eating a few peaches or plums from the trees.  The critters do so much damage that it is heartbreaking.

  A week ago, the coons raided the peach trees and took a nip out of about half of the unripe peaches.  They broke limbs and knocked hundreds of peaches to the ground.  If they had taken one or two peaches each, I would not have complained.  I figure there was plenty to share but to ruin almost a hundred pieces of fruit and not eat it was so disheartening.  I was so upset that I headed out with a basket and picked every remaining peach from the trees.  Yep.  These were unripe but I figured that I could let them ripen indoors a few days then make jam and jelly.  During the day, I put the covered trays outside so the sun can hasten the process.  The first batch of jam turned out well so I have high hopes.  Five boxes of peaches have yet to ripen but appear to be on the verge of doing so!  After that episode, the rascals raided the tomato patch and ruined dozens of tomatoes.  Again, I was saddened and have been watching the plot like a hawk since then!  Two nights ago, the raccoons found the plum trees.  Thousands of unripe plums were dangling from the tree limbs and I was so in hopes that I could restock the pantry shelves with plum jam.  After the night of rambunctiousness by the coons, two hundred plums were on the ground again with one bite taken.  I was sickened at the sight.  Needless to say, all of the remaining plums that were starting to ripen were picked and the same process as with the peaches was started.  Hopefully, I will be successful in ripening these, too.  

  I am not sure what can be done with so many "homeless" or misplaced critters.  Somehow, we will have to learn to live harmoniously but I am not seeing it.  It makes me sad since this situation was by no fault of the critters. They are trying to survive the best way they know how.  It is sad.

Not My Tomatoes!

  Ok, so I have done the "live and let live" thing just about long enough with the coons that roam the Bayou. I am trying to hold to that mantra but they are TRYING my patience!  They raided the pear trees and ate every single tiny pear before it had a chance to mature.  They literally tore up the peach trees to only nibble a bite out of each of hundreds of peaches.  They have ripped out flowers seemingly just out of mischief.  Now, however, they have crossed the line.  These varmints have found the tomato patch and pulled half ripe tomatoes from the branches.  The same method as the peaches...one nibble and go to the next one.  Their clumsiness broke branches and knocked off dozens of small, green tomatoes.  Ugh!  The garden is a mess!

  My problem arises from the fact that I do stick with the "live and let live" mantra as much as possible.  It just does not seem fair to kill critters just because they are trying to survive.  The folks who bought the property just west of us have clear cut the twenty plus acres.  This left animals no place to go except to our neck of the woods.  The Bayou is getting to be one of the only places around for animals to go and it is getting mighty crowded.  Too many critters on such a small place does nothing but cause problems for all.  Now that the animals have found my gardens, there will be nightly raids but I am hesitant to harm them in any way, shape or form.  Relocating seems to be the only option.  I guess I had better round up a live trap before I lose all of my garden goodies (and my mind!) 

 
 

Don't fence me in!

  This is the first year in several that the garden has done well.  If things keep going like they are, the pantry shelves should be restocked by midsummer.  I am happiest about the tomatoes.  There are a dozen plants that are in the ground and probably that many in pots.  I had no ground space left so, in desperation, I am trying to grow them in cheap pots.  So far, those are doing well but it is those "in ground" plants that are surprising me. 

  When I put the plants in the ground, a large tomato crate was placed over each one.  Normally, the crates do a grand job of supporting the plants but this year, the plants outgrew the crates.  For the past two weeks, I have been thinking that the plants would stop growing.  They have not.  These goofy things now tower above my head and are loaded with tomatoes from the ground up!  This is fine and dandy except that the south wind has been rather brisk and the plants were bending over the crate top.  Since they are loaded with tomatoes, some stalks were beginning to break.  That would never do!  I cannot lose my tomatoes!  I have big plans for those things!

  Today, Son went back to the canebrake and cut a bundle of canes.  The bamboo was pushed into the ground and he then started to string each together with some jute twine.  It was my job to gently lift those plants (heavy with tomatoes) and hold them in place while he wrapped the twine.  He wove a nice "fence" for the plants.  Hopefully, this will hold them until the tomatoes ripen.  I imagine that another few wraps of twine will have to be added later if the plants keep getting taller but for now, they look a lot happier.  Their new "fence" was working nicely against the evening breezes.  Now, what am I going to do with those in the pots if they grow this large??

Tomatoes...Potatoes

  Ok.  So spring is here.  It matters not if the weather agrees...spring is here.  We do not need any more cool nights to befall the Bayou.  There just cannot be!  Why, may you ask?  Well...because of tomatoes.  Yep.  Tomatoes.  I have a strong hankering for fresh tomatoes.  And maybe some new potatoes.  Also, a few green beans would be nice.  The cold weather is not welcome at the moment. 

  This afternoon (after an all-nighter of storms), I ventured out to the vegetable plot to be surprised by tomato blossoms!  It seems that the torrential rains are agreeable with the growth of the plants.  The plants have been in the ground for a couple of weeks and are truly looking sturdy but to find the blooms made my day.  Seeing the tomato blooms and the healthy looking row of potatoes made me think of Pop and his plants and of "grubbling".

  Back on the farm, Pop planted nigh on forty acres with assorted vegetables.  He usually had fresh sweet corn, tomatoes and beans by mid April and I can remember him "grubbling" for the tiny, new potatoes so we could have a special treat to go with the Easter ham!  He had vegetables ready before most other folks were tilling their ground.  Seeds were started in "hotbeds" by the end of January so the plants were ready at the first warm day.  If a late freeze (Mom called those "Easter freezes") hit the area,  the plants were covered with black plastic pots then plowed under with about a six inch deep layer of dirt.  After the threat passed, it was an easy task to find the pot, pull it out from the dirt and leave behind the saved plant. He kept thousands of the pots in an old shed just for this purpose. This method allowed for early vegetables!  

  Now I will get a little off topic (from tomato blossoms)!  Even though the potatoes were not quite ready to be fully dug by Easter, he always managed to grubble enough for a "mess". There is a word that you do not hear often nowadays!  Grubble!  (For the longest time, it never occurred to me that the word meant anything other than digging potatoes!)  Grubble, by the way, means to fumble around in the dark.  He used it to refer to digging with his hands under a large potato plant to find a few hen's egg sized potatoes which is sort of like fumbling around in the dark! Later, the old hand plow (that had, at one time, been pulled by a mule) was hitched to the back of the tractor.  While he drove the tractor, one of the kids held the plow upright with the point just at the right angle to dig deep enough to upend the potato plants.  Then, we all would go through the soft dirt with our hands and toss the potatoes down in the furrow.  Afterward, buckets and bushels were filled to be hauled to the old truck.  This was back when kids actually helped out around the place.  We all had chores to do and were expected to do them without grumbling.  Life was great.  Too bad this does not happen in this day and age.

  Back to the small scale garden that flanks the east side of the house.  Pop probably looks down from Heaven and cringes at my feeble attempts.  My dozens of plants vs his thousands, most likely does not seem worth the effort but it keeps us in fresh veggies and I am able to can (or freeze) enough to last most of the winter.   Looky, Pop!  My tomatoes look great!  And have blooms!  Not quite as early as yours were but still looking promising.  I think I will grubble for some potatoes for Easter dinner!

Pizza....Garden Style!

  Once again, my friend sought out the peace that only the Bayou can bring.  "Can I come to the Bayou?  I need a little Bayou Therapy." she said when she called.  Sure, come on over.  All afternoon, we fished and she spilled her feelings.  The Bayou seems to be the ideal place to throw things out there, mull them over and then put them back in a decent order.  

  Long about 6 o'clock in the evening, I felt a hunger pang and decided that fishing needed to cease for a while.  I was hungry!  But...I had forgotten to thaw anything from the freezer.  Well, we would just have to make do with what was on hand.  As we wandered back up the board path from the pier, an idea hit me.  Pizza!  We would make pizza!  Darlene looked a tad confused.  "I thought you can't eat meat.  How are we going to make pizza?"  Easy enough!  We would make a garden pizza!  She looked at me a bit dubiously and shrugged her shoulders.  My friend is not one that experiments in the kitchen much....I do.   So, I grabbed tomatoes, onions, fresh basil and fresh oregano from the garden and set her to work chopping.  After the pizza dough was spread on the pan and lightly baked, I started layering on the veggies and herbs.  "No sauce?" she queried.  Nope.  No sauce.  Once again, I caught her with a puzzled look on her face.  After assuring her that it would be tasty, we added seasoning and loaded on mozzerella cheese!  The pizza was popped back into the oven for about 15 minutes.  Oh, my goodness!  The kitchen started smelling delightful and Darlene's expression started to change from doubtful to eager.

  Once our supper was on the table and we gave thanks, the sampling began.  Yep, that was one tasty pizza!  In fact, we almost did not get a picture of creation!  It was disappearing fast!  Fresh garden style pizza....that is supper!  Yum!  Good friends, good food....doesn't get much better!

That Little Thief!

  Just when I think things are under control, a new wrinkle gets tossed in the laundry...or garden, in this case.  This spring, the weather has been ideal for growing.  Plants are flourishing and the garden is producing enough that I do not have to go grocery shopping.  Actually, it is producing enough that I can preserve a good bit for this winter.   I am pleased.  With all the effort spent putting in and caring for the garden, it is nice to see some return.  It is not nice, however, to see how the garden is being raided by those not willing to lend a hand.

  About three days ago, I noticed a squirrel dart up the oak tree right next to the house.  That critter had something rosy red in its clutches.  My first thought was that the squirrel had raided the peach tree and made off with one of my lovely peaches.  Not so.  He had one of my lovely tomatoes instead!  I figured that one tomato would not hurt that much so I did nothing to deter the critter.  Now I find that perhaps I should have "had words" with this fine fellow.  He has taken a notion that it is all fine and dandy to raid the garden on a daily basis.  Still, this would not cause me worry except that the squirrel has decided that he should sample the goods before choosing his favorite.  A nice, plump tomato was laid on the ground next to the bush.  It was about one third eaten.  Four other tomatoes were scattered about the garden.  Obviously, the squirrel could not make up his mind which tasted the best. I was a tad miffed. to say the least.

  I am quite sure that I have not seen the last of Mr. Squirrel so now the tomatoes are picked twice a day.  None are left to tempt the squirrel.  Maybe he will get the message that he is not welcome in the garden and he should stick with pillaging the bird feeders.  I did notice that he is getting quite fat so perhaps karma will catch up with him.  There is a huge hawk scanning the area so Mr. Squirrel might just become dinner for some little ones.  Stay out of my garden!

Round Two...The Little Red Hen Syndrome

  Back a couple of months ago, I had dozens of small tomato plants in the greenhouse.  These were just the right size to plant out in the garden so I offered several folks a few plants for their home gardens.  I had no takers except for Darling Daughter.  She took 16 plants home to put in planter boxes.  To that, she added a dozen pepper plants and is waiting on a few eggplants.  She is the only one who took the effort of planting a small garden.  Other folks all made the comment that they "did not have the time" or it is a "lot of work for a few tomatoes/peppers/eggplants, that I can get at the store."   That said, I planted...and planted.  My garden plot grew in size just as the plants did.  Soon, the entire east side of the yard became a vegetable garden. Not only did I plant in rows in the ground but I also utilized planter boxes, flower pots, old shrimp baskets and stuck vegetable plants in the flower gardens. The plants did well and soon set all sorts of blooms.  Now, fast forward two months and I am harvesting healthy meals from the back yard.  Darling Daughter is doing the same.  

  Now that I have fresh vegetables and fruits for our meals, folks are coming out of the woodwork to say "Oh, I will take a few tomatoes!  We love fresh squash! You have far too many peppers and onions."  Keep in mind, these are the same folks who turned down my offer of plants just a couple of months ago. While I am all for sharing the wealth, I am not all for those who take advantage of others' hard work.  Nope, I do not have far too many of any vegetables or fruit.  What we do not eat fresh will be canned for later.  Some jars will make it all the way to Georgia (son, daughter-in-law and grandlittles!), some will go to Darling Daughter and her hubby's place. A lot of fruit, berries and vegetables will be doled out to our elderly friends.  Why, I will not even hesitate to give a couple of these or a few of those, if someone asks but do not demand! I will share but not with those who are ablebodied but too lazy!  The "Little Red Hen Syndrome" strikes again.  Some folks just take, take, take and never wish to lift a pinky finger to help.  

  There is a wise saying that folks can only take advantage of you if you let them.  Although it is hard for me to do, I have learned to say no and stick with it.  Only those who shared in the work shall share the bounty. I am willing to share plants and seeds and I am eager to teach folks the art of home-canning, dehydrating and freezing fruit, herbs and vegetables.  Do not, however, expect me to do all of the work then come demanding the fruits of my labor. It ain't happenin', folks, it ain't happenin'!

Band of Thieves

  While I love the critters that inhabit the Bayou, Creek and wooded area around here, I have to admit that occasionally I get a tad irritated at some of them.  Just last week, I observed the squirrels munching the peaches. Three of them would slip into the garden, each grab a peach and scoot up the nearby Black Gum Tree.  There, they would gnaw the peach and toss down the pit.  Five nights ago, it was different critters in the same tree.  The coons riddled the peach crop.  It would not be so bad if they helped themselves to a few and then were so kind as to leave a few for us, but...NOOOO....they have to taste-test each and every peach on the tree.  What they do not eat, they simply bit and dropped.  One night and about half of the peaches were lost.  Son and I went out the next day and picked the remaining fruit even though they were not quite ripe.  Better to get what we could before those were ruined.  Peach jam can be very forgiving when it come to ripeness.  

  Three nights later, the same thing happened to the plums.  Two trees of fruit were eliminated by the same process.  Bite and drop seems to be the norm for coons.  We got six plums.  Those were thrown in the pot with some of those green peaches.  Jam is good.

  Now I have had it with raccoons!  I am so over their thieving ways.  Between those and the birds stealing the Boysenberries, it is amazing that we have any fruit whatsoever.  Then...yesterday morning....while I sat drinking my coffee. I noticed a wiggle outside the window in the tomato patch. A Redheaded Woodpecker was hammering away at my nice red tomato!  Geez!  I grabbed a bucket, picked every tomato that was remotely changing color and brought them inside.  There, bird! Take that!  I made gallons of tomato sauce today.  Tomorrow will be the same as I shall pick more in the morning.  It is hard to believe that this pretty bird would stoop so low as to be a tomato thief!  Then again....he does have sneaky eyes....just look at him!  Thief!!!

  It seems as if the critters are thinking my gardens are there for their pleasure.  I would not mind so much if they lent a helping hand...errr...paw, talon, claw or whatever...but for them just to take is totally uncalled for.  Pops always used to say that we just had to plant more the next year to make up for what the critters (and unscrupulous people) stole from his fields.  I never remember him becoming upset over the thefts.  Maybe I just need a bigger garden.....or high fences.....or a pack of large watchdogs...or maybe I should just count my blessings and forget about it.

The True "Vine-Ripe".....

  Back on the farm, Pop was highly particular about his vegetables.  Only the best, the A-one, the pristine ever made the bins for sale.  His squash were supreme, his peppers...perfect, his eggplants...exquisite.  Nothing, I mean nothing, slipped by his keen eye when it came to selling his produce.  Also, when weighing the produce for sale, he always slipped in a bit of lagniappe.  He always said "Treat your customers as friends and they will always return."  We did...and they did.  But while he sold pound after pound of fresh veggies, he was not one to pick them under-ripe unless some specifically requested him to do so.  "Mr. Hengen, would you sell us some green tomatoes?" was a oft heard request that would send him back out into the fields to do just that.  Otherwise, those tomatoes were picked at the peak of ripeness each day.  What he did not sell each day, was carried inside the old farmhouse where Mom and I canned them.  That is another story for another day but the point is that while he grew acres and acres of vegetables, none were harvested before their time and none went to waste.  Thumping the watermelons, "popping" the kernels of corn, snapping the ends of okra were all tests done with each picking.  Things were truly "vine-ripened" with him.  I always loved going out to the fields at daybreak with him to harvest and load the old Jeep pick-up truck.  Once it was loaded until it could hold no more, we would slowly drive back home to hand wash each individual vegetable until all the field dust was removed.  Then, and only then, were we "open for business".  Good times.

  All of this reminiscing is to bring a point.  Back in the day, things were all grown without harmful additives and without labels.  If a tomato was in the garden, it was a tomato.  It was not "organic" or genetically modified.  It was a tomato, pure and simple.  Growers did not mislead folks either.  If they said it was vine-ripened...it was ripened on the vine. Nowadays, that just isn't so!  The next time you go into the market, check to see how many nice, red tomatoes you can find.  Tons....and most are touted as "vine-ripe".  Visions of a lush, juicy tomato fills the mind and makes the mouth water.  Too bad.   I have got news for you. THEY AREN'T!  In today's produce market, a "vine-ripe" tomato means that it was picked when only ten percent of the surface has changed to a slight rosy pink.  And, get this, only a few of the tomatoes are checked for even that ripeness.  Once some have reached the "desired stage", the field is harvested in one clean sweep making the tomatoes being picked at all different stages of unripeness.  Well, that is sort of misleading now isn't it?  The fruit was snatched from the plant far before Old Mr. Sun could do his job and instill a good bit of flavor into that tomato.  The bland, cardboard-tasting, dried-out tomato wannabe, just is not what is touted with all of the fancy-schmancy words.  An  unripe tomato is an unripe tomato.  Sorry.  Now, if you want green tomatoes, don't get the idea that you can buy those red things in the store.  Unripe tomatoes are not even green tomatoes.  They are just blah. Oh, and, by the way, those tomatoes are "gassed" to make them have that red hue.

  Personally, I let the tomatoes absorb as much of the beautiful sunshine and life-giving rain as they want.  I refuse to pick them until the redness literally oozes from the fruit.  They taste so much better!  They taste like a tomato should.  They are truly vine-ripened.  The tomatoes in the picture?  They stayed one more full day to ripen to a deep red before we picked them and, oh, my goodness, were they tasty!  I am so glad that the garden is filled with such delights and I am so glad Pop taught me how to grow things.

Give it time....

 Son is always telling me to be patient with my garden.  "Give it time, Mom." he exclaims every time I wish to yank some pitiful looking plant from its nice bed in the garden soil.  "It will grow." says the man of few words.  These few words have, more oft than not, rung true.  From the citrus trees that froze to the ground to the carrot seeds that do not wish to sprout, he always chides me at being too hasty.  I suppose I am.  I grow impatient with a garden that does not wish to grow.   

  At the moment, I am patiently (or rather impatiently) awaiting the winter garden to start producing.  While I yearn for fresh greens and root crops, I am learning to listen to Son's advice.  I am giving it time.  I am also giving plenty of time to the "leftover" summer garden that refuses to yield to the cooler weather.  Mark and I were wandering about the gardens this afternoon when he pointed out the numerous bell peppers that were dangling from dark green branches.  These plants have produced all summer and are now, here in December, still providing far more peppers than I can possibly use.  The freezer is full of the diced peppers and everyone in the neighborhood has received as many as they can stand.  The bell peppers are producing more than any proverbial "nonstop" zucchini plant ever has!  BUT...to top off our wonders of wonders...the tomato plants are still making tomatoes.  This is almost unheard of in the grand month of December!  The plants, themselves, look a bit worse for wear but there are fruits dangling from the branches!  From the looks of it, fresh tomatoes from the garden will compliment our Christmas dinner. 

  While I await the broccoli and beets, I shall be pleasantly satisfied with the continued summer garden.  I suppose it is a good thing that I listened to the advice of Son.  "Give it time, Mom." was also uttered when I wished to yank out all of the pepper and tomato plants to make room for more carrots!

Deep, down under the tomato trees grows a secret garden!

  Yep, those tomato plants just keep growing!  They once again tower above my head. Even though the wind bent them at the cages (42 inches) and dropped them to the ground, they started their upward growth from there and are now a good six to seven feet tall.  I feel much like an elf in amongst these towering tomato trees!  While I was out searching for any of the fruit that might be ripening on the plants, I spied a bright reddish pink deep under one section of plants.  This was right next to the purple basil which also has spiraled out of control.  The basil, itself, is a good four feet in height!  But like I said, a glimpse of color gave me hope that I might collect enough tomatoes to make another pot of sauce.  The pantry shelf is beginning to look a bit better stocked since the garden started this wild growth spurt! 

  Well, I decided that the best way to get those elusive red tomatoes was to just dive right into the mess of plants!  When I started pulling the large, lush limbs to the side, Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog, thought it was a great game.  She joined in the search and soon all I saw was a wagging tail!  Help!  I lost my dog in the garden!  I was giggling a bit too hard, I guess, so Ms. Nycto, the (wannabe) Bayou Cat, came to investigate. That egged Ez on and soon she was romping about in the tomatoes like a wild critter!  To my surprise, not one plant was broken!  Those things have grown immensely tough!  As the dog and cat played chase, I continued to forage for the "ripe tomatoes".  Imagine my surprise when I finally reached the source of color only to find that it was not a large ripe fruit but a gorgeous flower!  Hidden well under the branches of the tomato "trees", two Lady Slipper plants had flourished!  Pop always used to call these "Lady Slippers" but I found that they were actually Jewel Weeds or Balsams.   Not that this matters one iota as I still call them Lady Slippers.  Old habits die hard.

  Back a few years ago, I had lost all of my Lady Slipper Plants to Hurricane Katrina.  Mark knew that I really liked those plants, not only for their beauty but because their leaves are a great remedy for poison ivy rash.  He searched and searched for the seeds and finally found a new start for me.  Then a drought took the plants before seeding.  No seeds were saved after that summer and I was without my favorites again.  Now, two plants have surprised me!  I most likely had dropped a few seeds in with other saved seeds a few years ago and unwittingly planted them along side the radishes.  The radishes are long gone and the tomato plants commandeered their garden spot keeping the lovely Lady Slipper plants well hidden. What a happy find!  My search for ripe tomatoes ended as I marveled at the beauty of these two plants.  A secret garden indeed!  Hmmm, I wonder what else is growing under there?

New Beginnings

March 1st..a day that brought a new beginning into the family. A tiny baby boy was born to my niece..welcome to the world, Jadiel. I hope your life is filled with all the wonderful things that you deserve..and I pray that you receive nothing but kindness, love and happiness for all the days of your life! This little bundle of joy just did allow me to finish his crocheted afghan! I have been working on it here and there as I found time over the past month. I thought since his arrival was not due until mid-March, I would surely have plenty of time! Oh...never go by due dates...babies have a way of coming when they want and not when they are expected! This little fellow decided not to wait another minute! He weighed in at five pounds and thirteen ounces and was only eighteen inches long. Just a little peanut! I did finish his baby blanket in time though and have it all neatly wrapped and ready.

Another new beginning was discovered in the garden this morning. If you remember I had talked about taking cuttings of the Confederate Rose to root for new plants. I was excited to see some tiny new leaves popping out on the cut branches and when I checked the cut ends..sure enough there were roots! It appears that most of the cuttings are rooting although several were quite fully rooted and needing to be set into the ground. It looks like I will be digging holes tomorrow! Baby plants need to be tucked into a bed of nice warm soil to be able to grow!

Also..in the hotbed, the tomatoes are all showing their little green leaves! I am excited but then almost a tad bit trepidatious! I knew that I had planted a lot of seeds but last year hardly any of the seeds sprouted. Well, this year it seems that every seed that hit the ground is on its way to becoming a healthy tomato plant! So....I guess instead of thirty plants, this year I might be planting closer to two hundred plants! Perhaps someone in the neighborhood could use a few plants..I hope........

One other bit of news of life beginnings..the bluebirds were checking out the neighborhood for nesting sites today. A pair stopped by the vacant home that hangs in the Black Gum Tree by my front door. It seems awfully early in the year for them to be home shopping but who am I to question their business??? My son just recently cleaned out the old nest and examined the durability of the house. He assured me that it should be good for at least one more nesting, but just to make mom feel better, he pounded in a few more nails! Now at least I know the old nursery rhyme about the cradle tumbling out of the tree won't happen with my bluebirds!

Home, Home on the Range..with grapefruit!

Yes, I am back on the range again..my kitchen stove that is. I thought that canning and preserving would be coming to a screeching halt somewhere during these winter months, but that just isn't true. Yesterday, it was pecans and today there was a bushel of grapefruit calling my name. This stuff just never ends! My son and I sort of swiped uhhh.. borrowed.. my brother's tall stepladder and started picking the fruit two days ago. (Don't fret over the "borrowed" stepladder.. cranberry/cream cheese bars made everything ok!) Anyway after picking several bushels of fruit, we decided to start canning some. This is not nearly as easy as the pecans and I cannot bribe my son to peel all of these by himself. So we worked all morning, peeling of the thin outer layer of the peel (zest) to dry, then peeling the thick inner lining off, then pulling the grapefruit into sections. Each section has to be skinned and seeded before canning. After peeling and seeding twenty-one of the things, we were beginning to hate grapefruit. Just after twenty-one! And we have probably six more bushels to pick! Oh, my! We will be here forever peeling grapefruit! My son asked.."Shouldn't we be giving some of these grapefruit to someone?" I asked "Who?" Without missing a beat, he responded.."Anyone!" Now to be honest, we have given away probably three bushels of the fruit already..and I am not sure there are that many people around here that will appreciate more. I believe my neighbors are locking their doors when they see me coming. This is sort of like trying to give away masses of zucchini squash..the first few are welcome but after a while no one wants any! So I will continue to peel, seed and can slices of grapefruit. I will continue to dry and grind the peels to use in baking and herbal teas. I will make grapefruit/ginger marmalade. And I will try to sneak some to the neighbors when they are not looking!

I am not complaining about the produce that my little garden keeps providing. Today after we planted out more cabbages, I visited the greenhouse to check on the herbs. This is a funny little greenhouse. My son made it after much encouragement (nagging) from me. To me it looks more like a greenteepee than a greenhouse, but at least it is protecting the plants. I had planted some of my herbs in an old wheelbarrow and this summer Son stuck a branch from a tomato plant in it as a joke. Well, the goofy thing took root and to my surprise, it had ripe tomatoes on it today! Granted they are cherry tomatoes but still fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes in January are a welcome treat! Hopefully, this next year, I will get my large greenhouse. If this does happen, perhaps I shall try growing a few other goodies along side the herbs and tomatoes!

Two For One!

If you recall in yesterday's post I wrote about the lovely tomatoes that my sister-in-law brought to me and how I used some to make tomato sauce. Today, I used the remaining ones to make some delicious salsa and ketchup. When looking for a good recipe for salsa, I was almost disgusted that it said to drain and discard the juice. What a waste! Then, when reading the recipe for ketchup, another disturbing instruction...drain, save the juice and discard the pulp! What a travesty of good sense! I decided to make both recipes, following my own good sense and discard nothing. I come from a family that has always believed in the motto of waste not, want not..and I would be hard pressed to ever "discard" anything without at least trying to find a use for it.

So after several hours of skinning tomatoes, chopping them along with bell peppers and onions, mincing garlic and stirring in herbs and spices, I have seven jars of salsa and seven jars of ketchup. (This is minus the half cup of ketchup that Hubby ate with his supper!) I am thrilled that both turned out so well. The salsa recipe called for "salsa mix" which I am sure would have probably made just as tasty salsa but I used my own "mix" from the herb garden. I would much rather use my homegrown herbs and wholesome spices since it seems that there is just something a tad wrong with "artificial flavorings". Why use something artificial..something not "real"..when food in itself has amazing flavor. And don't even get me started on "preservatives"! I have this intense dislike for anything on a ingredient label that I cannot pronounce!

After being in the kitchen for several hours today, Ezzy, the dog, and I went out for her afternoon romp on the hill. She did not do much "romping" today as the temperature was in the high nineties. Instead she did more of a leisurely stroll to a shady spot in the grass, flopped over and was happy to stay there until I finished my walk. While walking, I came across a pile of pine cone shards and knew immediately that I had disturbed a squirrel's dinner. The pile was neatly placed on the end of a plank bench near the Marigold bed, a perfect place for a picnic! My little friend was in the Hickory tree nearby chattering fussily at me to get away from his meal! Such a cutie..as long as he stays out of my garden and away from my birdhouses!