Parsley, Oregano, Cilantro and Thyme

I gathered a bouquet of fresh herbs from my garden for Thanksgiving. To keep them fresh, I place them in a glass of water in the fridge. I grew the parsley, cilantro and thyme from seed.

Sage grows on the balcony.

2012 Tomato Post-morten

Pineapple Tomato

Momotaro Tomato

The tomato plants have been pulled up and composted, to come back next year as soil.

To recap, this year, in my limited space, I grew several Black Krim, several Momotaro, several Pineapple and two Sungold cherry tomato, one in the garden and one on the balcony.

Overall, it was a very good tomato year in that we did not get the usual coastal fog in the summer, not a even a hint. This means, tomatoes, plant and fruits, were happy.

The SunGold on the balcony was a bust, however. It only gets a few hours of sun every day, at the most four hours a day, not enough to produce a health plant. I did get some cherry tomatoes but not enough to warrant the space, as I had it in a 15 gallon pot. I'm not doing this again for 2013.

For next year, I would have fewer Pineapple, perhaps just one plant rather than three. They produce very large fruits that are 'okay' in flavor and not great. I would prefer to use my limited space for another beefsteak, maybe a Sudduth's Brandywine, if the weather holds true to 2012. Also on my wishlist would be a Paul Robeson. So I would keep one plant but add a Sudduth's Brandywine and a Paul Robeson for next year.

The Black Krim were fantastic. They started early and ended late. It stays for next year. The SunGold is always a monster overachiever. It stays for next year. Momotaro is a faithful heavy producer of gorgeous sweet tomatoes. This also is a 'go' for next year. The only negative, and this goes for the SunGold as well, is that it is a hybrid. That means, I don't save seeds as the next generation is unstable.

I'll start seeds in February and March 2013.

Green bean saga continues

Hot and muggy here, one block by the beach, even in the morning. No fog, no clouds, just beautiful blue sky. With regards to my green bean sprouting a few days ago, alas, it was chomped by one of the hordes of snails and slugs presiding in my garden. Yes, I use Sluggo, but being part of a larger community garden, there is little to stop the neighboring snails and slugs from dropping by my place for a quick snack.

Hence, I plant more bean seeds. Here is the next wave. We'll see how they fare in a few days.

Gray skies in the morning

For those who think we have a good life here one block from the beach, our usual morning weather in the summer looks something like this. Or worse. That would be the fog. However, this year, we have had more than our fair share of days without gloom and fog. I attribute this to why my non-cold tolerant tomatoes, that is the Pineapple Tomato, did do better than usual this year. We generally get clearing later in the day.

The good, the bad and the ugly: my potatoes

I simply do not have a showcase garden. My veggie garden can look quite ragged at times especially when the tomato plants begin to senesce about midway through their cycle. I find tomato plants age quickly and basically look just terrible by the time they are giving up the last tomato.

However, by far the worst offenders are the potatoes. I grow them in containers in my garden, and they start out fine early on.

Towards the end, they look like this.

Not pretty, are they. Even worse, I like to keep them in the containers for a bit longer so that they can mature a bit. Sorry, neighbors. But freshly harvested potatoes for dinner is a rare treat and well worth the ugly.