Veggie Garden Portraits

This is turning out to be a wonderful thread! Glad ya'll jumped in.

SERAY: I need your roasted eggplant recipe. Since I cut all the first EP off, the stalks are full of new blooms, so I'm expecting another harvest soon. Wanna try a different recipe.

MOONGLOW: Yah know, I'm beginning to understand that our harvests are as much a product of the environment as anything else. I thought my trouble since my very first two successful harvests in Spring/Summer '07 and Fall/Spring '08 (as an UBERnewbie veggie grower!) was due to stuff like inferior seeds, or poor plant stock, potting mix spent, etc. But, after more investigation, it may not have been any of those things. It could very well just be this Texas weather taking its toll on the crops. The rain has seriously added to our humidity level. Top that off with all these scorcher heat days and it's a wonder I got the Black Cherry tomatoes I got! Even they were stressed, and from what I saw they crank out under conditions most tomatoes would die in.

I'm gonna stop beating up on myself about not having a bumper crop of tomatoes. Instead, I'll pray for another perfect weather season like I had in '07 or '08.

Linda, who may be abandoning the relatively new Canon A630 she dearly loves because the swivel viewfinder allows her to shoot interesting pics from almost any angle she needs to contort to whilst climbing deep within the tomato foliage, to go in search of a Nikok Coolpix upgrade for its clarity on the closeups...

Although this prizewinning photo was taken with the older Canon A530 model with the swivel viewfinder...

Canon Powershot cameras take great macro shots. Canon SD780 is a 12.1 megapixel cam just like Nikon Coolpix P90 without the DSLR body.

'Gold Dust' turning color already.

Hi Gymgirl

I put olive oil on baking pan then add salt pepper and chopped herbs. Cut up your veggies add to the pan and mix it all up. Make sure all are well coated oil and bake at 350 for 30 - 40 mins. depending on the age and size of the veggies. Flavor is best with small veggies.

Enjoy!

Moonglow: my DH"s new camera is the Canon Powershot SD780. He loves it. I need new glasses to read all the small print. :)

Thanks, Seray53,
I set up some tags for the recipe!

LINDA, I do miss the swivel feature...loooong time ago, Coolpix has a body like that. One can take photos without the subject knowing. Of course plants don't mind anyway, LOL.

SERAY, thanks for the recipe.

Below is a Wild Boar Farm tomato. I started a few varieties and will find out which is which when fruits ripen.

Seray: That looks mouth watering.
joy

Linda, I hope more people jump in! I'm posting a lot these days because my season is finally starting to happen.

I picked these Black Krims in various stages of ripeness yesterday hoping to find out which stage I like best. Loved them all! BK will return next year.

Girlfriend,
You have got it goin' oooooooooooooooooon!

Those are GORGEOUS, and you should be very proud!

I can't hardly wait for this weekend. I have managed to root some healthy Black Krim cuttings, and will be transplanting them up to gallon containers this weekend. I'm gonna be cutting it close, but I'd rather transplant them at a larger plant stage, and with a larger root system, than make them struggle through our current heatwave. We still have the oppressive August heat to get through, so if I can bring them along until around the 25th, I'll put them out then and let them fly!

And, barring a brutal, early freeze before Thanksgiving, I could be serving up some of your Black Krim cousins with the turkey and dressing! I can only hope mine will be as beautiful as yours!

Thanks for raising the bar sooooooooooooooooooooo high. (I do love a challenge)

Let the games begin!

Linda

Moonglow: Your portraits are truly wonderful! These tomatoes look soooo delicious and I don't like tomatoes for breakfast. LOL

Moonglow, did you put that Black Krim pic in the plant files? Do it!

Linda, I did! Thanks. The great thing about this is that when my season winds down, it will be up to you to keep us going.

Seray, when does your season peak?

I hope others will join in, too.

Here's Gold Dust. It's so unreal. This is the ugliest of them. They are soooo perfect.

Here's Gold Dust nude, LOL.

Nice photos Moonglow. I've never tried those. Our season peaks in June. We still have a few tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and melons. These are second plantings.

I think the second planting for us is really to enhance the bug population. They seem to get first dibs on almost everything. Even the squirrels are getting into the act this week. Oh well. We aim to please. LOL

Moonglow,
Are you saving some Dust Gold seeds? If so, I'd like to get a few for next season. LMK. The Seed Saving Fermentation Instructions are simple, and are tagged.

Thanks, ladies.

Linda, I shall save some seeds for you. Thanks for helping me use the 500 envelopes I bought. 499 left to go. LOL. It's not a tasty tomato, but perfect for stuffing. Very compact plant, semi-determinate (I don't know what that means). Ha-ha.

Seray, squirrels are shoot to kill here. Although we haven't killed one. I sound so mean, but it's the tomato madness making me do it. Really!!!

Here's a few chopped ones yesterday. I made 'Pasta Puttanesca' yesterday out of this mix.

'Chocolate Cherry' on top, 'Matina', and 'Black Prince' tomatoes.

Moonglow: You have not only artistic photo skills but you are good at arranging food on a plate to look very appetizing also. I like the determinate tomatoes as they are tomatoes that produce all their tomatoes and once and then it's over with, the indeterminate ones keep producing, the determinate ones also aren't as viney as the ones that are indeterminate, the indeterminate ones you gotta stake with a lot of stakes or cages, the determinate ones tend to be a bush type. Or that seems to be what I've gotten.

I am going to be picking all my tomatoes here next week, red, or green and then getting rid of my garden to prepare for the Fall season, too many bugs here for me. And too hot, humid and now all this rain.
joy

Methinks Moonglow is a latent artist....

Me thinks she needs to find a good agent and start showing her photos to the food magazines. LOL

Methinks she has GREAT promise as next "Food Network PHOTOGRAPHER Star!"

Ladies, you made my day! Thank you all very much. That was very, very sweet and I promise I won't let it go over my head.

Joy, you have to take photos of your tomatoes and post here. I cannot agree more about the determinate tomatoes. They keep us SANE or somewhat sane while waiting for the indeterminate varieties to happen.

Seray, I always say when people ask me if I like to cook, "Give me a sharp knife, and I'll cook all day." When I got laid off a few months ago, I had the opportunity to help with the First Graders at my son's school to put together a book (gift to their teacher). For two weeks, I cooked and photographed food.

Linda, you think that counts as 'experience'? LOL. I have to be more interesting to be on TV!

Below is what could be 'Beauty King' a Wild Boar Farms variety. My dogs chewed the popsicle sticks I used to label them. Love my dogs, they make gardening fun.

=)

Moonglow: Beautiful looking tomato, won't be pics of my tomatoes anymore, they are being thrown out, it's past time for them to go already. I did make a few discoveries in cleaning out the squre footers. I had used the bury the stem routine on most of my tomatoes and planted the brandy boy plant and another large tomato plant I got from Burpees, and discovered that the roots were so massively growing through the potting medium in the square footers there is no salvaging the potting medium and I don't believe the square footer is really big enough to grow a tomato in, perhaps a pepper plant or eggplant though, I know the cage is not big enough, my tomatoes over shot that baby. I wish now, I had gotten that tumbler composter, it would be happy eating what I'm pulling and throwing away.
joy

Thanks, Joy. BTW, TGS has both Bush Beefsteak and Celebrity.

I could not sleep last night, so I counted tomatoes, LOL.

This is another variety from Wild Boar Farms. 'Haley's Purple Comet' is a large cherry tomato, almost round, dark purple with green shoulders.

I need a cherry tomato with a THIN skin. Any recommendations? I've decided I truly prefer tomatoes that have THIN skins. I don't like crunching through the skin to get to the meaty tomato inside. Or will I have to resort to peeling a tomato like an orange?

Linda, this is my FIRST YEAR growing cherry tomatoes, LOL. (2nd year for the rest of the tomatoes). I'll pay more attention when I munch on Chocolate Cherry (CC) later. Is Sun Gold considered thick or thin? Something for a newbie to base her findings on.

CC is not Joy's favorite as she mentioned. I like it very much though for it's depth in flavor. It's on the sweet side.

I LIKE sweet to medium tangy tomatoes. Too much acid makes me itch. Which I found out the first season I grew these humongous indeterminates, and tried to eat 'em all.
Meaty, beef-steaky.
Runny and juicy don't work on my tuna sandwich!

Gymgirl: Sounds like you and prefer the same type tomatoes. LOL Notice I'm planting Beefsteak Bush, Radiator Charlies' Mortgage Lifter, Pittsburghs Potato Top? Celebrity will be the medium one and I have a Maskotka Cherry one for my cherry lovers to try this next tomato season, which will be Spring for me.
joy

I know you still have eggplant, squash peppers to mix with those maters. Here's a pic of the Bambino eggplant. Couldn't resist. :) Grown in EB.

Linda, the way we describe our tomatoes...LOL. I'm really digging black tomatoes. To me they are not the salsa type, but great pasta tomatoes. I gave up my Paul Robeson plants to friends this season, though I still remember the taste. It's far richer than the other blacks I have now. Will go back and grow a couple of PR next year.

I'm really loving Japanese Black Trifele. The taste and texture combo makes it a winner. Because JBT is also very prolific here in my growing conditions, I'm enjoying it better than the well-regarded Black Krim. OK, the Tomato Police may come after me, but they are not growing both varieties in Corte Madera. They can come and have a taste test. LOL.

http://moonglowgardens.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/japanese-black-trifele/

Seray, wow! I love those eggplants! Really gourmet-type beauties cooks can really have fun with.

Joy, I'm going to try Bush Beefstreak next season.

Below is some of today's bounty for another round of Pasta Alla Puttanesca.

Moonglow: YOu can bring that sharp knife and skills into my kitchen any day of the week, and those are some really beautiful pics, you had a good season I see. I'm thinking about copying Tyrus' staking system onto my yard sale tables for my tomatoes come tomato season here, I will have probably 20-30 tomato plants LOL I can't never get too many of those.
joy

Joy I've cut out all the pieces for Tyrus's system. Just working up the courage 2 put it together. Also while his is a full 10' wide, I modified mine 2 two 5' wide sections. I can put 2 EBs horizontally in each section. This'll work better for portability and my space configuration.

Wow, Linda, I am so impressed! Would love to see photos of your project.

Joy, I have about 30 tomato plants, and I think a good count for back-up. Today I took out two unproductive plants. I never thought I could do it, but a variety has to deserve its place in the garden, LOL.

Here's another WBF variety. I'll find out for sure when it ripens. It's relatively as big as my iPhone.

Moonglow: I'm watching, let us know which ones get the biggest and the meatiest will ya? LOL Gymgirl: My new yard sale table will hold 6 EBs each side by side, I'm putting the staking system together and when it is done nailing it to the tables. Presto, no need for staking anymore. So; I can have 24 tomatoes going on two tables now, just waiting on March to get here now. LOL
joy

TSC's Cuore Di Bue is the tastiest and meatiest in my garden. It's sweeter than any of my black tomatoes. What a way to end summer!

I hope you are all doing well.

Wonderful photos!!!!! How DO you all keep up with so many varieties? So much produce! Industrious? Crazy? Or kids to help? LOL

Love this thread Gymgirl!

Moonglow: Those are such beauties. Great job there. So, which is your favorite and why?
joy

Great photos! Not sure why I haven't looked at this thread more. Can't wait to grow your CDB's next year! They sure do look good :) I know you've seen this pic but I wanted to show everybody our children lol Moonglow raised a Large Barred Boar seedling and sent it to me. I took over for her and they are starting to ripen up. Here's 4 of our very attractive children......

Ray, I seem to recall a movie entitled, "They Eat Their Young, Don't They?"

ROTFL!

Great looking tomatoes.
joy