The September Garden Teeming with Cherry Tomatoes

Last Friday I went to the garden primarily to document it. For some reason that I can't remember I couldn't go on Thursday, Oh yes- Elliot had an eye appointment and couldn't drive and I'd declared it a Chopotle, I've had too much rush and can't cook night. I picked him up at Presby and we drove to the City Line branch. Sure the Penn Chipotle was practically around the corner but there are always lines and no parking. Back to the garden, I went early Friday, Jennifer's mother was there, I get camera shy when anyone is there even if we can't talk ( she only speaks Chinese - we wave and smile). She always comes for a year after Jennifer has a baby. Jennifer's mom takes care of the plot. In the fall, they plant a huge amount of garlic. Systematically.

I started my routine of first doing a plot photo with the ceramic sign, then looking closley at what's growing, moving mixing in a plot. What interesting juxtapositions are there. What's growing or fading. Sometimes I need to move around and come back. The interesting shots happen on the second round when I'm not trying so hard.

This morning I started with the Chris plot. Front shot with tomatoes, vines browning but a few nice green tomatoes hanging on. lots of weed. It's hard to see whats going on for all the weeds. then I notice the cherry tomato plant. I thought it was at the end of the plot, somehow, in a week it grew across and around. The tomatoes were not great. Typical volunteer sweet lots of green not so many red and sprawling stems. A thicket. It was crowding the Swiss Chard, the radicchio and some lettuce I planted a month ago. It was time to go. I yanked and yanked clipped snipped and finally had it out. Then I tackled the foxtail grass, the galinsoga, Pennsylvania smartweed and the wood sorrel. When I was done half of the plot was in the path but I could see what I intended to have growing at this stage and where there is room for a fall planting.

The red noodle beans are holding on, they've had an aphid problem that I deal with with soapy water. Theyre great. A few make a meal. I'm going to only keep Egyptian walking onions at the west end so I need to yank the ones at the east end soon. I transplanted the rosemary that I cloned from Carolyn's into the west end of the plot, I'll mulch it heavily. there's a good amount of radicchio still.
In the elliot plot I've hyanked all of the bean beetle infested plants. There is still lots of tomatillos to harvest and strawberry plants to corral. I've got a new planting of radicchio to complement the pretty mature plants. I can thin and spread these new plants out a bit. the arugula dn lettuce is just coming up where there were beans earlier. I love the fish peppers that I got from my ceramics class friend Sophie. They're tasty and hot. Cooley varigated. I'm letting some mature so I can save the seeds.