cherry tomato – Cynthia M Voss

Acceptance Speech

Wow, I can’t believe this. Thank you so much! I feel like the luckiest person alive!

First, I’d like to thank the Sun, for everything you’ve done to make this possible. Every single day you’re there, giving it your all. And of course the Soil and the Rain–what a team–you were an integral part of the creative process. Your caring and patience made this happen.

Who could forget the Pollinators–bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, I hope I’m not forgetting anyone–thank you for all of your hard work and attention to detail. And the farmers, this wouldn’t be possible without your and dedication day in and day out.

Last but certainly not least, my eternal thanks to Nature. I’m in constant awe of all that you produce. You’re an inspiration to me every day, and I love you!! I’m going to treasure this!

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I don’t watch awards shows, but I am rooting for some of my favorite shows and actors in tonight’s Emmys, even though they are up against each other in the some of the same categories: Veep, Silicon Valley, The Last Man On Earth, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Saturday Night Live, Brooklyn 99, Key & Peele, Sherlock, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Conan, Last Week Tonight, Drunk History, Portlandia, Epic Rap Battles of History, Honest Trailers, and all the other fun stuff on TV and online. Good luck!!

My First Home-Grown Okra

I was happy to pick my first okra pod! The seeds were an experiment this year, and a happy surprise because I didn’t think they would do well in a container.

I also picked a bunch of cherry tomatoes (which are actually the size of blueberries) and some green zebras.

The okra flower was very pretty, but only lasted a day.

This was the growth the next day.

I missed photos of days 2 and 3, and I picked it on day 4.

There are always ups and downs in gardening, and this one of this year’s high points for sure.

Photo Challenge: Close Up–Container Garden Finds

From the ittiest, bittiest cherry tomatoes (some smaller than a peppercorn at this point)
To the soft and mysterious Dusty Miller

Okra flower bud — I haven’t tried to grow okra before, just picked up the seeds on a whim this spring.

To the beginnings of an okra flower, these are busy days in the little balcony garden.

Things change in a matter of hours: tomatoes ripen, peppers swell, the occasional morning glory shows itself, mint tries to creep in every other pot it can find, kale leaves disappear into the mouths of voracious cabbage butterfly caterpillars.

Some changes are better than others but they are all interesting to watch.

In response to this week’s theme Close up

The Summer Half of the Color Wheel

Orange, yellow, and green — three colors showing one of the best things that summer has to offer.
These cherry tomatoes are tiny, but they are filled with summertime flavor and make me happy. I love stepping outside for a little snack, and watching the colors change from green to yellow to orange.

Morning Sun on the Tomatoes

So the sun shines on this little plant, and three months later there are these red tomatoes to eat? Amazing.

Photo Challenge: Muse — Nature

My muse is found in nature. In growth and change. How does a tiny seed turn into a flower, or even more amazing, into something I can eat?

I love to get out and explore new gardens, parks, and places, but I can’t always do that. My little garden on my balcony helps me see some of the small changes that are always happening in nature. Some flowers last a few weeks, others, just a day.

Tomato flower silhouette — Tomato flowers

Nature never stops. There’s always something new to see. It could be a big change or small. I can always find something to get lost looking at, and something to inspire me.

This week’s photo challenge theme is Muse.

Is Summer Over Already?

The changing leaves in New England, foliage — The changing leaves in New England

Haha, I started this draft a month ago. I guess it’s better late than never?

I suppose I haven’t blogged in a bit. Summer was just starting to get busy and boom, now it’s done.

I’m trying to get everything back into a routine. Still trying to grow a few vegetables and flowers out on my balcony. I’ve picked a few Lemon Boy tomatoes, a few red ones from the plant labeled “Patio,” and quite a few of the cherries (although they end up being more like the size of blueberries). I discovered that at least one of the Hungarian wax pepper plants will produce peppers that turn red and get quite spicy if I leave them on the plant long enough. That was a nice surprise. Perhaps it’s a slightly different kind of pepper plant?

Or maybe Hungarian wax peppers are similar to shishitos, which I discovered at the farmer’s market a few months ago, where about 1 in 10 is spicy. I have been eating shishitos all summer, usually just pan fried and sprinkled with a little salt. Sometimes thrown into a stir fry. With it’s thin skin and membrane, you can eat the seeds and everything but the stem. They are delicious.

Anyway, I have a few months worth of photos to look through and post. We’ve had many happy trips to farms to pick our own food and for the kids to learn about how it grows. I’ve been cooking a lot and have attempted canning this year. I’ll post more about my canning adventures soon.

I hope you are enjoying October in your part of the world!

Progress in my Container Garden

It’s always encouraging to see progress in your garden.

I have teeny, tiny tomatoes growing now. Seems like the spider shaped flowers have produced some fruit. Above is a tomato growing from the flower from my ‘Lemon Boy.’

And this will be a cherry tomato when it grows up.

This Hungarian Yellow Wax pepper is really coming along. Just three weeks ago it was a flower.

Hungarian Yellow Wax pepper growing nicely

These are radish flowers. When I plant radish seeds, they generally don’t grow radish bulbs, but they will produce flowers if I let them go long enough. I may actually have one radish out there, which is exciting. I’ll peek sometime soon, but I don’t want to disturb it much. The rest of the plants in the pot were either eaten as lettuce greens when they were shoots, or they are growing wild and making flowers.