Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Reds in the August Garden

My favourite red in the garden...tomatoes! Finally, they are ripening and we are enjoying juicy open faced sandwiches for lunch most days now. The last few years I've stopped growing a lot of the heirloom varieties we loved because of  late blight. Now, I grow early cropping bush types like Scotia, which was developed here in Nova Scotia and Sub-Arctic Plenty was has an interesting history. Developed in the 1940's to provide the US Air Force stationed in Greenland with fresh tomatoes, it has a unique ability to set fruit early under cool conditions. Good news for me. I do have a few cherry tomatoes, like Tumbling Tom in a container, and a good size Mexico Midget which was never touched by the late blight in years past, so I grow that also. The fruit are the size of blueberries and packed with flavor.

The weather has changed, with the clear skies of autumn, and cool overnight yet quite lovely and hot the last few days. So the other reds that are in the garden, in the flower beds, are looking very handsome and give the eyes a real boost. Crocosmia has survived three years now, only marginal where I am (Zone 6), and this year its outdone itself. The hummingbirds are enjoying it also, as their preferred flower, Scarlet Monarda has just about finished.
There's another plant in the flowerbed that is a long bloomer and also marginally hardy here so it doesn't become invasive. It is Persicaria Firetail and although not tomato red, it is another plant that makes the August and September garden glow.
We are eating beans, both the French Filet and the climbing, white Blancoma and red Cylinder beets, carrots and a fresh crop of arugula and mixed greens...perfect for those tomato sandwiches! Overdid it with the pumpkins, Acorn squash and Blue Hubbard squash, which is climbing over everything even the asparagus that's gone to fern. Rather wild looking here right now. The deer visited one night so we lost a lot of the leaves on the trellised beans but they are recovering. Sigh...where did August go?

27 comments:

  1. Brenda, your garden takes my breath away. You put textures and colours together like no one I've seen. Love it.

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    1. Blush... Erin how I would love to be in Sidney sharing the experience of your new garden! Thank you for your kind words.

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  2. My tomatoes have almost finished for this year - I have stuck to my favourites that I know will do well for me - and have been busily filling the freezer with them for lots of lovely sauces and soups in winter. Your garden is looking lovely especially the red and gold combination of flowers - the year is passing by so quickly- your squash plants look magnificent - I haven't the room to grow any now which is a shame as they are such a useful crop.

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    1. Thank you Elaine for your kind comment. Yes, sticking to one's favourites is a good idea, those you know work best in your own garden. Elaine, I too didn't have the room which is why they are rampant but, it is such a useful crop as you say, and they carry me through the winter more than others.

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  3. Your garden is gorgeous and what can one say about a bowl of juicy red tomatoes. Yummmmm

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    1. My favourite from the garden! Think yours too. Thanks for commenting.

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  4. Yes where did August go? OOh red homegrown tomatoes, tasty. We have barely had much success this year.

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    1. Every year is different Shaheen, and August seems to have come and is going as fast as July did. Long autumn let's hope.

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  5. Yes, the red of tomatoes is more or less synonymous with August for me! I tried Sub-Arctic Plenty once, but it didn't do very well. I thought it would be perfect for our normally grey UK Summers! Crocosmia is also a "significant" plant for me, because it grows very profusely in Cornwall, which I think of as my ancestral home.

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    1. Oh Mark that is the first time I saw crocosmia in bloom, in Cornwall. I felt sure they wouldn't survive here but they have!

      I too would have thought Sub-Arctic would have been good for your location. Thanks for your comment.

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  6. What a pretty stroll here this morning.
    I just came in from picking a few red tomatoes myself !

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    1. Thank you Willow. "picking a few red tomatoes myself" says it all...Enjoy.

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  7. We haven't grown anything for our table this year and I miss the burst of flavour from a just-picked cherry tomato, hot from the vine. Luckily there are lots of farm stands to choose from and I can get that great taste at a price!

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    1. Farm stands and farm markets are wonderful aren't they, especially in your area!

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  8. We only grow tomatoes in greenhouses now because of blight.

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    1. Oh for a proper greenhouse like yours Sue. You always get a good crop.

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  9. I'm right there with you - where did August go?!?! Cannot believe it's over and apples are starting to drop. Tomatoes are just starting to ripen here. Thought I was very behind but seems my plants are close in time to yours. No late blight this year (so far) but early blight has created havoc. I'll still harvest some but it's not a great sight. and too soon I told you my squash had fared just fine. Zucchini got wiped out by powdery mildew. On the bright side the Purple Peacock beans you provided me with are growing like gangbusters, along with Dragons Tongue. We are eating our weight in beans the past couple weeks.

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    1. So pleased to read your update on your Canoe Cove garden. Glad the Purple Peacock were a hit!

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  10. Your tomatoes look so red and tasty. Your garden looks beautiful too with such bright colours. Sarah x

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  11. Where did August go? For that matter, where did summer go? I can't remember a summer that zipped by so quickly. I was feeling proud that I had a few decent tomatoes, but then some creature got at them while they were green and just starting to ripen. I'd feel better if they ate them, but instead they took a few bites and left them on the top of the fence. Squirrels I wonder? Racoons maybe? I am thinking that early cropping tomatoes like your Scotia ones might be an idea for me as well. Here it is September and I am still waiting for the remaining fruit to ripen.
    My Mom gave me some Crocosmia bulbs. They were languishing in the package in the back of her cupboard. I doubt they would bloom, but I am thinking I should plant them even this late so they gather up a little energy to make it through winter.
    The weather was hot and humid, but now it has mellowed. I hope you enjoy these early fall days Bren!

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    1. What a lovely comment, catching me up on your garden and weather. Squirrels around here pick the cherry tomatoes and take little bites and never seem to eat them all. Yes, the early Scotia tomatoes might work better for you. Mine are almost finished.

      Do put the crocosmia in the ground. They should be fine where you are. I hope we have a lovely fall. So far it is quite lovely if we can just avoid an early frost with this full moon. Thanks for your kind words Jennifer.

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  12. Hi again Brenda, I have to say I always think of you when I see tomato images in blogs. I love that you share your experience in growing them :-)

    I agree, red can look handsome at this time of year. I took a photo of a Crocosmia on a garden visit just today – great to hear yours has performed well this year :-)

    I can’t imagine deer in my garden in the evening – our hedgehog visitors are the gardener’s friend eating slugs. Let me know when you find out where August went ;-)

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  13. Hi Brenda! Great to hear from you again! I absolutely love the third picture down. What is growing amongst the firetail? I love the color combination and have never seen a yellow flower with that kind of red center before.

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    1. Here is the plant name. Heliopsis helianthoides ‘Summer Nights’ so not a rudbeckia as I had thought. Google has lots of good images.

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    2. Thanks!!!! I will have to put it on my plant list for next year. I am terrible at keeping track of all the botanical names of the plants I buy. Sometimes I feel like I need to come up with a plant yearbook.

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  14. Thomas...so glad to hear from you. Love your new blog. I think the flower is a Rudbeckia, very tall with burgundy stems and it has flounced onto the leaves of the firetail for support. Will try to find the proper name. The color combo is one that just 'happened' as it seeded in the firetail. Stand by please.

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