Black Krim, almost ready to pick.

I picked the first four Black Krim heirloom tomatoes today. They are a bit larger than a golf ball, and very tasty. We’ll see if the later ripening ones are any bigger. I made open faced sandwiches with basil, onion, Black Krimm tomatoes and banana peppers on toasted multi-grain bread, topped with mozzarella,a bit of parmesan and a generous grind of fresh black pepper. I stuck it under the broiler until brown and bubbly. Very tasty. Can’t wait for the other varieties of heirlooms to ripen.

We picked enough blackberries for dessert for FWG last night. I made shortcake from Bisquick. Jackie was in from Africa, so it was a fun evening. This is almost the end of the Blackberries, the heat and drought limited what should have been a bumper crop.

Char picked a couple of cukes from her side of the fence — these are the first ones. They are coming in fairly slow, but I planted quite late.

We finally got some more rain last night, I measured about 0.6 inches. Every little bit helps, but the temperature is supposed to be back to 100 tomorrow.

I did the fall planting in the new bed today, hopefully I’m not too late. Here’s what went in:

• 2 Rows Roma Beans
• 1 wide row of kale
• 2 rows of Swiss Chard
• 2 Rows pat-a-pan squash, 1 green and 1 yellow.

I also planted a wide row of Bloomingsdale Long-Standing spinach next to the existing row of Swiss Chard.

I also cleaned up behind the barn for a planting of butternut squash.

This is the new raised bed.

Since the blackberries have taken over one of my beds and most of the aisle between the beds, I decided to create a new raised bed from one of the old ones, perpendicular to the others. I wasn’t able to do much with the old ones for the past few years because of the shade. It took most of the day, as I had to dig a trench for the new bed , remove the old wood and rebuild it into a new bed, fill the bed with soil and compost and then roto-till it.

But, it’s done and ready to plant with vegetables for the fall. I got little red bites all over my forearms from some critters, but they don’t itch, so no big deal.

Blackberries, almost ready to pick!

We’ve had blackberries for a week or so, but the production has kicked up enough that I was able to bring enough for dessert for FWG tonight. I make cream puff shells and put in some ice cream and them topped them with loads of fresh berries and whipped cream. A little decadent, but it is the first major harvest of berries. Everyone enjoyed it.

Got an Early Girl tomato today from the larger Home Depot plant. It doesn’t appear that any others are even starting to turn yet.

Here’s the first harvest from the garden.

Here’s the pasta we made with the first picking from the garden.

Picked the first Zucchini today along with a couple of small Melrose peppers and some Swiss Chard. I cooked them up in some olive oil along with fresh basil and store-bought garlic and served it over pasta. The first meal from the garden is always a celebration and its really early this year despite getting the garden in late.

Zucchini now protected from marauding critters.

I walked out in the garden and to my horror many of the leaves on the zucchini plants were eaten. Greg’s broccoli got chewed on, and we suspect a groundhog. So I went off to Home Depot and got some fence posts, I already had a roll of chicken wire.

The zucchini is now fenced in and there hasn’t been any further damage.

This is the last of the spring planting. I put in a bunch of cucumber plants from Goebbert’s along the back fence.

I dug up a new area at the west end of the garden that now has full sun since the maple and the white pine are gone. One row of Swiss Chard plants from Goebbert’s. One row of kale from seed about 1 1/2 feet wide. Two rows of green beans, one row from seeds I got from Greg and the other row of Roma. I also planted a Rhubarb plant from Pasquesi’s.

Got the rest of the tomatoes in today.

• 2 Rutgers Heirloom Tomatoes
• 2 Big Boy Tomatoes
• 8 Roma Tomatoes

These were all from Goebberts.

New Herb Garden facing the deck.

I have been rebuilding the planters for the herb garden around the deck, as the old planters are probably about 25 years old and sinking and falling apart, and too small. Today I got out at 6am to finish the installation and planting — I had all the boxes built already.

The crew that was going to remove the maple tree showed up about 6:30. They started the chain saws at 7, and by the time I left for work about 10 am, the tree was down and all the branches were chipped. They were working on chipping the trunk when I left. These guys are good! It will be nice to have light in the garden.

I finished the herb planting this morning. Because of the mild winter, the sage, thyme and rosemary survived along with the oregano which usually makes it through the winter. The parsley produced well this spring, but it always bolts in its second year, so I replanted.

Here’s what’s in the herb garden:

• Dill
• Sage
• Oregano
• Mint
• Thai Basil
• Sweet Basil
• Rosemary
• 2 varieties of Thyme
• Parsley
• Garlic Chives
• Chives

(Note: The pictures of the herb garden were added in July as I didn’t take any after I rebuilt it. It also looked a lot better in July.

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