Fruits of the Garden

Purple Peppers

Zucchini that got out of control!

Pickling cucumbers

Potatoes

Pumpkin

The Sun is Back

The sun has returned to Vancouver, and after all the rain we had last week, there's been a lot of new growth in the garden. Previously, we had some little tomatoes forming, but all of a sudden the plants are covered in flowers and lots of new little tomatoes. It looks like the tomato harvest is going to be good! I've put up pics of a couple of the varieties we have going. The 1st is called Eva Purple Ball, and is a classic round tomato that will eventually be a pink-purple colour. The 2nd is a grape tomato, called Reisentraube, which will turn an orangey-red colour. And finally, the last is called Kellogg's Breakfast, and is a yellow beefsteak. And did I mention how amazing the tomatoes smell? Even the leaves smell great!

The cucumbers are also taking off, so I staked them yesterday to give them more room to grow. As I've discovered by growing them myself, cucumbers are covered in little prickly spikes. You'd never know to see them in the grocery store. I read online that the spikes rub off easily when the cucumbers are being washed. One of the main reasons that I wanted to grow cucumbers was that I wanted to start making my own pickles.

I'm kind of pickle obsessed, and I've found a recipe for garlic dills that sounds just perfect.

I tried my hand at making pickles earlier in the year with pickling

cukes from the Granville Island Market, but the recipe I used involved too much cooking, resulting in less than crunchy pickles. I can't wait to try again with my own cucumbers and this new recipe.