Saturday, September 3, 2011

Garden Update and Suggestions Needed

We have had a pretty dreary summer here in Seattle and it is definitely reflected in my gardening efforts. But we finally got some sunny days and things started to grow.

Eggplants. This little plant has taken off and has a ton of eggplants on it. I can't wait until they are ready to pick. I'm going to make some marinated eggplant which goes amazing on pizza!

Two acorn squash. I have no idea whether or not these are ready to be picked. Or what to do with them once I pick them. But I grew them....and that's what counts.

Tomatoes! Still lots and lots of green tomatoes on the vines but more and more are rippening up. They are so delicious. They taste nothing like tomatoes from the store so even though my cost isn't going to justify the amount of tomatoes I end up getting, the project was definitely worth it.

And suggestions for all those green tomatoes?

Our two biggest crops are ones we didn't plant. Blackberries that grow along our driveaway (look for an upcoming post on my adventures in making blackberry jam for the first time) and these grapes that grow along our fence. I don't know what kind they are, but they are full of small seeds and not edible in their current form. I would love to turn them into something (jelly? raisins?) so I'm doing some research on them. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

We also have a decent crop of yellow squash and zucchinis. The cucumbers were a total bust and the corn appears to be as well. I've convinced my husband to build some raised beds over the winter, so I can expand my food growing next year. Nothing tastes better than food grown by your own two hands.

How did your gardens do this year?

You can see my previous garden updates here and here.

6 comments:

  1. Acorn Squash is good baked with butter and brown sugar.

    I have also used it in the slow cooker with pork to flavor the pork a bit with brown sugar

    I think they need a bit more time on the vine, but I am no expert....and they are super duper hard to cut open

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  2. Thanks, Chrissa! I'll leave the squash for a while. Love the idea of putting it in the slow cooker. Sounds delicious!

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  3. We've done the brown sugar and butter thing with squash too. I'm not a fan of squash texture, but Aaron loved it. He added a few cranberries too.

    We're on the lookout for green tomato recipes too. Our plants are loving the current weather though!

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  4. Chrissie: I know, my tomatoes are loving the late summer heat. I have some that I was sure weren't going to rippen that I can now see a little blush on. Hope it continues.

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  5. Your garden looks great! Congratulations on your harvest!

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  6. What happened to the eggplant. Well, seems that everything is going fine with your garden. Thanks for sharing these photos. I can't wait to see what you will make of those cute harvests.

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