October 13, 2009: Tomato Finale. Almost.


10/7 - 13 pounds 14 oz. tomatoes, both green and ripe.


10/9 - 4 pounds 6 oz. melons, 5 oz. strawberries, 5 pounds pole beans (for seed). This was only a fraction of the pole beans that didn't get picked while I was sick. I'm hoping they will dry after being picked, and I will use them for seed as well as for dried beans to cook. Two of the melons were an unexpected find, hiding behind the barrel in which they were planted. I didn't think any of them were ripe, they didn't give any indication that they were, but I was pleasantly surprised when I cut them open. They went to the grandchildren, who loved them! Even baby Alicyn, who will be a year old next week, thought they were nummy good finger food. This should be the final strawberry harvest, although they are still bearing and ripening. The weather has turned cold and rainy, which makes the berries too wet and mushy to pick. If we were going to be here to pick them, I'd erect a plastic cover for the bed, but we'll be leaving for Arizona early Sunday morning.



The first killing frost hit on Saturday night. After cutting off a bit of the foliage, I was able to pick a few more tomatoes that had some color and weren't yet harmed by the freeze. Just look at all those tomatoes that didn't have a chance to ripen!



I got another eight pounds of tomatoes from the vines after they froze.


All of last week's tomatoes had ripened by now, so I needed to do something with them. I couldn't force any more on friends or family, so I tossed them into a big pot for more tomato sauce and juice. I ended up with two quarts of juice and two quarts of sauce for the freezer.


The tomato finale. A box to ripen, a basket of ripe ones and a pot cooking on the stove. Tomato season is finally over. I picked a total of 443 pounds of tomatoes from my 2009 garden.


The Washington garden isn't quite empty yet. I'm waiting for the rain to stop so I can dig the parsnips, and there is some mesclun left for cutting. I don't know if the final sowing of radishes has matured enough to pull, if not they will be left for my neighbor to enjoy.

I have several pots of lettuce seedlings that will make the trip south if there is enough room. I can't just quit gardening cold turkey, ya know!!!

15 comments:

  1. Good grief! I can't imagine what I'd do with 443 pounds of tomatoes...probably never want to plant another one ever again.
    Have a nice trip...

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  2. Granny, how many tomato plants did you have? That's an awful lot!

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  3. You may have said this somewhere, but do you have an idea of how many square feet you have under cultivation? Enjoy your trip!!

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  4. I was thinking about the baby this weekend!!! I knew she had to be around a year old now. Amazing how time flies. I'm not ready for you to go back to Arizona. I miss you too much while you're there.

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  5. AG what a wonderful season you have had! Such beautiful and bountiful harvests, well done =) I do hope those seedlings make it south with you, such talent should not be wasted. Dot

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  6. Oct 23? Where has the time gone? I thought today was the 13th. Does my BFF need new glasses or new fingers. HA!
    I just pulled my last tomato plant yesterday. Good thing we've got an El Nino storm that came in last night and has dropped 1-2 inches of rain!

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  7. Wow 443 lbs of tomatoes. I can't even imagine what I would do with that many tomatoes. Right about now I could use a few though. It has been a while since I've eaten a ripe tomato.

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  8. I know! I just hated to pull all our tomato plants with all those unripened tomatoes on them! Uhg! What a waste!

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  9. We have still not had a frost in Kentucky. I hope it waits a few days as I still have so much to do!!

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  10. Wow! Look at all those 'maters!! The pic of the post-frost maters makes me sad... and jealous because the cool weather sounds delightful!

    I hope you have a nice and safe drive to AZ!!

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  11. 443 pounds of tomatoes is a stunning amount! Glad to see you back posting again AG!

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  12. Those darned tomato vines finally are going to let you get on with the fall season, lol! Good luck getting everything ready to go, I know it can't be easy putting the garden to bed by the weekend!

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  13. Way to go Granny. Your garden was astounding this year. I think you are opening some eyes as what can be grown given the proper space and soil. John

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  14. Isn't it funny how the eye misses typos? This is the second time I'm popping in on this post and I just noticed the date on the post (October 23 and today is the 15th). The first thing I thought was, gee, this month sure is going fast.

    Hope all is going well with the move.

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  15. AG, your blog is saying Oct. 23, that threw me for a loop!

    You had quite the season, congrats on that accomplishment!!

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