My Green Toe: Tomatoes and Eggplants... Oh, My!

"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides."~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show

It has been a LOOOOONG time since my last post about our urban garden. While away on vacation, we had a friend harvesting tomatoes from our (now overgrown) vegetable garden. At this time, it still continues to be the tomatoes which are furthest along and bearing the most fruit. It sure does seem as though last year, when we planted much later than we should have, there was more growth of the vegetables other than tomatoes, like green and jalapeno peppers, than we have had in our crops thus far this year.

As you can see from the image below, we have no shortage of large tomatoes for use in making salsa, salad and sandwiches. Fortunately for our family, my wife is a very creative cook, who continues to find ways of working them into our meals. If necessary, as was the case last year, we will freeze them (we still have peppers!) and use them during the winter. I'm already lookgin forward to some great soups in the fall... YUM!



The anticipation for some eggplant "progress" is reaching feverish levels... our six plants have finally begun to flower. Now, all we need is to see some of those little purple lovelies expand into hearty vegetables, then the real culinary challenge of making them edibly attractive for our eleven and fifteen year-olds can really begin!



I must confess to feeling like a bad parent, having abondeoned most of the harvesting work to Anne. While I turned the soil and prepared the garden area, and occassionally weed, since the process of "harvesting" began, Anne has been the primary caregiver. Past experienec reminds me though that there is something relaxing (and rewarding) about coming home after work and picking through the plants for vegetables to pull from the vine, so it would appear each job had its rewards.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!