You might have noticed there was not a garden tour in July. Between the heat, some much needed rain, and the garden growing like a jungle, “touring” slipped through the cracks. But rest assured, it has been thriving. Mostly. We’ve had a very strange tomato year, for reasons unknown. More on that later. While this post is not a proper tour, I do want to take a moment to document the garden.

Most of the time, beans don’t like heat. The tiger eye beans we grew this year seemed to love the heat, growing with gusto, and absolutely slammed with beans. Once they dried on the vine, we harvested a Whole Foods bag full, and there are actually some late beans still out there. After shelling, we ended up with just over 2 pounds! Not bad for a single pack of seed.

We will pick out the best beans to save for seed to use next year, and then I’ll heat-treat the ones we’re going to eat. Apparently, there’s a weevil that could be present, but sliding them in the oven at a low temp for 30 minutes will kill off anything that may be there. And make them store better. This is the first time I’ve grown dried beans, and I’m so excited to try them!

After a promising start, the watermelons sort of fizzled. There were several golf-ball sized ones that partially developed. But we did have one that grew to proper personal size, from the “scrap” vines we had dumped into a bag as filler dirt. {Isn’t that how it always goes? The garden is amazing for teaching life lessons.} All summer I’ve been watching this watermelon grow and slowly start turning yellow – the way you know they’re ripe.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one watching for peak ripeness: a furry critter helped itself one night! At least we know it was delicious? We will continue to try and figure out watermelons, especially since the chickens and I absolutely love them.

Speaking of things fizzling … it has been a very strange year for tomatoes in our garden. After such an exuberant and promising start, roughly half the vines started dying. We’re not sure if it was bad timing on trimming, or if the weather played a part, or maybe genetics starting to fail from saved seeds. Some plants did make it and have been producing very lovely tomatoes – including Carbon, a new-to-us variety that was included as a freebie seed pack in an order from Baker Creek. We loved them so much we ordered a pack of seeds for next year. We are actually going with all new seeds next year, because sometimes you have to give the gene pool a refresh.

In spite of the lackluster tomato performance, we were still able to can 9 quarts! Thankfully last year was such a bumper crop, we have a few quarts left over. Between those stores and our new quarts, we should have enough to indulge in pastas and soups through the Winter.

The cherry tomatoes also deserve a shout-out. They have been extremely happy. Like, cut out half the vine, and they still produce more than we can eat happy. We grew three varieties this year:

• Spoon: these itty-bitty bites are perfect for salads, or popping as a snack. They don’t require cutting, and are not so big as to make a juice explosion in your mouth.
• Blondkopfchen/Blonde Girl: We love these, and they are prolific. We’ve been using them to make pasta sauce, and while the color is not what you expect, the flavor is so good.
• Black Cherry: These were new, and oh my goodness. They’re almost like a cherry-sized roma: so meaty and flavorful. We’ve used them to make pico de gallo, and also pasta sauce. They’re excellent in salads as well.

The heat has not bothered the peppers at all: the plants are more compact this year, but they are producing an abundance of gorgeous peppers. We’re mostly using them in cucumber salads, pico, and sauces, but I’m hoping to indulge in a batch of poppers before the Summer ends. We may also try canning some, or even make pepper jelly.

Surprisingly, the cucumbers have also been fairly unperturbed by the heat {usually once it hits 90, the cukes are over it}. While they’re starting to show signs of the end, we’ve been getting a gallon every day or two. And they are delicious. With lettuce being off the table this Summer, we switched over to cucumber salads: all the toppings, none of the leafy greens.

After a rough patch in the Spring, with the voles/moles tunneling through their bags and disturbing the roots, the onions actually did amazingly well. We harvested around July 4th, and while the onions were smaller than expected, they’ve been delicious. There weren’t enough to try and store for long-term, but we’ve been enjoying them while they last.

As with any garden, there will be wins and there will be losses. It’s a learning experience, and trying new things – or figuring out why something did not work – is part of the fun. {The other part, of course, is being able to eat things we’ve grown!} We’re making plans for next Summer, while also preparing for the Fall garden: starting seeds for brussels sprouts and cabbages, as well as late cucumbers and squash. We’ll also get the kale going, to have fresh green salads again. And in another month or so, we’ll be starting next year’s onion seeds!

Hard to believe the Summer garden is slowly winding down, but time marches on and the seasons will change. Honestly, I’m ready: we’ve had more than enough heat and sweat, and am now I’m hoping for a lovely, lingering Fall.