This is bed 3, a.k.a Disaster Zone Major. Let me tell you how it got to this sad state. Last week I was trying to harvest some tomatoes because we were all set to start a batch of pizza sauce to can but still needed about 2 pounds of tomatoes. Two months ago we thought we had a brilliant idea to staple one side closed (the side you see) and leave the other side loose but weighted down with a board along the other side of the bed. This would have been a good idea if the beans didn't decide to use the net as a trellis. They are bush beans so I didn't think they would do that but they are deceitful little things. Anyway, now I could no longer open the loose side, at least not without tearing out the beans (which I should have done because this is a much bigger mess from not having done so). So what did I do? I tore a little hole in the top of the net so that I could reach down in and grab some.... Well that little tear resulted in the above. Who knew that tomato plants weigh, like, a lot? They busted out of there like Hulk through his shirt.
Oh and here's a side story for you: the other day we went out to check the garden and in front of the awol tomato plants were two cigarettes, and in our driveway was an empty pack. We thought it was odd and decided that it was likely a neighbor had come to look at our beds and they had fallen out of their pocket. I don't really like that scenario but we've kind of been the talk of the neighborhood since we built our beds so I didn't think much of it. Fast forward a day and I'm out in the garden again, excited to pick my two biggest, best tomatoes that I've been leaving to ripen just a little bit more. I pull up the screen on bed 2 and THEY'RE GONE!! 😱😱 Now, I don't get mad easily (like, really mad, to clarify for all you naysayers. I get annoyed easily, but that's different) but I WAS SO MAD. And I still kinda am. Philip thinks I'm ridiculous for still being mad about it because there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. But I say, don't talk logically to me, I'll be mad if I want to. I'm mad because they could do it again at any time and I can't do anything to stop them....or can I? How about a human-sized version of my rabbit trap in the Fairy Garden? Ohh or maybe razor blades placed strategically throughout my plants? I think either one is a good plan. Honestly though, if someone asked me to give them tomatoes, I would in a heartbeat! But don't STEAL them and definitely don't steal my best ones!! Who does that?! I came to the conclusion that cigarette-loser was most likely also stealing out of bed 3 and the cigarettes fell out of their pocket when they bent down to get them. For those of you who know me well, you know how much I hate cigarettes. So the only solace I got from this whole situation was that I threw the thiefs cigarettes in my outside garage can that had dog poo in it 😈.
Sigh. Anyway, where was I? I got all worked up telling you about that and lost my train of thought. Oh well. To sum it up, Diaster Zone Major got a huge makeover. The watermelon plant was obviously done so we threw it out. We only had two watermelons that amounted to any decent size this season but didn't get to eat one because we accidentally broke it off before it was all the way ripe. It took about 3 1/2 hours but we got the majority of the tomato plants gathered up and staked (again. With bigger stakes). A few didn't make it but that's to be expected when they were fighting each other for space. While we were cleaning up that bed, a neighbor drove by very slowly (which isn't abnormal because most of our neighbors are...vintage 😉). When they didn't creep on by I went to talk to him. He said he wasn't being nosy, he was just trying to learn what to do. Little did he know, he came to the wrong place for that. If he had wanted to know what NOT to do, we could've given him a plethora of information!
The good news is after all that reconstruction, we now have about one bazillion tomatoes. We froze most of them because we were told you can do that. I hope they're right. The tear that caused Disaster Zone Major did allow me to harvest enough tomatoes for a batch of pizza sauce.
I always get the crappy job of peeling the tomatoes. And potatoes. And anything else that needs peeled. 🙄 Philip claims it gives him a headache to peel anything (which we both know is a lie..a very, very bad one).
We cooked the sauce a bit longer than we did last time because it was very runny then. This batch is much thicker but also produced less. We got 7 jars out of this batch.
That's ok though, I'm pretty sure we're going to have enough to make some more 😉. This is what I picked tonight. Yes, that's my kitchen sink that is filled with tomatoes.
Here's an odd one for you:
Is that like 5 tomatoes encased in one outer skin? I'm not sure and google didn't help me find the answer so if anyone knows what's going on here, please enlighten me.
I also wanted you to see how big that freakin watermelon is. We plan to eat it tomorrow, I'll let you know if it's any good.
I was scrolling through my pics to make sure I didn't forget about anything I wanted to tell you all and I had to include this one. A post that doesn't include a pic of Sansa is just incomplete. This is how she cools off after a walk: by laying her face directly on the vent. I personally wouldn't want cold air blowing directly into my ear but to each her own.
Have a good night and remember, Labor Day does not mark the end of summer. Fall does not officially begin until September 22 so I will be showing off my love of pineapples and flip flops for three more weeks... and you should too! 😊😉🌴🐝🌷☀️🍍
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