The Monster [Tomato] that Ate Manhattan

Well, it didn't really eat Manhattan. But it does look like one tomato started consuming a whole bunch of others, particularly if you look at the bottom side of the tomato. This mutated marvel is a Beefsteak tomato that has gotten totally out of control. I'm pretty certain it will end up as tomato sauce rather than sandwich slices, because I can't quite fathom where to begin slicing on this one. Notice that it has two stems at the top that merge into the vine! Somehow, it began as two tomatoes and then mutated into one. It's a pretty good size, too--I've provided a sun sugar cherry-size tomato to help give you a sense of scale.

All in all yesterday, I collected 5 Beefsteak tomatoes, 8 Best Boys, and 170 sun sugar tomatoes. Add to that the 8 cucumbers I picked today, and I'd say that was a decent harvest. Since the sun sugar tomatoes just keep on producing, I took the freshly harvested ones to church this morning to spread the golden wealth around.

TOTAL PRODUCE COUNT TO DATE:
Zucchini: 95
Cucumbers: 161
White Onions: 1
Yellow Onions: 2
Sun Sugar Tomatoes: 533
Beefsteak Tomatoes: 36
Best Boy Tomatoes: 27
Herbs: cilantro, mint, dill

"All Zukes Dark and Beautiful / All Produce Great and Small"

The tomatoes keep coming, even as the zucchini and the cucumbers start slowing down. I harvested this evening and found 51 sun sugar tomatoes, 6 Beefsteak tomatoes, and 14 Best Boy tomatoes...oh, and 2 zukes.

What was most fun for me was to see how big some of the Beefsteak tomatoes are getting. To give you a sense of the scale, I've taken a picture of today's largest Beefsteak (and the largest I've harvested so far) alongside one of my sun sugar tomatoes, which is the average size of a cherry tomato. It's times like this when I wish I had a food scale so I could weigh the tomato. I'll have to look for an inexpensive scale.

TOTAL PRODUCE COUNT TO DATE:
Zucchini: 89
Cucumbers: 88
White Onions: 1
Yellow Onions: 1
Sun Sugar Tomatoes: 363
Beefsteak Tomatoes: 20
Best Boy Tomatoes: 18
Herbs: cilantro, mint, dill

An Abundance of Tomatoes

The zucchini are definitely slowing down, and the plants look like they have a leaf mold growing on them--not surprising, given the mad rains we've had recently. I'll have to read more about the situation before I decide what to do with the zucchini plants. When I harvested today (3 zucchini), I only spied a couple of blossoms here and there, so it looks like zucchini season may be over. Wow, what a run it was!

The cucumbers are still producing heartily, and this evening I harvested 11 more. I'll definitely be making another batch of bread-and-butter pickles tonight. I gave away all but a couple of 1/2 pints that I had previously made, so I'll need to make a couple of batches this time...and I'm going to try a small batch of freezer dill pickles.

The tomatoes are coming on now. I pulled in 8 Beefsteak tomatoes, 4 Best Boys, and 57 sun sugar tomatoes. The first few Beefsteaks I harvested have been eaten in parts, but as they tomatoes begin turning more quickly now, it looks like I'll have plenty of blemish-free tomatoes soon. I had a couple in this batch already.

The okra plants are tall and should be getting okra on them soon, and the pepper plants continue to grow slowly. My fear with the okra plants is that the Japanese Beetles seem to have found them. I have to go out and knock them into a bucket of water. It seems like these bugs will never die! Every time we think we have them eliminated or reduced to a manageable amount, they come back in greater numbers than before. We'll definitely be treating with milky spore this year.

TOTAL PRODUCE COUNT TO DATE:
Zucchini: 82
Cucumbers: 88
White Onions: 1
Yellow Onions: 1
Sun Sugar Tomatoes: 228
Beefsteak Tomatoes: 10
Best Boy Tomatoes: 4
Herbs: cilantro, mint, dill