My Garden in August

Things are going well in my little garden, even with the intense summer heat. I've been getting lots of ripe Yellow Pear tomatoes and Juliet tomatoes, a small Roma variety. Now some of the larger varieties are starting to ripen. I've had several hot peppers and bell peppers ripen and some cucumbers are coming on. The lettuce and sugar snap peas wilted long ago in the 90+ degree weather we've been having all summer.

One of the plants that I started from seed that survived was a Thai eggplant. The seed came free as a thank you gift from the heirloom seed company I ordered from this spring. I didn't know if the plant would survive, but I planted it outside anyway. Recently it shot up in size and put on buds. This morning I found this pretty little bloom.

I'm curious to try this eggplant variety and I hope the bloom produces an eggplant!

Stay cool!

Progress on Frankenfish Ban

In an earlier post, I explained the issues surrounding genetically-engineered salmon. The House of Representatives passed a ban on these "frankenfish." Recently, a bi-partisan appeal has been made to the FDA by both members of the House and members of the Senate to end the FDA's plans to approve the genetically-engineered salmon. A draft of the same ban is being drawn up for the Senate's vote. This bi-partisan appeal is a good sign! Hopefully, our lawmakers won't let us down on this issue!
Lawmakers Tell FDA to Back Off on GE Salmon - article

First Tomato of the Season

I found the first ripe tomato in my garden this weekend. It was one of the Yellow Pear variety. It's small, like a cherry tomato, but pear-shaped and yellow. They taste great in a salad! I have a lot of green tomatoes now. Bell peppers and hot banana peppers are also appearing. Yum!

Locavore Programs

Nationwide, a movement called the 100-Mile Meal is educating the public about the benefits of locavorism. The movement promotes eating food that originates within 100 miles of where you live. Athens, Ohio is pushing that idea a bit further and has started the 30-Mile Meal. The link below has a nice little article about it. I feel lucky to live close enough to Athens to take part in its rich locavore traditions!
Athens proudly sits near the top of the locavore food chain - Athens News article

July is 30-Mile-Meal month. If you have the chance to visit the Athens area, this website will provide more information and a map of participating food producers.
The 30 Mile Meal - Athens, Ohio

The national 100 Mile Meal movement's website is here:
The 100 Mile Meal Diet

Frankenfish

Below is a link to an article about the proposed ban on genetically-modified salmon. GMO salmon would be the first genetically-modified animal to be sold as food. GMO fruits and vegetables have been sold for quite some time. The ban is not law yet - it still needs to pass the Senate. We can only hope that it does pass. I found it interesting (and a bit ominous) to see that the name of this "fish" is a registered trademark. I think most of us would prefer that our meat and fish be natural, and not created in a lab.
GMO Salmon article

Morning Surprises!

When I checked on my garden this morning, I found two surprises - a small tomato and a small pepper!

The tomato is a variety called Yellow Pear, described as a small, sweetish tomato perfect for snacking and salads. The pepper is a Hot Banana pepper.

My daughter, who was flitting about the yard in last Halloween's pink princess dress, was delighted to see that the red raspberries are getting a pinkish tint to them.

I am as excited as a kid!! :)

Back on Track

The rainy spell we've endured seems to have ended and the garden is doing well. A few heirloom plants have survived: carrots, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, lettuce, one Anaheim pepper plant, and one bell pepper plant. I was able to buy heirloom tomato plants, and they are growing and putting on blooms already. The raspberry canes I planted are still small, but are putting on a few berries, surprising in their first year. It won't amount to more than a handful, but I'm still excited. I've filled the rest of my garden squares with bell peppers and one Hot Banana pepper plant, as well as planting a couple of pumpkins. My daughter has always wanted to grow a pumpkin. She was excited to see that they have sprouted this morning. The damage she did to the onions has been corrected. I'm glad onions are so easy to grow! We seem to be back on track! :)