Labor Day already which means Summer is unofficially over. Veggie gardens should be winding down this month for most of us. But something is always going on. Let us continue our discussion of veggie growing in all our gardens. Come join in!

I picked another 12 Qt. bowl of tomatoes, these were the sausage tomatoes. I also picked two quarts of tomatillos, so I've been looking on the web for some good tomatillo sulsa recipes. I should do some more canning, but I just don't feel like it today. Guess I'm lazy, but I spent a lot of time weeding in my iris seedling beds today. Think I need a nap!

Not lazy, just that you already did a lot of work.

Well, after the short nap, I felt energized, so I canned 6 quarts of whole tomatoes. Now I can play on the computer for a while and not feel guilty.

Good job!

All that seems to be going on here is rain, rain and more rain...
And still waiting to get enough tomatoes to do anything with!

Fall - yikes! Tomorrow is the first day of classes at the university where I teach - summer is definitely over.

Yesterday's harvest - I decided that with all of this rain I had better dig up the last of my Yukon golds (close to 3" of rain in the last week). Still hoping my peppers will go red, or I would have a big container of those too. The biggest tomatoes there are Pruden's Purple.

Nice harvest Goef, I have to try some of those long beans next year. What department do you teach in? I'm a retired Elementary principal. I've been retired since '03, but I worked up until a while ago for the State Dept. of Public Instruction doing consulting. Also worked as a private consultant and instructional coach for a near by school district. I kind of miss working with the people and the mental stimulation from that type of work, but I don't miss the hours.

As a university Prof - I can't complain about the hours. I rarely teach summer school, so I have 3 month in the summer and almost a month in January. If I work hard the rest of the time, its ok.

I am in the art & design department - I teach ceramics. I love the teaching but am less enthusiastic about the meetings and governance issues. I have been avoiding administration duties as much as possible.

I think next year the long beans will be the only ones I plant, they have been slow to take off, but are much healthier (no rust) and seem to be decent producers even in my not so sunny garden.

Weedwhacker said:All that seems to be going on here is rain, rain and more rain...
And still waiting to get enough tomatoes to do anything with!

High time for tomatoes!

Weed whacker how about shooing some of that rain this way. Powder dry here. Labor day here means a major turn around time. Summer vegetables are turned under and soil prepared for winter vegetables. Brassicas are ready to go in as soon as this dry dry heat spell subsides a bit. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards and Napa transplants are siiting in their beds anxious to get going. Lettuce, pak Choi, radishes, turnips , rutabagas are itching to be planted. Of course, southern peas, butterbeans, peppers and eggplants are still going. Bell peppers in particular seem to grab a higher gear in September and really crank out until November.

Farmerdill, I sure wish I could send some of our rain to you, and other parts of the country that need it so badly... at least here it's only been the inconvenience of not being able to get out into the garden, so many areas that are experiencing flooding, and so many others that are burning up!

Found my biggest tomato yet of those Porterhouse Hybrids I got from Burpee. I was really mad though because it cracked from all the rain. That means I couldn't give it away. I keep all the imperfect tomatoes for myself and give some nice looking ones away. But all was not lost. I love tomato sandwiches and I sliced up that tomato and I made a bunch of sandwiches all by itself it was so big.

Picked tomatoes again today. Seems like I am always picking tomatoes.

Gardening is a wonderful thing isn't it Rita. The "bestest" friends I have, have come from my interest in gardening. I give tours of the gardens here and then I serve lunch or desserts and coffee. You meet the nicest people and many become lifelong friends.

I always seem to have an abundance of tomatoes from the garden. Makes me popular in the summer as I give them away to friends and neighbors.

Took a look at the zucchini plants late this afternoon before dark. Boy they are sorry looking, really full of heavily mildew covered leaves. Don't know if I should wait and see if more zucchini set or just pull them up now as they looked so bad.

Can't complain really as this was a great year. I got so many zucchini and all I did was plant the seedlings in the spring. These are my original plants still that I bought as seedlings at a local nursery.

I love this time of year for the wonderful decorations and the changing seasons. I love it when it's cooler out and you aren't dripping with sweat with every move you make. It's time for the corn shocks, pumpkins, and wonderful sunflowers that grace our front porch. It's time for squash and meatloaf and pumpkin pie and all those other yummy fall meals that I save just for this time of year. Most of all it's time for our trip to Wisconsin to watch the amish harvest crops, drive through the apple orchards, and load up on cheese, apples, squash and baking supplies. Can you tell I love this time of year, lol.

I sure can tell you love Fall. I love the harvest too. My favorite fall meals include baked squash with brown sugar, Green chili stew, mashed rutabaga with butter. Of course that's the time I start making soups, like chili, potato leek, or chicken vegetable. I eat soups all winter, but in the summer I don't make them.

You are making me hungry, Tom. What is your green chili stew like? It sounds good.