The Season Thus Far

Quarts of Tomatoes

It’s been a busy summer of gardening, harvesting, cooking and preserving. This year is, for me, the most productive season I’ve ever had. The early spring gave us an early summer which, in turn, gave us an early harvest. The dry start was scary, but eventually gave way to an almost perfect schedule of rain showers; other than at planting, I’ve watered the garden only once.

September is typically canning month, but I’ve been processing my produce for almost three weeks now. If the weather keeps up as it should, we’ll have the longest tomato season in my personal history of gardening.

The pantry:

12 quarts dill pickles
28 quarts whole tomatoes
21 small jars tomato paste
10 pints tomato sauce
7 lbs oven-dried tomatoes
Dried basil, oregano, lemon balm, parsley and thyme.

We’ve eaten mountains of ratatouille and countless tomato sandwiches.

We’ve grilled eggplant, zucchini and peppers in ways I never thought possible.

We’ve made zucchini breads and zucchini muffins and zucchini pancakes.

We’ve been eating some form of cucumber salad almost daily. The beans, after a rough start, are killing us with generosity. They’re gonna have to go to the freezer. And finally, we’ve been watching the rabbits, deer and gophers enjoy 5-star meals as well. I’m glad I planted enough to share.

Tomorrow is salsa day!