I’ve been gone for a week, and — says the taxi driver, who also had strong views of the state of the country and the virtues of barter — it rained every day.

And so, almost nothing ripened, but on the other hand, almost nothing split or rotted either. And today is sunny, and we are only going to have two days of intermittent thunderstorms next week — says weather.com.

So, I’m trying to cultivate a Zen-like calm, because, apparently, the plants are smarter than I am:  Read more 

I’ve got a peck of beautiful Roma Tomatoes from the garden tonight, and I am going to dice and freeze them.

Here’s The Safe And Easy Way To Do It.

It’s really simple— you don’t even need to skin them.

They’re huge, they’re green, they’re starting to crack, and I’m worried they’re going to rot on the vine as the rainy season drags on.

weather.com says we’ve got six days until sun, which we’re going to have for one fucking day, and then rain again. [Yes, I know this isn’t like the Mississippi flooding my back yard, but it’s still very unusual for my corner of Zone 5b].

Should I pick them and try to ripen them indoors?  Read more 

My flood-delayed garden is limping along, and the tomatoes are finally at the point where they need some support. I’ve used commercial cages in the past but had found them wanting, especially the inverted cone baskets you commonly see. A vigorous and productive tomato plant will overwhelm and take those wimpy things to the ground. A more heavy-duty solution was in order.

These are homemade cages made from concrete reinforcing wire. They’re cheap and easy to make and are sturdy enough to stand up to the toughest tomato plant.  Read more 

Containers, tomatoes and great huge pink balls.  Read more 

Due to circumstances beyond our control, this series has been on hiatus for a while. The flooding in the Midwest included the river behind my house, and while fortunately, I had no major water problems in my home, my backyard was a soggy mess. Even after the water receded and a week of dry weather, the ground was still too wet to work. The maple seeds however, found the environment much to their liking.

(Click here for previous posts in this series)

This is what my garden normally looks like by this time of year.  Read more 

Good drink and good food are natural partners so it’s no suprise that winemakers are often gardeners, and I’m no exception. A successful vegetable garden means plenty of produce to eat, give away, and preserve. Although most of my garden was wiped out this year by flooding in the area (Before and After), I still had enough tomatoes to can a batch of sauce this past weekend.

 Read more 

Fresh, home-grown tomato. A little pepper. A little fleur de sel.

And a friend gave me some cucumbers.  Read more