Black Heirloom Tomatoes

Here it is, nearly November, and we are still talking tomatoes. November is the time to be talking turkey!

Ah! My favourites, the black tomatoes. I am now determined to plant a black tomato every year. So heavy and flavorful and meaty, almost no juice or seeds. Just absolutely the most perfect slicing tomato. This is what the grandparents mean when they talk about what tomatoes used to taste like. I can't say enough good things about them.

I think the only bad thing I can say is that I didn't get enough! The plants are not heavy producers, so maybe I'll get two black tomato plants next year. That way I'll have more to share, and maybe I can convince other gardners that these black tomatoes are worthy of space in their gardens!

White Cucumbers

Last fall, my friends and I visited the beautiful Landis Valley Museum, just outside of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is a really neat restored and recreated small village and farm, with tons of interesting stuff to see. I understand they are always doing demonstrations and things. The Union Army was there the day we visited. We could have spent several more hours exploring, but we were tired. As with all good museums, we ended the day by perusing their gift shop. Where they sell heirloom seeds. Yeah. You know that was trouble. Those little paper packets hold so much promise! It is easy to go overboard. In fact, the white cucumbers were the only seeds I managed to get started at all this year.

Maybe I got them in too late. Maybe they didn't get the right sun/temperature/soil conditions. Maybe I left them on the vine too long and they got too big. Or maybe white cucumbers just aren't as good as they sound. We were not impressed with the flavor. They looked pretty, though.

Yellow Pear Tomatoes

I guess I wasn't sure what to expect from these, having compulsively picked up so many varieties of tomato at the plant nursery. As it turned out, they are a sort of cherry tomato. Sweet, yes, but the can't even begin to compare to my Sweet Millions.The plant is a heavy producer, we had way more of these little guys than we could eat. The were very pretty in salads and salsa, but you could easily get that color from a more flavorful tomato. I won't plant this variety again, but I'm glad I tried something new.

Sweet Millions Cherry Tomatoes

A bowl full of cherries!

Cherry tomatoes, that is. Our all-time favourite sweet summer snacker, the Sweet Millions variety of cherry tomato is one we didn't even plant this year. But enough volunteers came up to keep us well supplied for tomato-basil-mozzarella salad. And we still had enough to share with our neighbor.

But I can tell you, I will definitely plant this variety- on purpose- next year. Picking through the tangle of volunteers sprawled all over the ground was no fun. I have half a mind to try them in the hanging baskets on my porch...

How Oliver Spent His Summer

Sorry we've been gone for so long. But we are going to get back into the swing of things. I have lots of pictures to post; tomatoes, embroidery, clean living room, and of course, Oliver.

Oli spent as much time as possible on the porch this summer. He does so enjoy sunning himself. Even when it is too hot for the rest of us, he wants to be out.

He particularly loves lying in wait on the front porch to jump out and startle passers-by. I'm always surprised how many people know him by name.

We'll have more posts very soon, I promise. And we'll try to keep up with our blogging a bit better.