>As the Veggies Ripen- Episode 4

>The Fall veggie patch has really made up for the failure of the spring tomato crop. The cooler nights have spurred the tomato plants on to bigger and better production. Check out this Jetsetter tomato plant- it’s a monster. This thing is sprawling into the aisles and practically grabbing my kids and pulling them in whenever they go out to the garden with me.

My cupid grape tomato and Brandywine are also doing quite well in this weather, although it will be a tight race to ripen everything on the vine before a frost hits. Here’s one of the Brandywines fully ripened. And they taste incredible. Definitely a better performer in Fall, as I got zilch from this plant in Spring. It just got hot too fast.

In other veggie news, my Bianca Rosa eggplant continues to produce. Thanks to my mom, I have been making Bharta, a yummy Indian eggplant dip. The color of these eggplants is just gorgeous and the taste is very creamy. Definitely one I would grow again.

My fall planting of yellow crookneck squash is producing. This one was sliced and baked last night covered with one of the tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. Even though Jack said he didn’t like “the yellow stuff”, he ate a good amount of it. He loves anything that comes fresh from the garden. Especially the grape tomatoes. The kids eat them like candy.
Unfortunately, the planting of the patty pan squash never got off the ground as something ate the tender young plant as it was emerging. Same with the malobar spinach. I have been noticing nightly sacrifices to this mysterious thief, as you see in this picture. He loves to nibble the bottom halves of hanging ripe tomatoes. The good news is that I have a large enough crop that I won’t be too upset with losing a few tomatoes. But I regret losing an entire crop of the Malabar spinach. So last night I set a Havahart trap with the tomatoes as bait. Was still empty when I checked this morning. Great, not only do I have a hungry thief, he’s smart too!