One sun sets….
…but the garden has its own version of the sun.
Our trip to the east coast is over. We are back in California. The air is warmer and drier. The water colder, but just as wet. And instead of other’s gardens and farms, we get to enjoy our own. It was a great trip, but we are glad to be home.
Sungolds, good in just about everything.
Macintosh apple coming in.
Gravenstein apples showing their colors.
The garden is about where we expected, but the progress always amazes. So much change in just a few weeks. The tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers and eggplant are in full swing. The melons are on the cusp, and we are very excited that we have enough to experiment. The strawberries are in their prime and will produce for a few more months.
The bees love the mint flowers. We are curious what impact, if any, on the honey.
Potato blossom. Another crop coming soon.
This is what happens to lettuces when they bolt. Oops.
In the orchard, a few peaches are still out there and we will harvest them in a few days. The Comice pears and figs are coming along. And the Gravenstein and Macintosh apples are ripening. Summer is here, but we do feel fall around the corner.
Our happy cucumber plant.
The eggplant are thriving, we know its been hot.
Yum.
A few varieties in this photo. Choices are good.
Purple “mystery” tomatoes. Our kids bought them at a garden sale. No idea what they are, but they are pretty and taste good.
We do see some signs of our absence. Some fruit went unharvested, greens bolted, and some zucchini went a bit crazy. Some of the green beans are so big we are almost afraid to eat them.
This melon will be ready in a day or two. Very exciting.
Almost ready….
We support our melons, if necessary… 😉
But for now, summer and smiles reign in the garden and kitchen. And, first and foremost, that means tomatoes. Caprese salads and bruschetta (recipes soon) will rule the kitchen. Eggplant and peppers won’t be far behind. The oven doesn’t see a lot of action this time of year, but we might light up the grill from time-to-time. And we will have friends over and share the bounty of the garden while summer lasts. It is good to be home.
Red beans. These are for drying and storing. Our first try with this type of bean.
Jimmy Nardello peppers, good red or green.
Not sure what we will do with all these Serrano peppers.
It’s good to be back. But the beach will always beckon.
Related articles
- Garden Update: A Big Haul (putneyfarm.com)
- Peaches! And Updates From The Orchard and Garden (putneyfarm.com)
- Simple Garden Recipes: Tomatoes And Green Beans (putneyfarm.com)
Putney Farm 
Lovely vegetables
Thx!
I love your melon hammock!! Especially after my post today!
We enjoyed your post! And yes, it is a melon “hammock”…we never tried it until this year- we will see how it goes..
Wouldn’t mind being a melon at your farm – what a fantastic place you have with all this goodness grown on your doorstep – reminds me abut a story about the priest that met a farmer working his fields .. and the priest said – You can thank God for this wonderful and plentiful fields, Yes, I do said the farmer but you should have seen the state of it when he gave it to me.
Thanks! And that is funny- as we did get the garden in a pretty good state to start with, but now as we look back it has changed a lot. And stone fruit orchard is all-new…
You have a garden of Eden … stunning and with all the goodies all around you.
Beautiful tomatoes! Well, and everything else, of course… but mostly the tomatoes!
It isn’t a summer garden w/out the tomatoes…we still gauge our overall success for the year on the blueberries and tomatoes…so far so good- we just hope the weather holds…
Lovely post! Enjoyed reading it and all the beautiful photos! 🙂
Many thanks! Thanks for visiting us!
Lovely photos of what looks like a very productive garden! Thanks for sharing! It is always nice to get home again.
Thanks. It is good to get home, but at least we were in “produce heaven” in the east end of Long Island…but we were starting to pine for our own garden…
Purple tomatoes! How neat…I bet they’ll make for some interesting-looking caprese salads. I’ve never heard of bolting greens before. Thanks for the garden tour..it’s fun to see the bounty of other gardens.
Thanks- and you will see the purple tomatoes in a post later this week…sort of a ligher plum color inside.
Bolting greens are a bit of a failure, as we didn’t harvest om time…but interesting to look at…
ooo! Can’t wait to see some truly plum tomatoes. 😉
BEAUTIFUL. Your crop is putting mine to shame….I am so jealous! Especially of those black tomatoes–I am kind of obsessed with those now!
We are learning more about the black / blue / purple tomatoes…they are very tasty. Trying to figure out our variety…we think it is an Indigo Rose, a variety developed by Oregon State University to maximize antioxidants…more to come..
everything looks so beautiful!!!!
Thanks, from a distance the garden looks like a big green blob, but up close you can see the good stuff… 😉
The garden looks amazing but the east end misses you guys!
I’ll be making corn salad and clams for dinner tomorrow in your honor 🙂
Thanks! We will certainly miss the company (and the clams)…and of course, the corn here isn’t quite as good…
Our best to all…
OMG. Please could you stop making me feel envy all the time? Huhuhu. I want to pick those tomatoes, those aubergines, those apples, those melons, those beans. And those mighty lettuces, sigh. If only I could…
Just kidding. Keep on planting. Keep on posting. Keep on making me feel envy all the time.
Thanks! We will certainly keep planting, posting…and eating!
Not too bad to come home to all that! Looks amazing as usual!
Thanks- always appreciated! Any thoughts on tomato and/or pepper infusions?
So beautiful! They are all performing well…except perhaps the lettuce, but they look kind of like Christmas Trees in a Nightmare Before Christmas sort of way! 🙂 D
Yes, we can call them “Tim Burton Greens”…he would like the look…
Happily, we can always start again.
What a gorgeous bounty – I’m envious of all the fresh vetetables on your back door step!
Thanks, and thanks for reading!
What a beautiful post, I’ve never seen such giant tomatoes. There is a nip in the morning air that feels like autumn is coming but looks like you’ll have a bountiful harvest.
Thanks…usually we get that first taste of fall on the east coast in late august, but we returned early this year…still summer here.
The big red heirlooms are very tasty this year…you will see one on a caprese salad post shortly…very happy with this plant…
The tomatoes look amazing. My terrace tomatoes are not so good this year. Extreme heat and heavy rains, plus a very early season = sub par year. The hot peppers are doing real good tough. Thanks again for keeping in touch with Fried Neck Bones…and Some Home Fries.
Thanks for visiting us…last year was our bad weather year and the tomatoes, while good, were not up to expectation. Hopefully you get an indian summer to end on a good note…
Nothing makes you appreciate home like a vacation. Your garden is beautiful, I love that fat orange tomato!
Thanks…and we ate that fat orange tomato- it was good!
I’m jealous! Don’t have the space, soil (we live in an area where there just to be toxic industries), and certainly not the climate to grow such stuff!
How tasty looking – you’ve made me hungry!
Good! And thanks. (now we need photos like yours!)
Oh gosh! This post makes me want to start my own farm! It’s lovely! 🙂
Thanks! Most appreciated…
everything looks fantastic as usual! x
beautiful garden 🙂
Many Thanks- and thanks for visiting us!
Wow! Really nice!
Thanks for visiting us!
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