Light Reading

Though the dark days of winter may cause distress for some, gardeners can always depend on some light reading to brighten up their waking hours. After all, when the seed catalogs arrive in your mailbox on a regular basis, it's Christmas right through December and up until planting begins in the spring.

The first measurable snowfall of the season has heralded the arrival of Old Man Winter and the official end of the growing season here in NWI. I really can't complain since we had a far warmer November than usual and could still pull produce out of the garden as recently as last week. Nature has been kind this autumn. Let's hope she will be as kind through the days of winter.

Lettuce Give Thanks

I can't thank Mother Nature enough for this unusual stretch of mild November weather we're having. My lettuce is certainly enjoying it as much as I am. I wonder if it would be too much to expect another week of this before the first hard frost arrives?

Don't Bug Me Man!

Well, all of the winter squash are in and for the first time in several years I can celebrate the fact that I had a squash bug free growing season. I don't know why they didn't show up. We didn't have a winter that seemed harsh enough to kill all of them off in hibernation or destroy all of their dormant eggs. I don't know where they went, but I do hope they stay there and never return. So thank you Mother Nature and if it's not too much to ask, could we have a repeat of this performance next year?

Late Early Tomatoes

This season I planted all of my tomatoes, from the tiniest cherry varieties to the larger types, in containers. And I managed to plant them in waves so they wouldn't all ripen at the same time. It has been a pleasing success. The early tomatoes that I planted last are ripening just as the growing season is coming to a close. Since they are bred to grow in cooler temperatures and shorter time periods, the post summer cool down has been perfect for them. In the immortal words of John "Hannibal" Smith, "I love it when a plan comes together."

Harvest Hues

The vibrant colors of these banana peppers clearly indicate that they are ripe and flavorful enough to be collected. They'll make a great addition to my baked sausage, potato and onion dish.

Yes, You Can Grow A Rainbow

One of the great things about growing banana peppers is that you can never be sure what colors you'll get. And when there are multiple hues on a single plant, it's as though you're growing a very tasty rainbow.

Self-absorbed?

Maybe it's just my imagination, but it appears that this sunflower has twisted around to check out its own magnificence as it reaches ever higher towards the sky. Or maybe it's just surprised that it could grow so tall in a modest, discarded trash can container.

Crated Cherokee Tomatoes

At last, the Cherokee tomato plant which I placed in an old, plastic lined milk crate has reached the harvest stage. The tomatoes have a mild sweetness that makes them absolutely delectable. This is my first year growing them, but it certainly won't be my last.

A Simple Recipe For Hearty Tomato Soup

Most tomato soup recipes start with the words, 'peel and seed tomatoes'. And if you're like me, your first thought is, do I really have to go through all of that for a tasty tomato soup? Well, the fact is you don't. What follows is a recipe for delicious tomato soup that involves none of the tedium of peeling and seeding tomatoes.

Coarsely chop one medium sized onion and saute it in a deep, heavy pan with olive oil until it is soft and translucent. Then add about one pound each of coarsely chopped tomatoes and carrots, three diced stalks of celery and four or five cloves of minced garlic. Saute all ingredients for another 1-2 minutes.

Add four cups of water or chicken stock, a couple of bay leaves, a little pepper, and one tablespoon of a non-salt spice mix such as Mrs. Dash.

Mix all ingredients and then bring the mixture to a boil. Allow it to simmer for 30 minutes. Then puree in a blender or food processor.

You don't want a perfectly smooth soup. So short bursts at the puree setting should be enough create a thick, coarse-textured soup.

You may serve your soup topped with chopped green onions, chives or whatever suits your taste. And I have found that this soup goes well with thick slices of garlic bread.

Bon Appétit!

Potted Hotness

The seed packet advertised these as Giant Hot Peppers, but I decided to plant them in a modest sized container and see how they progressed. After all, I don't care about size, I care about sizzle! And I can hardly wait until they turn red.

Third Act

The clementis vine, which I once sliced through by accident early in its life, has grown so large and robust that it now gives us three rounds of blossoms before the summer's end.

The Cherokees Are Coming, Tomatoes That Is...

The first Cherokee tomatoes are starting to ripen. I thought it would take longer for them to reach this stage but I'm not going to complain. If the weather behaves as it usually does, they should have the rest of August and all of September to reach their full, flavorful glory.

Pepper Mystery Solved

Well, it turns out that my mystery pepper seeds were jalapenos after all.

Not Honeydew, Honey Bear!

I'm growing Honey Bear squash for the first time this year. The catalog said that this is a great variety for containers, but I couldn't resist growing at least one plant in a lasagna bed. And as you can see, it is doing just fine. I put another plant in an Earthbox and it is doing well too. But the third plant has not fared well in the smaller container where it was placed. So I guess the lesson learned is that when it comes to this squash, the bigger the container the better.

Mystery Squash Enter And Sign In Please

Planted a few mystery squash seeds earlier this year and only one of them sprouted. It has grown into quite a large plant on its lasagna bed and it looks as though the fruits are all of the dumpling squash variety. I can't wait to try them and see what they taste like.

The Groundhog Wars- Part I

This year, thanks to some uninvited guests in my garden, I've been forced to take container gardening to new heights, literally. And it turns out that repurposed trash cans are a very effective way of keeping my summer squash beyond the reach of worrisome woodchucks. I wish I had about a dozen of these, but one does what one can with what one has.

By the way, I've discovered that groundhogs don't like the smell of basil. So placing a few well developed basil plants in containers alongside my smaller container veggies seems to keep the rapacious rodents at bay.

Laughing All The Way To The Harvest.

It's not easy keeping order in the garden. The cabbages always want to be the head of everything. The potatoes are so annoying, eying everyone around them. And today, the peppers were peckish and got into an argument with the celery, causing them to stalk away . But arguments aside, most of the vegetables agree on one thing. Their favorite talk show host is Okra Winfrey.

The Season Of Bounty Is Upon Us

 As this photo of the initial harvest of Tumbling Tom and Tiny Tom container tomatoes clearly shows, the season of bounty has finally arrived. And the larger tomato plants are not far behind. It's been forecast that the next two months in this area will be warmer than average. So I hope the bounty will last at least until the end of September.

My Blue Bargain

 A few days ago I went to our neighborhood dollar store hoping to find some planters on sale for 50% off or more. As I rounded the corner to enter the aisle containing the gardening and outdoor products, there in the middle of the floor was this blue beauty. It was bruised beyond use for its original purpose of storage, but I instantly recognized that it would make an excellent plant container. The price for this 30 gallon gardening treasure? Eighty-nine cents!

My bargain hunting doesn't pay off nearly this well most of the time, but on the occasions when it does it makes all the misses worth the time and effort. As you can see I have placed two tomato plants in it and they are thriving. I hope they will both have a bountiful yield.