I brought in the last of my produce this evening; a basket of ripe and green tomatoes, alon with a few sweet banana peppers from my wee garden. I cleaned out most of the debris and put away the containers until next spring.
I'm going to enjoy a few ripe tomatoes and most likely will slice and freeze the rest. There are many, but, I'm only one person, so it's all good.
I'll thin slice the green tomatoes, dredge in flour and freeze in layers. Once they're frozen, I;ll put them in freezer bags to have fried green tomatoes in the winter! Woo hoo! !
I've learned a few things. Next year, I'll place only ONE tomato plant in each of the containers. If I try for squash again, I'll put them in an ugly container so that it doesn't get stolen. Yes, you read right. I purchased a pretty, apple green container for my squash. It was plastic, probably intended for icing down cans of pop or beer, and someone stole it from my patio! They didn't get much as I had drilled holes in the bottom for drainage, and when I did that, the bottom cracked!
I will also put the squash in a sunnier location from the get-go. Having grown up in New Mexico where shade is at a premium, I wasn't prepared for "lack of sun shine" being a problem. Sure enough, it is out here on the east coast!
I hope my lavender will bloom next year beyond a few spikes.
That's it for now. In a couple of days, I'll post pictures of the small quilt wall hanging the East Coast Family (plus three grand children) made for daughter, sister, cousin, aunt and mommy, Greta. More on that next time.
Have a wonderful rest of your Country Weekend!
© 2012 Cat Brennan
My wee container garden certainly didn't rival big agriculture, but it was a pleasure being able to play in the dirt this past summer. Most of the food items are done - there are still a few tomatoes on the vine, and the peppers are still producing, but they're all just about finished for the summer. I have O N E little zucchini on the vine that may or may not feed one person, but 
it's there! For some reason, someone swiped one of my garden containers .. the larger of the two that held my squash. I expect they thought they were getting a lovely container to ice down their beer. It was the ONLY container that I actually purchased, other than a couple of small plastic buckets. It was an apple green, plastic tub from Big Lots. I'm not sure it served anyone, though. I have punched, poked or drilled holes in all of the containers for obvious reasons - drainage. When I drilled the holes in the now-missing container, the bottom cracked. That wasn't a big deal for me, as I wasn't going to move it or use it for anything other than growing plants, but if it was taken for a beer cooler, the culprit got nothing. As my mama used to say, "Such is life."
I expect the two varieties of lavender to survive the coming winter, along with the mums, rosemary and hens and chicks. I'll 'bunch' them all together near the outside wall of my apartment, and with the shrubbery in front of them, all will be well.
Two years ago when we had such a huge snowstorm, the heavy snow served as a blanket that kept out the extreme cold temps.
See the picture of a few of the sweet banana peppers in various stages of turning red, with a partial frame of fresh-cut basil? Aren't they beautiful! I love the colors and that basil is so very fragrant.
I didn't have a lot of luck with my New Mexico Chile Peppers; they weren't very prolific, but a fun experiment. Next year, I'll put that in a larger container.
For my family and friends out west, sun is not an issue for you. You plant anything anywhere and it has sun. Not so, on the east coast. I do have afternoon sun in my garden area, but even parts of that are not in enough sun. This was a difficult truth for me to learn. Next year . . .
It's almost time to put all the garden to bed and look to getting ready for the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner.
Would love to hear about your gardens as you wind down the season.
Happy Country Living, whether you live in the country or just wish you did.
© 2012 Cat Brennan
However you want to say it, homegrown is best. Actually, I almost never buy tomatoes in the grocery store anymore. I would rather do without than eat the hot-house, plastic-looking, chemical tainted orbs that have next to no taste. Once in a while, I do pick up an organic variety, but not often.
My niece in Albuquerque ruined me for anything less than the best; aka home grown tomatoes. She and her husband have a garden in the North Valley and that's where I got my home-grown-tomato taste buds.
My wee garden is doing okay. I'm still waiting on the squash, the New Mexico Chili is coming along and I have quite a few sweet banana peppers. At the suggestion of a dear friend, I did go out and play honey-bee; helped out the pollination of the flowers with a little brush. I'm hoping . . .
Although I haven't had a huge crop, the small tomatoes I have had have been delicious. They are a nice dark red inside and so sweet. I just finished a BLT (minus the L). Whole wheat toast - bacon - mayo and a home grown tomato.
The variety that has worked best for me this year is a Better Boy; I would love to get my hands on some heirlooms - maybe next year.
My dad often cooked for us on the weekends. He and my mom both worked during the week and they shared the chores. He was a 'man before his time' .. I never heard about women's work and mans work in our home. If the pipes froze in the winter, and Daddy was at work, Mother went out to heated up the pipes. If the dishes needed washing, Daddy knew what soap and water were for.
One of my dad's inventions was Bacon and Cottage Cheese on Toast; don't growl until you've tried it!! It's almost as good as a BLT!
Another of my favorite 'snacks' in the summer is a small bowl of Ice Cold Cottage Cheese with diced tomato on top. Earlier in the week, I enjoy some homemade Chicken Salad with tomatoes.
I'm going to miss my fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes when winter sets in, but in the meantime . . .
http://www.thumbtack.com/Sewing-Pro-Henrico-VA/service/117544
I would love for you all to check this out .. and let me know what you think.
JARS! Mason®, Kerr®, Ball®, Mayonnaise, Mustard, Pickle, Water, Canning, Baby Food, Spice, Spaghetti Sauce. All JARS . . .What wonderful thoughts this little word does conjure.
When I was about 12, I wanted a camera .. notice, I didn't say "new camera" .. I didnt' have one. I wanted a little Kodak® Flash Camera. My mom told me that if I saved half the cost, she would match it. I covered an old jar with paint and tape and whatever, punched a line of holes in the lid to resemble a coin slot, and proceeded to save my change. When I had finally saved enough, true to her word, Mama matched my funds and I got my camera, complete with film and some little flash bulbs. One of the first rolls of film I shot was of Elvis Presley on television. When I got my pictures back, I had a pile of pictures of the flash in the TV screen. That was an expensive lesson.
Another jar-of-savings-adventure was for paint for my as-yet-unpainted bedroom. This was earlier when I was probably 10 or 11; right after "we" built a frame-stucco addition onto our adobe house, adding central heat, 3 bedrooms, a second bath and converted our old bedroom into a den. When I had reached my goal again, and with matching funds from my parents, I purchased the paint and Mama helped me paint my room. In a word, it was BLUE! Not a wimpy pastel, mind you! Think of the blue you see when your PC screen gets into trouble...yep, THAT BLUE.
In the summers and fall of 1968 and 1969, I learned a lot about canning.
Seeing all of those jars lined up full of colorul and good food was such a rewarding feeling. Some of the things I canned that year were, Solid Pack Pumpkin, Sweet and Spicy German Chunk Pickles, Bread and Butter Pickles, Apple Sauce and Butter, Pepper Hash and Peaches. These were all so pretty, not to mention quite tasty. 
The German Chunk pickle recipe that I use requires several days to make, soaking and brining and cooking, but the result is a delicious, sweet and spicy chunk pickle. The original recipe calls for GREEN food coloring, but they are pretty in RED and GREEN for the holidays.
Next time, I will share all of your ideas for using JARS.
Have a great country week, and stay warm!.
© 2011 Cat Brennan
© 2011 Aunt Cat's Place
Sewing Pro
I brought in the last of my produce this evening; a basket of ripe and green tomatoes, alon with a few sweet banana peppers from my wee garden. I cleaned out most of the debris and put away the containers until next spring.
