June 22, Monday

Well it appears to have been nearly 2 weeks since my last garden post. I haven't kept up. But I stand ready today to thoroughly summarize the events of that lost era. Let's start with a current photo:

[Click for larger view]

In this pic I've just finished staking the tomatoes higher. I've also pulled all the mesclun from beneath the tomatoes. It had mostly gone to seed and in any case wasn't getting much light. I left the one radish plant that survived, not for radishes but for the leaves.

There are nasturtium and marigold blossoms, and in general all seems well. I decided to pick enough lettuce to complete my evening salad, along with a few stems of parsley and a few radish leaves, and here was the result:

[Click for larger view]

You don't really get a sense of how high it's piled on the plate. I have to say, it made for a delicious salad. The parsley and radish added bursts of strong flavor to the lettuce and mesclun  mix.

As for other goings on, we've had more than enough rain (4.5 inches over Thursday and Friday nights). Imagine a pool 4.5 inches deep across the whole lawn! That's a lot of rain, and some of it did end up in my basement. Nothing a mop and a dehumidifier can't handle. Happens at least once each Spring.

The rabbits continue to feast on my garden, and they continue not to do much damage overall. One marigold seems to be missing all it's blossoms, but the others are in fine fettle. Here's one of my nasturtiums:

[Click for larger view]

I've saved the biggest news for last. I have tomatoes!

[Click for larger view]

One plant has a half dozen or so little green tomatoes, along with plenty more blossoms. The other plant still has only blossoms, but quite a lot of them. Now, for the first time, I'm starting to be a nervous parent. The loss of a little lettuce is not tragic, and I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if my entire crop of leeks failed, but I really want to be eating these tomatoes! ASAP. So far, it looks like putting them in early may pay off. Mmmmmm.