I’ve had so much fun taking care of my little herb garden this summer, but even better, I’ve really enjoyed tasting the “fruits” of my labor. Almost every day for the last two months, I’ve brewed a batch of sun tea, which, of course, was the perfect vessel for mint. I grew two varieties–chocolate and variegated. I didn’t really have a favorite, both smelled and tasted delicious.
I grew multiple batches of dill from seed, and I also grew basil, oregano, chives, and rosemary which started from small plants.
Fresh from the garden…
My first dill plant finally hit the end of its growing cycle, but fortunately I began to grow another batch a few weeks ago to replace it. I’ve enjoyed the dill all summer, and today I was able to get slightly more than 1 TB of dill prior to pulling it up and discarding it. You may laugh, but I chopped it up and froze it. I can throw it in a batch of carrot soup, or some other creation this fall. My plan is to freeze most of what I can harvest from the new plant.
One lone cube of dill (1 TB) LOL!Although not an herb, I also grew a pepper plant from seed…Proud Mama! Two little peppers are forming & several blooms seem to be close behind.
I have enjoyed fresh oregano all summer. I cut all the remaining leaves off today, and dried them in my dehydrator.
I harvested the oregano and it’s coming back full force!
Getting bigger!
I dehyrated the last of the Rosemary…the smell…heavenly!Some of my homegrown produce from 2020
When I realized that traveling for work was going to be severely limited this summer because of Covid-19 and it’s related travel issues, I decided to plant a (small) garden in my back yard. I bought several herbs (oregano, chives, basil, two kinds of mint, & rosemary), and I grew a few pots of dill from seed. I also bought a little tomato plant.
I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture of TomTom after he was first planted. I think this is the earliest picture I have, and he’s already getting big!
Early growth…
Looking back, I have to laugh because I wanted to buy two tomato plants and Pierre talked me out of it, telling me that I would have more tomatoes than I would know what to do with. That little plant is now huge, and has been abundantly producing–I’m glad that I listened. Around mid-summer, when I was in full-gardening mode, I decided to try to grow a pepper plant from seed. It’s growing and it’s beautiful and healthy, but I’m hoping it will be able to produce at least a few peppers before the first frost in the fall. Lesson learned….plant early!
Before his first haircut…
And after…
Pierre and I tend to nickname our favorite plants and flowers in the yard, and so I naturally started calling my tomato plant, TomTom from the moment he was in the ground. TomTom was little when we bought him and he has grown bigger than I could have ever imagined. The plant is HUGE! I’ve trimmed it back three times already, and he already needs another “haircut.” It’s a Big Boy variety, but I thought the name referred to the size of the tomatoes, not the plant! LOL!
Instead of putting TomTom in a tomato cage, Pierre put a stake in the ground. TomTom just laughed at the stake and grew sideways in both directions, even though I tried to train the branches upwards. My tomato plant looks unique, to say the least.
Trimmed and looking good…
I decided early on that I was going to keep track of TomTom’s yield, and the easiest way to do that is through pictures. The count has begun…
Number 1!
2..
3,4…
5…
6…
7,8…
9…
10-18
The tomatoes labeled 10-18 are earmarked for tomato soup. I’m going to let them ripen in the window, and maybe add a few more. I’m planning to freeze some of the soup, so I can have it later this fall.
29…plus a bit of dill (This tomato is for Debbie!)
The dill that I grew from early summer, has finally hit the end of it’s growing season. I harvest the last bit of dill (pictured above), which I’m going to freeze for future use. The good news is that I planted new dill about 3 weeks ago, and very soon, I’ll have fresh dill again!
30 & 31…I can barely believe that this is one tomato plant (8/23/2020)!I made homemade baked beans with TomTom’s tomatoes#32….this one went straight from the vine into a pot of homemade zucchini soup that called for one ripe tomato!This soup is delish! I found a series of cooking videos on YouTube called, ‘Buon-A-Petitti,’ featuring an Italian grandma named, Gina. I FEEL Italian when I watch! #33–I knocked this little guy off the vine when I was watering. I placed it on the windowsill so it will continue to ripen–it turned out great! Yum!
#34, 35, & 36…
#37 & 38…
#39 & 40…
#41 & 42…
#43, 44, &45…
#46…
#47 would probably get the ‘Ugly Award’ for the season, but it proved to be a delicious addition to a batch of homemade Cream of Carrot Soup. I cut TomTom way back today….he’s still sporting at least 20 more tomatoes that I hope will ripen before the temperature drops too much.#48-53…
The Coronavirus has hit everyone hard in different ways. For me, it stopped me in my tracks regarding travel. I had eleven weeks of international travel planned for 2020, all of which had to be cancelled. My job has radically changed as well, switching from traveling all over the United States conducting face-to-face trainings, to virtual trainings. In the beginning I felt stuck…not just stuck at home, per se, but stuck because I couldn’t really adventure anymore…or so I thought!
Very early on, I set up my “Camino CornaVirus Walking Challenge,” and that helped out A LOT! It got me out of the house every day, and it kept me active. As my life has changed over the last several months, I’ve tried especially hard to pay strong attention to the little silver linings or blessings that we sometime seem to miss in the hustle and bustle of our regular lives…
I’ve gone to several farmer’s markets, nurseries, and orchards in the area lately. I’ve been trying to enjoy the fruits of summer. Check it out…that’s sun brewed tea and mint from my garden! I’ve also enjoyed local tomatoes & my home grown dill.Since I’m home this summer instead of traveling for work & pleasure, I’ve been able to plant and take care of a tomato plant, and a little herb garden. I’m not joking, this is such a thrill for me!
I call my tomato plant, TomTom, and I hope that he will be a good producer! I’ve already counted eight itty-bitty tomatoes so far!I’ve enjoyed relaxing in my yard—I’ve gotten a lot of reading in this summer!
These sunflowers were a surprise…we planted sunflowers last year in the side yard. The birds must have dropped seeds in the back of the yard, so we let them grow. One set of flowers is growing out of our compost bin!I’ve enjoyed hanging out in Debbie’s back yard and spending time with her… I found and collected wineberries…And of course I’ve enjoyed walking….lots and lots of it!
Does everything seem different, and does life feel uncertain at times…yes, but I’ve learned that I can still adventure and enjoy the summer, even though it’s much closer to home!
