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Harvest Days

We've relocated from Alaska to Arizona for the fall, just in time to enjoy some of the fruits of the garden we planted before we left. As always, there are some surprises, especially since whatever it was I used to write the names of the plants on the labels washed off, so not everything ended up exactly where I thought it would be.



First of all, we have tomatoes. One of the tomato plants I set out in May was called black cherry. I had my doubts about black tomatoes, but I admit they are the sweetest tomatoes I've ever eaten. If you're not a tomato lover, you might try them sometime. They're almost fruit-like. We have others too, some lovely celebrities, and what I think are Romas but lost the label. 

It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." -Lewis Grizzard

We're also enjoying the summer squash, both zuchini and yellow straightneck. I love that squash, green chili, and cheese casserole, and zuchini stir-fried with onions and celery.





And we have more to look forward to. There are three pumpkins. You can't tell by the picture, but they're all bigger than a basketball already. And for an experiment, I planted bird-house gourds. There are at least a dozen on the vine, so in a year or so when they're dry, I can look forward to making some pretty birdhouses. Gourds seem to grow better than anything else here, except maybe rosemary. It's a shame gourds aren't edible.


And we have fruit trees: peaches, pears, and apples. This is our first year to get peaches, and I kept waiting for them to change color. Turns out they're white peaches. Like the black tomatoes, I had my doubts about white peaches, but they're not bad. All the fruit seem to be rather small, but tasty. I'm probably supposed to have thinned the trees or something. I'll look into it for next year. 

So that's what I'm harvesting. Did you grow a garden this year? If not, are you enjoying the tomatoes and corn in the stores right now? What are you eating?


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