This year for the first time since I got sick 10 years ago, we have a little raised bed garden. Parsley, basil, oregano, and dill have done wonderfully well.. We have three kinds of peppers and the jalapeños are producing like crazy much to Tim’s delight (I’m not really into sweating while I eat) it’s been so heartwarming! And we’ve even exchanged a couple of peppers with our neighbors who give us tons of tomatoes and squash every year! I feel so much more alive! Oh, and we had two dwarf tomato plants in their own pots that sat on the shelf in the porch. They’ve gone on by now, but those were fun!
What wonderful news, Kathryn! I am so glad that you have a garden this year, and that growing some of your own food is bringing life into your days. If you want to try growing some tomatoes from seed next year, Renee's Garden Seeds has some wonderful heritage varieties optimized for containers and small spaces. I love Renee's seeds, and I love that she is one of the original chef-seed-growers to give home gardeners access to gourmet and heritage varieties. (She was also part of the group that convinced Michelle Obama to grow an edible garden at the White House.) https://www.reneesgarden.com/collections/vegetables/tomato/ I'm growing Tasmanian Chocolate and Bronze torch in containers this year, and they're amazing!
My wife, Lynda, usually planted at least twenty tomato plants, for fear we would not get enough. These were usually Beefsteak, a cherry tomato variety and several plants of the Heirlooms Brandywine and Cherokee Purple. Usually we got enough to share with our friends! I've never had tomatoes like those since!
Cherokee Purple is one of my favorite varieties. And I understand why Lynda planted so many tomato plants. They're irresistible, and the fruits are so delicious. :)
Oh Susan, I read your post with the taste of Heritage tomatoes on my tongue. I share your love of the tender planting, the waiting, the harvest and then the glorious color! I don't think I've ever felt more alive than the first time I made an entire meal from the fruits of my own garden. It was truly, heaven on earth. I'd love to add a photo that I had on my old blog: Life Change Compost. Let me see if I can do it. I appreciate you so much Susan.
Isn't it a gift to be able to grow our own food? There is truly nothing like the experience of making a meal from the garden (unless it is setting a table in the garden and eating there!).
Susan, is there a way to post a photo of the colorful harvest of the year, the Heritage varieties? Amana Orange, Brandywine, Orange Jubilee, Oxheart, Black Prince and Black Krim (deep purple/red varieties, incredible color and flavor!
Sadly, I don't know of a way to post photos in the comments. But just the names of the varieties are mouth-watering! (Which is why I always have too many tomato plants--I can't resist trying more varieties than I have space to actually grow! But my friends benefit from the bounty of tomato plants.)
Since moving to Whidbey Island, we've tried our hand at planting a few things and had some success. But we haven't learned harvesting (Dr. Google is helping us newbies), and we didn't plant basil. Or tomatoes. Could you please just ship me some tomatoes and basil pesto and we'll call it a day?
Oh, Jeannie! If I could, I would. Basil is really easy to grow in a place where you get actual rain like Whidbey. But it does need full sun there, as do tomatoes. You can also buy a basil plant and put it in a sunny windowsill in winter and have fresh basil in the gray months that way.
No longer planting a vegetable garden, I am happy to enjoy the fruits of others labor from our village farmers market each Saturday morning. I celebrate the first tomato each summer with a big BLT!
And when the peaches come in, I make a cobbler, put the word out to friends and wait to see who arrives with bowl and spoon in hand. One of my new favorite summer rituals.
Our peach vendor said we have maybe 2 more weeks before the season ends...an end of the summer cobbler may be in the oven this weekend...bring your bowl and spoon.
Farmer's markets are the best for connecting us to local produce and the people who nurture it for us. And a BLT and peach cobbler to share sound like wonderful Lúgnasa-season celebrations! What a treat to "hear" your voice in this space! May this last peach cobbler of the season bring a wonderful gathering of friends and much joy to you. Blessings, Susan
Happy Lúnasa to you as well, Janice! And congratulations on the publication of Craft and Current. I'm looking forward to delving into your approach to magical writing. Many blessings!
Looks delicious! I often have a “fried green tomato and peaches” dinner with a friend around this time of year but never connected it with Lughnasa - which is sort of a strange detail to miss. Thank you for the inspiration and connections!
A friend green tomato and peaches dinner sounds like a lovely way to honor Lúnasa and the harvest. My mom used to make friend green tomatoes--I had entirely forgotten that until your comment. Thanks for the memory!
A lovely ritual and tribute. Been a tough year for my PNW garden. Cold spring, late frosts and everything is behind. Looks like a green tomato year at my elevation. Fortunately, farms down the mountain have gorgeous tomatoes for sale. I have made and frozen several ice cube trays of pesto for winter use.
I'm sorry it's been such a hard year for your garden, but at least you have tomatoes, even if green--there's always fried green tomatoes to go with the ripe ones from the farms lower down! And you have pesto frozen for the winter. It sounds like that's worth celebrating by itself. Blessings to you, Sue.
Lunasa Celebration. I hadn't known there was a name for this favorite ritual of the first harvest of the tomato. I have never seen those adorable red tents before and delighted in seeing them pop out the top like a Jack-in-the-box. What a clever way to grow them there compared to the northeast and midwestern climates. I found myself drooling while reading about the taste of an heirloom tomato with fresh basil pesto. Euphoria is the taste of a "love apple."
Lúnasa is the centuries-old Celtic cross-quarter holiday in celebration of the harvest; I celebrate the day and time of year with my first-tomato ritual. Which is not actually Celtic except in its inspiration, since tomatoes are indigenous to the Americas! The tomato teepees are necessary to extend the season here: if I waited until after the first frost to plant my tomatoes, they would freeze back before any fruits ripened. Thanks for the reminder of the term "love apple" for tomatoes--I had forgotten about that!
Fresh tomatoes are delicious! Slathered with your basil pesto must elevate them to a whole new level. Reading of growing your tomatoes and basil and Lu'nasa is like tasting the tail end of summer, with all its sensory-ness. The little tomatoes and basil plants look so brave as they grow on your windowsill. (How to you get the punctuation mark above the "u" in Lu'nasa?)
Thank you, Jenny! I think if we forget to slow down and celebrate the markers of the seasons, we miss out on the fullness of this existence. One reason I like to grow some of my own food from seed is that tending plants from seed to fruit roots me (sorry for the pun!) in the cycle of life.
As for the accent mark over the "U," on my computer keyboard, the option key plus a letter key yields various diacritical marks. Option and E pressed at the same time sets up an accent, and then pressing U next puts the accent over the U. On my phone, if I hold down the U key, I get a popup menu with the various diacritical marks, and I just slide my finger to the one I want. I hope that helps!
Seeds are amazing. Such a small package of possibility. They can wait and wait until the opportune moment to germinate, then set out to do their thing as best they can. What a lesson in patience and perseverance, as well as in the continuance of life.
Thank you for the insights on the accent mark! Definitely useful.
Love this, Susan. It makes me want to go down and eat one of our garden tomatoes with some pesto, right now! I enjoyed reading about how you keep tomato plants thriving where you live. I think I’ve seen those little tp’s before but have not gardened in a place where I’ve needed to use them. Thanks again.
Emily, as always, thanks for making time to read and comment. I love hearing your voice here. And I say yes on picking a garden tomato fresh off the vine and slathering it with pesto! It's one of the succulent joys of summer, and a way to celebrate your garden and the love you give it, and yourself and the season. It's good to give ourselves time to celebrate and savor. Hugs to you.
Thank you, Susan. I did go grab a tomato and sprinkle it with some basil and salt after I read your piece yesterday! So good. And the reminder to celebrate cannot be given often enough.
This year for the first time since I got sick 10 years ago, we have a little raised bed garden. Parsley, basil, oregano, and dill have done wonderfully well.. We have three kinds of peppers and the jalapeños are producing like crazy much to Tim’s delight (I’m not really into sweating while I eat) it’s been so heartwarming! And we’ve even exchanged a couple of peppers with our neighbors who give us tons of tomatoes and squash every year! I feel so much more alive! Oh, and we had two dwarf tomato plants in their own pots that sat on the shelf in the porch. They’ve gone on by now, but those were fun!
What wonderful news, Kathryn! I am so glad that you have a garden this year, and that growing some of your own food is bringing life into your days. If you want to try growing some tomatoes from seed next year, Renee's Garden Seeds has some wonderful heritage varieties optimized for containers and small spaces. I love Renee's seeds, and I love that she is one of the original chef-seed-growers to give home gardeners access to gourmet and heritage varieties. (She was also part of the group that convinced Michelle Obama to grow an edible garden at the White House.) https://www.reneesgarden.com/collections/vegetables/tomato/ I'm growing Tasmanian Chocolate and Bronze torch in containers this year, and they're amazing!
Thank you!
My wife, Lynda, usually planted at least twenty tomato plants, for fear we would not get enough. These were usually Beefsteak, a cherry tomato variety and several plants of the Heirlooms Brandywine and Cherokee Purple. Usually we got enough to share with our friends! I've never had tomatoes like those since!
Cherokee Purple is one of my favorite varieties. And I understand why Lynda planted so many tomato plants. They're irresistible, and the fruits are so delicious. :)
Oh Susan, I read your post with the taste of Heritage tomatoes on my tongue. I share your love of the tender planting, the waiting, the harvest and then the glorious color! I don't think I've ever felt more alive than the first time I made an entire meal from the fruits of my own garden. It was truly, heaven on earth. I'd love to add a photo that I had on my old blog: Life Change Compost. Let me see if I can do it. I appreciate you so much Susan.
Isn't it a gift to be able to grow our own food? There is truly nothing like the experience of making a meal from the garden (unless it is setting a table in the garden and eating there!).
Susan, is there a way to post a photo of the colorful harvest of the year, the Heritage varieties? Amana Orange, Brandywine, Orange Jubilee, Oxheart, Black Prince and Black Krim (deep purple/red varieties, incredible color and flavor!
Sadly, I don't know of a way to post photos in the comments. But just the names of the varieties are mouth-watering! (Which is why I always have too many tomato plants--I can't resist trying more varieties than I have space to actually grow! But my friends benefit from the bounty of tomato plants.)
YUUUUUUMMMMMMMYYYYYYY!!!!!
If you were closer, I'd bring you some pesto and a ripe tomato.... :)
Since moving to Whidbey Island, we've tried our hand at planting a few things and had some success. But we haven't learned harvesting (Dr. Google is helping us newbies), and we didn't plant basil. Or tomatoes. Could you please just ship me some tomatoes and basil pesto and we'll call it a day?
Oh, Jeannie! If I could, I would. Basil is really easy to grow in a place where you get actual rain like Whidbey. But it does need full sun there, as do tomatoes. You can also buy a basil plant and put it in a sunny windowsill in winter and have fresh basil in the gray months that way.
No longer planting a vegetable garden, I am happy to enjoy the fruits of others labor from our village farmers market each Saturday morning. I celebrate the first tomato each summer with a big BLT!
And when the peaches come in, I make a cobbler, put the word out to friends and wait to see who arrives with bowl and spoon in hand. One of my new favorite summer rituals.
Our peach vendor said we have maybe 2 more weeks before the season ends...an end of the summer cobbler may be in the oven this weekend...bring your bowl and spoon.
Seasons best to you, my friend
Kathleen
Farmer's markets are the best for connecting us to local produce and the people who nurture it for us. And a BLT and peach cobbler to share sound like wonderful Lúgnasa-season celebrations! What a treat to "hear" your voice in this space! May this last peach cobbler of the season bring a wonderful gathering of friends and much joy to you. Blessings, Susan
happy lunasa.
Happy Lúnasa to you as well, Janice! And congratulations on the publication of Craft and Current. I'm looking forward to delving into your approach to magical writing. Many blessings!
Looks delicious! I often have a “fried green tomato and peaches” dinner with a friend around this time of year but never connected it with Lughnasa - which is sort of a strange detail to miss. Thank you for the inspiration and connections!
A friend green tomato and peaches dinner sounds like a lovely way to honor Lúnasa and the harvest. My mom used to make friend green tomatoes--I had entirely forgotten that until your comment. Thanks for the memory!
A lovely ritual and tribute. Been a tough year for my PNW garden. Cold spring, late frosts and everything is behind. Looks like a green tomato year at my elevation. Fortunately, farms down the mountain have gorgeous tomatoes for sale. I have made and frozen several ice cube trays of pesto for winter use.
I'm sorry it's been such a hard year for your garden, but at least you have tomatoes, even if green--there's always fried green tomatoes to go with the ripe ones from the farms lower down! And you have pesto frozen for the winter. It sounds like that's worth celebrating by itself. Blessings to you, Sue.
Lunasa Celebration. I hadn't known there was a name for this favorite ritual of the first harvest of the tomato. I have never seen those adorable red tents before and delighted in seeing them pop out the top like a Jack-in-the-box. What a clever way to grow them there compared to the northeast and midwestern climates. I found myself drooling while reading about the taste of an heirloom tomato with fresh basil pesto. Euphoria is the taste of a "love apple."
Lúnasa is the centuries-old Celtic cross-quarter holiday in celebration of the harvest; I celebrate the day and time of year with my first-tomato ritual. Which is not actually Celtic except in its inspiration, since tomatoes are indigenous to the Americas! The tomato teepees are necessary to extend the season here: if I waited until after the first frost to plant my tomatoes, they would freeze back before any fruits ripened. Thanks for the reminder of the term "love apple" for tomatoes--I had forgotten about that!
Let the harvest celebrations begin!
Fresh tomatoes are delicious! Slathered with your basil pesto must elevate them to a whole new level. Reading of growing your tomatoes and basil and Lu'nasa is like tasting the tail end of summer, with all its sensory-ness. The little tomatoes and basil plants look so brave as they grow on your windowsill. (How to you get the punctuation mark above the "u" in Lu'nasa?)
Thank you, Jenny! I think if we forget to slow down and celebrate the markers of the seasons, we miss out on the fullness of this existence. One reason I like to grow some of my own food from seed is that tending plants from seed to fruit roots me (sorry for the pun!) in the cycle of life.
As for the accent mark over the "U," on my computer keyboard, the option key plus a letter key yields various diacritical marks. Option and E pressed at the same time sets up an accent, and then pressing U next puts the accent over the U. On my phone, if I hold down the U key, I get a popup menu with the various diacritical marks, and I just slide my finger to the one I want. I hope that helps!
Seeds are amazing. Such a small package of possibility. They can wait and wait until the opportune moment to germinate, then set out to do their thing as best they can. What a lesson in patience and perseverance, as well as in the continuance of life.
Thank you for the insights on the accent mark! Definitely useful.
Love this, Susan. It makes me want to go down and eat one of our garden tomatoes with some pesto, right now! I enjoyed reading about how you keep tomato plants thriving where you live. I think I’ve seen those little tp’s before but have not gardened in a place where I’ve needed to use them. Thanks again.
Emily, as always, thanks for making time to read and comment. I love hearing your voice here. And I say yes on picking a garden tomato fresh off the vine and slathering it with pesto! It's one of the succulent joys of summer, and a way to celebrate your garden and the love you give it, and yourself and the season. It's good to give ourselves time to celebrate and savor. Hugs to you.
Thank you, Susan. I did go grab a tomato and sprinkle it with some basil and salt after I read your piece yesterday! So good. And the reminder to celebrate cannot be given often enough.
That sounds lovely! And happy belated Lúnasa. Yes to celebrating every day as sacred and ordinary and containing nuggets of beauty. :)