Oh, how time flies!
by Colleen Vanderlinden • July 27, 2009 • Miscellaneous • 3 Comments
One day, I’m posting about how awesome my veggie garden is looking, and then, Slap! Bang!— it’s a month and a half later and that same post is still sitting there, collecting comments from “wow!” to “Where the hell are you and why aren’t you posting?” (I’m paraphrasing here…)
And where have I been? I’ve been here the whole time, but very, very busy. I’m still writing for About.com, but I was also recently hired to write for Planet Green’s website, and that has kept me pretty busy as I’ve been learning the ropes and getting to know my fellow writers and editors. We had a death in the family. My mother-in-law has been nagging me about something. I celebrated my 32nd birthday. And, of course, the kids are keeping me busy.
I have been gardening like a madwoman. The tomatoes are taller than I am, and the corn is chin-high on me (photos coming tomorrow!) My squashes are running rampant, and the first baby pumpkins have formed on my “Cinderella” pumpkin vine. A couple of tomatoes ended up with blossom end rot, and for a week or so I waged war on the freaking cabbage worms but lost my broccoli anyway. Such is life in the garden, eh?
We’ve also had our first few ripe tomatoes. The ‘Early Girls’ are very tasty, and ‘Stupice’ is surprisingly good. ‘Red Currant’ and ‘Tiger-Like’ are my two favorite tomatoes so far, though. All of the tomato plants are heavy with fruit, virtually dripping with green tomatoes. I see canning in our future! (Finally!)
That just about gets you caught up with me. I will, hopefully, start posting more regularly again now that I’m not “the new chick” at Planet Green anymore. I have missed you — I haven’t visited garden blogs as often as I’d like either.
So, how is your garden growing?
(By the way — I received several worried emails during the last couple of weeks from concerned readers wondering if all was well. First–thank you for your concern — and I’m sorry you were worried! Second–rarely does a day go by that I don’t show up on Twitter or Facebook. If you don’t see me here, chances are, you’ll find me there 
)
My garden space is small, so the fact that my tomato plants are taller than me and laden with fruit = the rest of the garden is in shade. Plus I have some grasshoppers that seem to love my cherry tomatoes and are eating their way around the middle of anything left on the plant beyond the ‘starting to change color’ stage. The bigger tomatoes are doing just fine though. Plus, thanks to the shade our salad greens have been growing away just fine, yes in the heat of July. I have been having a hard time with my squash though. Even though they are climbing up to more sunlight, I have beetles turning the leaves to lace and the plant working so hard to keep growing, that we have only seen 2 flowers, and neither of them are producing fruit. They also ate all but one of my cucumber plants. My husband asks if I am sure I won’t resort to sprays and poisons next year, but we are eating plenty from the garden, so I can handle sharing with the bugs.
Glad to hear from you again, Colleen! My garden is full of greenery — green beans galore, overgrown plants full of green tomatoes (today is the day I cut them back) and huge raspberry plants just about ready to fruit. The best time of the year is upon us!
August is usually laid-back for me, but June was a washout in New England this year… and so there will be no late-summer leisure. Much of the east coast is suffering with late blight, as you know… and then there are the dwarfed crops. Still, there is so much beauty to share.
I found you through About… and look what I have been missing. Thank you Colleen.
Michaela