I know it's not officially autumn yet, but I can smell it coming in the air. This summer has been another learning experience in the garden and I have enjoyed watching the fruits of my labor come to fruition.
I am happy to report that our 19 tomato plants are happily living on the upstairs deck and all the fruit is in various stages of turning red. There are so many that I often overlook some and the fruit over-ripens on the vine, and in those cases, the chickens get a treat. It turns out that our Roma and Violet Jasper varieties grew only to cherry tomato size, if not much bigger. It's really okay, as I enjoy picking straight off the plant and popping them right into my mouth. The Moneymakers and Arkansas Travelers have grown to a proper tomato size and we awaiting those lovelies any day now.
Due to our very warm afternoons, our cucumbers have finally started producing some impressive vegetables. Interestingly enough, this cucumber variety, Marketmore 76, isn't a climbing variety but a bush variety, and boy is it bushing out. Also due to the warmer temperatures, the bell peppers are popping! I have around 12 or so on 6 different plants and can't wait to watch them turn from green to red and orange.
The pumpkins are going to get harvested in the next couple of days and they too didn't grow as big as we thought they would, and again, I am not worried about it. These little beauties will work just fine for a mini-jack-o-lantern for our Samhain celebration.
All in all, I am happy, tanned, and looking for the leaves on the trees to start turning red and orange.
I'm a little sad to welcome fall. I've worked so hard on my garden this year, as you have, and it's sad to say goodbye. I'll be pouring over my seed catalogs all winter for next year's trials and tribulations.
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