Mater Madness

While most everyone else on the East coast has been hit by late blight, I have had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year.  I’ve been throwing them in ziplocs then into the freezer in hopes that I’ll get around to canning them sometime before 2010.   My basket last night was so heavy with tomatoes I barely managed to carry it into the house and my back thanked me for it most the night.

 

While I’m bragging about my tomato success and the rest of you are ready to beat me senseless, let me tell you about all the failures I’ve also had this year. 

My sweet bell pepper plants are beautiful!  Full, tall, luscious… and not one pepper or flower on the bunch.  Anyone need some nitrogen?  I seem to have more than enough.

My zucchinis and summer squash died shortly after flowering thanks to squash bugs. 

My cucumber plants didn’t make it three days after transplant.

My eggplants were swarmed by flea beetles before I got them covered with Remay and I’ll be lucky to get any fruits this year.

I’ve had three Pony Yellow watermelons so far, but the rest of my watermelon and melon plants are barely even flowering. 

My beautiful and plentiful garlic harvest was peed on by a senile Woogie as it was drying on the kitchen table.  I dare any of you to combine garlic and cat pee and take a nice deep whiff.   Hopefully, the bulbs aren’t ruined and I can plant them all next month without them still smelling like cat pee at harvest time.

I had planted the winter squash in a new garden this year and then never had time to keep it weeded.   Much to my dismay, there will not be any winter squash baked with maple syrup and brown sugar this year.

Glenn’s collards look like yellow lace thanks to all the bugs that the guineas are ignoring.  But hey, the chard and Tyfon Holland greens still look great and have a third crop ready for canning/freezing already.

The sweet corn did really well this year and I have never had such nice looking ears that have also been completely untouched by bugs.   The Litchi tomatoes and Pineapple tomatillos are also doing great, as are all the flowers I planted.  Except the Cosmos, which all decided to grow 7’ tall before flowering.  Again with the nitrogen!  You’d think I’d learn.

Oh well, there’s always next year.

Of course, I said that last year and a lot of good it did me.