The garden harvest continues despite the dry weather. Those hot days of August and early September have finally gone and the cool evenings are very refreshing. Of course they slow the ripening of many of my crops, but that is actually a relief since it gives me a break from trying to use and preserve the harvest. We finally had a day of rain but it barely soaked the ground. Thankfully, the soaker hose has kept the tomato plants happy. One of the best tomatoes I have grown is an Italian plumb type. I'm not sure what the variety is because I grew them from some seeds my son Peter gave me. I saved some seed to grow next year. These tomatoes are a rich red color and are heart shaped. They are about the size of an actual heart too, not the little plumb tomatoes I have grown in the past. They are very meaty inside with fewer seeds than my other tomatoes.
Among the successes of this summer in the garden; eggplant, peppers, yellow summer squash, zucchinni and pumpkins. I have some white pumpkins growing this year, plus small orange sugar pumpkins and a couple of BIG ones. I have to get out there today and tend to the crops. It has been a wonderful experience to grow enough to share, especially when my coworkers tell me the tomatoes I brought in were the best they have ever tasted! Several dozen went to the local food pantry too!