2021 Veggie gardens

Damn. Pickling would be my next choice, or making smashed cuke Sichuan salad.

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I did something similar to the latter. Kind of a quick kimchi pickle with the usual suspects of seasonings. But the bitter is still there, just hiding amongst the other flavors. They’re not terrible. It’s just disappointing to have them all come off the vine this way…

Sometimes gardening is a few small victories in a sea of defeats. For no good reason, as I haven’t had problems in the past, my oregano, thyme, mint and cilantro just keeled over dead.

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The little joys and the big disappointments! I agree. If it was purely a cost issue, I could never justify doing it, because we have spent so much money on fencing and amending dirt, and all the plants that have just keeled over. But as you say, the happiness that comes from things going well is hard to overstate.

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Once I get another Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, I will post a pic because it may be the most beautiful tomato ever. Also tastes very good. But somehow that is secondary.

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They are beauties! Looking forward to your pics.

The Dwarf Tomato Project did some crosses that resemble the original. One with gold stripes and one with green. These pictures are from last year, might be mislabeled, and don’t do them justice.

I even like the way they look green! This is from today.

I didn’t realize they took so long to ripen!

ETA Oops! I got that wrong. Beauty King is a cross between a Big Rainbow and Green Zebra. The dark one might be Adelaide Festival, across between Rosella Purple and Tie Dye.

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Got a tomato tasting as well.

H likes Cherokee Purple and Banana Legs. I like Tigeralla and Cherokee Purple.

I need to wait a bit more to compare the 2 black tomatoes: Cherokee Purple and Black Krim. All I can say now is CP has more and earlier fruits compared to BK.

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Love yours! Beautiful strips!

My Green Zebra looks different from yours.

I don’t have Green Zebra! I grow Beauty King, which is a Green Zebra cross. I have never grown green when ripe tomatoes. What is your impression of them?

Ooops, my mistake! Green Zebra is quite sweet with a touch of acidity. You see them used a lot in jam.

Your pictures are amazing. I always seem to get haphazard by the time I take pictures.

Thanks. Many I grow the first time this year. I’m not sure who is who if I didn’t label them.

You say that like it’s a bad thing! :smiley: It’s a blind tasting! But seriously, I just reviewed about 7 years of pictures and I’m beginning to see patterns that help me make sense of the names.

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So many gorgeous tomatoes!

Pink Berkeley Tie Dye is a favorite.

Regarding bitter cucumbers: Don’t eat them. While it’s uncommon, cucumbers can produce toxic cucurbitacins which are best not consumed in any quantity. Stress can cause cucumbers to get bitter, as well as age. Heat and drought stress can cause issues with cucumbers. Edible Luffas can also get bitter and make people ill.

The bitter compounds in Bitter Melon are different from those in cucumbers, although even Bitter Melon should only be eaten in moderation.

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I don’t know this one, just checked. It’s a crossed between Cherokee purple and Green Zebra.

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Sharing a pic of my sister-in-laws amazing garden bounty. She has a green thumb that extends way beyond her garlic crop. Her harvest will probably continue quite robustly through September - at least for some crops.

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That’s a lot of cherry tomatoes! Looks like she could use a tomato mill, if she doesn’t have one already.

Latest picking of edamame:


Last year’s crop was devoured by a large groundhog. This year’s crop was guarded a bit more and closer to the house.

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I just had my first edemame for lunch yesterday. Delicious, much better than in a restaurant.

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I still have some edamame (store bought) in the freezer, never thought of growing them. Now this gave me ideas…

Is it possible to eat them fresh? I only known them boiled in the restaurant.

Here’s a (not quite ripe) Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, and a bonus comparison between a Sungold grown on the balcony in a container, and one grown upstate in the ground. Guess which is which!

tomatoes

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