Saturday, August 22, 2009

More things ready

Our summer has been so hot this year - my tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are the biggest plants I've ever had, with fruit hanging all over them.

The first few peppers: hot banana peppers at bottom, jalapenos to the right, a purple bell above, and Hungarian black peppers at top left.

I love the variety of tomatoes we grew this year. Big ugly Purple Cherokee heirlooms are full of flavor, perfect fresh with basil, fresh mozzarella, and a good balsamic vinegar. Early ripening Stupice are fantastic slicers that have yielded the greatest so far, and Sungold cherry tomatoes are the sweetest, best tasting fresh tomatoes I've ever had.

My late-planted carrots are big enough to begin thinning out. Straight from the ground carrots are hard to beat fresh.

And here's something you don't see every day - a potato fruit. The flowers are rarely able to set fruit, as the real action is taking place underground, where the potatoes are forming. However, if your potatoes happen to set and mature fruit, don't eat it! The fruits contain high levels of toxic alkaloids that attack the nervous system (potatoes are in the deadly nightshade family, after all). I'll stick to the tubers, thanks.

1 comment:

The Momma said...

I didn't know that about potatoes. And it would be just like me to eat the fruit if I saw one. A relative of nightshade! I suppose I knew that but have blocked that fact because I HATE nightshade and I love potatoes. I going to search tomorrow for fruit on our potatoes.

Your other produce looks beautiful too, Ty. It must be great eating every night in the Herold-Marrs household. It really is making me hungry and I'm going to get up in a few minutes to get something to eat.