What's Growin' On: 9/18/06

Realization Of The Day:
My glorious garden mint is being seriously underutilized in the kitchen. Any suggestions?

Weather, Please Make Up Your Mind!
Saturday we had a record breaking 88 degrees F, and yet tonight and tomorrow night it's supposed to dip down to 40F. These between-season fluctuations always discobulate the heck out of me. I can only wonder what the plants think.

I've harvested most of the basil except for the half dozen plants in the greenhouse, and I'll cover the giant bushes outside that are going to seed as best I can. I was thrilled by all the volunteer basil I ended up with this year--I'd hate to have an early cold snap kill off the plants before the seeds had a chance to mature. I'll be making another big batch of pesto tonight using my new recipe. I plan to put it up in its own little post, but for now you can find it here--it's the same pesto I used in my popular Savory Tomato Pesto Pie.

I took the large shade tarp off the greenhouse last week, so now the scraggly herbs on the north side that were painfully stretching toward what little sun they could reach are getting much more light. They should be upright and smiling soon.

Outside I still need to pick a bunch of Aconcagua sweet peppers that are earmarked for the freezer. There are still various tomatoes are here and there, but pickings are getting slim. I know I complained a bit about a tomato glut a while back, but that was because the majority of slicing/salad tomatoes, like the VFNs and the Arkansas Travelers (as opposed to the plum tomatoes I freeze for use during the winter and spring), all seemed to ripen at once. I picked my first tomato way back on July 9th (and a lovely birthday present it was), but suddenly it seems like this year's tomato season only lasted a couple of weeks.

I'll also be tossing old sheets over the squash plants and of course the late planting of Straight 'N' Narrow beans that are finally putting on some bounty--neither of them will like these cold temps. Whatever sheets are left will go over the tomato plants that are still producing, along with anything else that is a cold weather wimp. All the new fall green seedlings should be just fine. Some, like the Nero di Toscana Cat Cabbage, taste even better after a frost (not that I'm hoping for a frost anytime soon--not yet, please!)

Gee, it sounds like I need to get my tail out to the garden and get busy.

Out Of My Inbox:
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