The temperature has shot up into the 90’s for almost the past week with scattered thunderstorms every other day or so, but still plenty of sunshine. The plants are loving it! This hot and wet pattern is expected to continue through the 4th.

I am expecting to have some ripe champion tomatoes by July 4th, plus some Jalapenos and maybe a hot Hungarian pepper. Maybe a cherry tomato or two, also. I made a couple batches of Pesto this week from garden Basil, Parsley and mint. I used Massimo Bottura’s recipe, substituting bread crumbs for the pine nuts. This makes a wonderfully creamy Pesto with just a touch of mint flavor even though I used a substantial amount of mint. I’ve also been making salad from the Romaine that I planted in a pot by the deck,the leaves are large but thin. Not as good as they did in the garden.

I made a final trip to the Nurserys and found a Lemon Boy tomato at Countryside to finish my heirloom plot and also bought a cucamelon plant. I planted the three tomatillo plants in the bed along the back fence.