A neighbour who overlooks my garden from a few doors away, stopped to talk today and commented ‘I see you’re growing lots of vegetables‘. Yes – lots I agreed but really only one type – tomatoes. ‘Oh’ was the surprised reply ‘what on earth are you going to do with them all !’ Having ascertained she likes tomatoes that takes care of some of them !
So far it’s not a problem. This was last week’s harvest. Varieties: Gardener’s Delight, Tigerella, Mini-Belle and Yellow Balconi and a solo Black Cherry.
(I’ve added a couple of courgette plants in a growbag - just seen in the photo. There seemed so many kitchen possibilities for courgettes and tomatoes – including courgette flowers – I decided I needed my own supply.)
One benefit of stopping the plants is that tieing in gets dropped from the weekly maintenance checklist. I’ve also taken the Black Cherries in hand and snipped them into respecting boundaries. Last year the over the fence escapee was Sungold, this year it’s Black Cherry. As varieties they seem close in habit. So now the main tasks are watering, feeding, pinching out ( although this has slowed as well) and in time – harvesting.
It’s a happy place to be….
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Those Yellow Balconis look lovely on your plate, and the contrast with the reds an solitary black is stunning. Now, if you arrange them into a Yin-Yang symbol, the Black Cherry could sit nicely in the centre. It’s Tomato Art, you see.
I’m getting a few more G.D. ripening, but I’ve only Picked two B.C. so far, and they’re pink at the moment. Gold Medal and Lettuce Leaf (the leaves of that variety don’t look very different to the others, just a little more rounded at the corners) are still green, although getting swelling nicely and there’s no sign of Blossom End Rot.
I hope your neighbour appreciates your hard work and your artistic arrangements.
Yin-Yang art might be a bit beyond my artistic skills but I’ll see what I can do !
You saying about neighbours and garden produce reminded me of something I read recently which quoted vegan Benjamin Zephaniah on adjusting to life in a small Lincolnshire village after life in London. To quote him directly ‘ I was surprised how neighbours would leave their spare vegetables and fruit outside my bungalow door. At first I thought it was some kind of witchcraft.’
The thought of this collision of worlds just made me laugh !
That’s a great quote, and his doorstep offerings would baffle me too. Good luck with the courgettes, I’ve never tried eating the flowers. If you let the courgettes grow to full size, they become marrows – that’s versatility for you.