September 3, 2008

• Salad in the Backyard

  

  I thought we might not get tomatoes, but there they are. We were worried because yellow leaves appeared at the base of our plants a few weeks back. Some had brown dots. The vines are still not lush but the tomato crop looks decent for gardeners who don’t weed or water. (We mulch a LOT with newspaper and seedless hay. Well, one year it wasn’t seedless, but that is a scary bedtime story.)

  The jalapeños are gorgeous, but the jury is still out on the bell peppers. I never get a big crop of bells, which is a bummer because I adore stuffed peppers and you need a crowd of peppers for those. Maybe it is the anti-watering thing. We need to get our rain barrel hooked up to the hose; it is not as easy as it sounds. The dryness probably killed the cukes in July while we were out of town. Happily, the lettuce and zucchini are still producing. (Does anything kill zucchini?)

  By the way, this year, I bought the five-variety lettuce seed pack. You have to find them early because they sell out on the internet. These packs make a beautiful salad—light green, curly, dark green, red, and yum—all in one little sowing and harvest. Then when you add the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar,  you have an elegant feast. Alas, it only last a few weeks a year.

  ||||||  lynard

  • 10:19 pm
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