We've had fun experimenting in the garden this year. In many ways, the garden has been a learning center, particularly with our tomatoes. We started out with six varieties of heirloom tomato seeds which we grew in the Hale's greenhouse. Three grew well from the seeds started there; one variety did okay and two of them didn't do well at all. They pretty much died in the pot (ungrateful seeds!).
The three healthy starts did well in the garden and we've had a good crop. What we've learned, however, is that heirloom varieties are not resistant to insects (in fact, they attract them)and they are not particularly heat tolerant. Since we planted early and before it got so hot the plants flowered well and set fruit pretty well. Now, however, the nights have also been hot and the flowers are failing to set.
A big question for us to answer is if we want to continue with heirloom varieties next year or, to go with more commonly known plants that are both heat and insect resistant. The heirlooms are interesting to look at, and the taste is often superior, but it is discouraging to have so many "bad" fruits among the good, and they are a lot more work.
It has also been a terrible year for squash and zucchini. We also used heirloom seeds to start these plants and they never did a thing. Since long range weather forecasters predict several more years of heat and drought, we certainly going to go with non-heirloom plants in this family next year.
All that aside, we are still producing many more tomatoes than we probably need. This week, we donated about a bushel to Loaves and Fishes and we've been experimenting (successfully) with green tomato pie. Stayed tuned for the recipe.
Be sure to stop by the garden and pick some tomatoes. There are plenty. And, as always, your Community Gardeners are grateful and thankful for our church's generosity and support of our efforts. Thank you, thank you!
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