Saturday, July 12, 2008

Too Much of a Good Thing?

I was so proud of my little garden. My first one at this house, my chance for my own home grown tomatoes. I was proud when it just looked like this:

And I was ecstatic when a few weeks ago it looked like this:

Tomatoes apparently love hot, humid weather. So a few short weeks after the picture above, they have taken over the garden.

I've spent the last week trying to rein them in. For the ones that originally had cages, I've been feeding some of the longer vines back through the cages. I added a bunch of wooden stakes and tied vines to them. The tomatoes that are next to the peppers have completely overshadowed their neighbors, so I really tried to pull them back and give the peppers some room. I trimmed some of the non-producing vines (the technical term for them is "suckers" I believe) and removed the withering leaves. I've done everything I can think of to tame them. Everything, that is, except thinning them out. They are covered with green tomatoes, and I just can't bear to destroy any of them.

I'm not sure how I will actually be able to pick any of them from the center,though, since the plants on the outside edges are already as tall as me (I'm 5'8".)
The back half of the garden looks pretty good, despite the wall of tomatoes that borders it.

And I'm such a dork that I took some close-ups of some of the other veggies. Do you want to see those too? I thought so.
Oddly shaped, although I'm certain delicious, green pepper:

Crazy fast-growing cucumber, that I swear has doubled in size each night this week:

I don't want to speak too soon and jinx it, but it seems that the bunnies have stayed away so far. It could be from the lavender planted on the edges of the fence, or the Pro-Tec along the whole fence. Perhaps I should also credit my Bunny Patrol:


Got any good recipes for tomatoes?

12 comments:

Kathy said...

I'll be right over with a gigantic empty tote! Careful what you wish for, huh? Congratulations on your big, bountiful garden!

JD at I Do Things said...

Salsa! And spaghetti sauce.

Your garden is amazing. I plant tomatoes every year and ALWAYS forget how big they get (tho I don't think any of my plants have reached 5'8"!

Cukes are fun, aren't they? I love taking pix of my garden. You have inspired me!

Oh, and GO Bunny Patrol!

JD at I Do Things

Susan said...

Kathy--Come on over! Once they are ripe, I might have to resort to leaving them on people's doorsteps to get rid of them all.

JD--The cuke in the picture is even bigger than that and it's only been 2 days. I planted 3 cucumber plants in the space where 1/2 a plant should go. Good thing 2 of them died almost instantly.

I love my Bunny Patrol. I look at that picture and I imagine them running in slow motion circling the garden. With theme music.

Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) said...

Awesome! Hooray for your great garden!

Thanks for stopping by my blog carnival. :)

Bone said...

Wow, congratulations! That all looks great.

I never cared for tomatoes too much after they were ripe, but my Mom used to fix fried green tomatoes.

And cucumbers. Yum!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful tomatoes. They don't seem to grow half so well out here in Colorado.

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rebeccaburgess@rebeccaburgess.com

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Susan said...

Rebecca--I am planning to pick the cucumber tomorrow night, so hopefully it tastes as good as it looks!

Bone--I've never had fried green tomatoes, but if things don't start to ripen soon I may have to make some!

rebecca b--There is nothing like a homegrown tomato. I'd say give them a try, even if you just get a few it will be worth it.

Corrina said...

OMG your garden is AMAZING!! Is there really anything better than homegrown tomatoes?? I'm SO jealous!

Burgh Baby said...

You SHOULD be proud. VERY proud. That's some kickass gardening right there.

Feel free to toss a tomato or twenty my way. The Toddler eats them like they are candy. In fact, she's been picking the green Cherry tomatoes off her plant on our deck because she cannot stand to wait for them to be ripe.

Susan said...

Corrina--Tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, on crusty bread. That's what I'm looking forward to and plan to have for dinner at least twice a week once we have some ripeness.

BBM--My daughter LOVES tomatoes too, although she hasn't yet resorted to eating the green ones!

Dr Zibbs said...

That is one sweet garden!

Susan said...

Dr. Zibbs--Yes, it was better than I hoped, especially for my 1st real garden. I should probably start getting it ready for this year, it's currently kind of a mess!