pale september

well... its almost october and we're still getting tomatoes, especially from the yellow pear plants.  those little guys are still churnin' out like mad!  the eggplants are still coming, too.

there's one zucchini that has started growing on the vine, which is strange because i thought the damned thing was dying.  the flowers have been withering without even opening.  maybe this is the last hurrah.  i'm not complaining.

next year we definitely need a second bed, same size, to have more variety and better spacing.  i can only put 4 tomato plants in next year, and we have to built a scaffold for the cucumbers, zucchini, and beans.  we have to be much more on top of the herbs, too.  can't let the basil flower.  gotta give the sage and oregano more space.

next year  we WILL have:
yellow pear tomatoes
some variety of red tomatoes
maybe an heirloom variety
basil
sage
oregano
eggplant
cucumber
zucchini

we will NOT have:
broccoli
zebra tomatoes

the toys go winding down

the zucchini seems to be at the end of its season.

the cucumber is slowing down dramatically.

the eggplant is still going strong, though.  thank goodness for that!

i have discovered that broccoli florets are, in fact, flower buds.  we were away when our broccoli ripened, and when we got home, we had this lovely yellow bundle of tiny flowers.  its pretty, at least.

we bought a cheap compost bin at home depot.  its working like a dream.  when you touch the sides, you can feel the heat emanating from the inside.  every day, the matter inside has shrunk a few inches.  i pour in the kitchen compost bin every few days, and then cover up the food material with grass clippings and dry leaves from the pile in the back of the yard.  fantastic!  it'll be beautiful come spring 2011!