That's what I tell my plants when I'm out there pinching off persistent tomato suckers. In the past 13 days the temperature has gradually increased to where it is now averaging about 27-28°C. Coupled with the cooler nights and occasional rainstorm, this has been a tremendous benefit to everything in the garden and front yard, and I've been spending a couple of hours each morning doing weed control. There has already been beautiful and bountiful harvests from other gardeners on the web, but since our season starts a little later, this is the period where I wish summer would fastforward so that the tomatofest can begin. No zucchini, no cukes? Bah! I can get those anytime at the supermarket, along with lettuce, eggplants and beans, but heirloom tomatoes is another thing altogether, because in Italy we just don't have pomodoro (tomato) madness like everywhere else. The cuore di bue and san marzano types are the staples in most gardens, so I'm trying to figure out how I'll explain why mine are pink and purple when I share some with the neighbors. No, this is not genetically modified, I swear! It's still another month or so away and anything can happen (like a swarm of locusts or baseball-sized hail), so in the meantime, here are photos that I took this morning of what's thriving in the orto.
Today
13 days ago
Bulls Blood beets and young japanese pear
Wild strawberries and purple & green shiso
Carbon and Cherokee Purple tomatoes
Average daytime temperature: 27C / 81°F
7 comments:
yippee! everything getting bigger and riper!
Wild strawberries! What a treat. Your tomatoes are looking good, that hail cloth has done it's job i guess. Is that a band-aid on your finger?
Kat - this year we've been very lucky with the weather. I'm really looking forward to sharing some of our harvest with the neighbors!
Julie - I'm so bad about accidental cuts and bruises, but I think that comes from having worked in a restaurant kitchen in a previous life. Maintaining a garden can be hazardous!
I wish I was your neighbor :)
Kat - you would get sick and tired of me always giving you veggies (I think - lol). I just had a brainstorm while out in the garden....black or black/white goldfish dumplings....that should technically make them blackfish, not goldfish?
Oh envy, envy. I thought the balcony tomatoes were doing well this year, but yours put mine to shame.
Sue - I owe it all to massive amounts of stallatico. That stuff is really a magic ingredient when growing robust tomato plants. The others on the terrace are doing fine too, but like those monsters in the tomato patch!
Post a Comment