Where did Summer Go?

“Summer is kind of like the ultimate one-night stand: hot as hell, totally thrilling, and gone before you know it.”
-unknown source


At first it seemed that summer would never arrive here in the Northwest. The rain was relentless leaving us with a muddy garden that was too wet to plant. It was June before we could get anything in the ground and it had all the makings of a green tomato year. We finally managed to get two hoop houses up and Kitty worked diligently to get our hot weather crops and watering system in while I cobbled together some raised beds for the outer garden. While folks in the East and South suffered oppressive heat, we were teased with only 2-3 days in a row of sunshine only to have the rain return for several days. It was August before any semblance of summer actually arrived. Here it is fall already and lo and behold we are harvesting our best garden crops since we moved here. Tomatoes are actually ripening and they are some of the best we have ever tasted. Bell peppers have always been difficult to grow here even in a hoop house and this year they are prolific and huge. It looked like the eggplant was never going to produce and now it’s all we can do to keep up with it. Here's a photographic look at this year's bounty. We will devote the next few postings to sharing ideas and recipes for using our bounty.



































So how did your garden grow and what preservation tips do you have to share?