Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Tomatoes end and extending Fall vegetable bed prep begins



When I caught my dog gleefully tugging green tomatoes from their progressively woolly aphid-infested vines this morning, I thought it might be a sign. Then when I saw that she hadn’t even bothered to eat the tomatoes she scored (foreground of above pic), I knew it was time to pull those suckers out to make more room for more Fall veggies.



Husband Kurt bought more dog-fencing materials to protect the old tomato bed, which right now has kale and broccoli seedlings. This weekend I’m adding to that bed seeds of cauliflower, sorrel, and maybe arugula, even though I’m a little sick of arugula right now because it’s one of the only green leafy things to eat in the summer that’s local and in-season. I’ll also thin the profuse beet and carrot seedlings and transplant some of them if I can make more room.

4 comments:

TexasDeb said...

I am so impressed with your tomatoes. I have gotten maybe 1/3 that many all season. I have one last plant with a few tomatoes again (finally!!) and I am stubbornly holding out for enough to make BLTs for my husband and myself.

I haven't tried growing broccoli yet. Is it too late to try to start from seed?

Iris said...

Hi texasdeb,

I'm a beginner, so I don't know for sure if it's too late, but I'm sowing cauliflower seeds (according to Tim Miller's planting schedule, which has worked well so far) this weekend, and cauliflower's in the same (brassica) family as broccoli, so I would think it's okay for broccoli, too?

Rock rose said...

I'm envious of your green tomatoes. This is the first year that I don't have enough to make my green tomato chutney. Fortunately I have several of last years pots but they won't last until next fall.

Iris said...

lancashire rose,

I haven't yet made green tomato chutney but clearly need to soon! I can find some recipe ideas online, but if you have any favorite ingredients to include, I'd love to know!