Say what?...a Freeze Warning! No!

So I was going away for Memorial Day weekend and had been nurturing 4 nice tomato plants on my front porch, but wasn't sure if they would make it 3-4 days without watering.  I decided early the week before that they would fare better in my garden than on my porch, but late in the week I dreaded I had made a mistake.  As I headed out of town on Friday, I pulled up the weather only to notice there was a frost warning, or was it a freeze warning, I can't quite remember, but all three nights I was gone there was a freeze or frost warning and there was nothing I could do from miles away.
I was so busy when I returned, that I didn't make the dreaded walk to the garden until this evening, just before I set off to the greenhouse to purchase some new tomato plants.  How grateful I was when I found that God had left me a little birthday present, one of my Japanese Black Trifles had managed to survive the 3 cold nights, the rest were gone, but standing there by itself was one of my prized tomatoes with a few brown edged leaves, looking slightly beat up, but I think it will survive.  I most definitely said a prayer thanksgiving and gratitude.
I hurried off to the greenhouse to see what other tomatoes I could find and came home, with another Japanese Black Trifle, 3 Oxhearts, 2 Hungarian Oxhearts, 2 Cherokee Purples, a Great White, and 2 Snow Whites, more tomatoes than I will probably need, but perhaps my mother will want some.  These tomatoes will replace the one Trifle, one Giantissmo Oxheart, and one Cherokee Purple.  I also lost a pepper plant and a thai basil plant.  I did pick up a few peppers, but not any basil yet.  I got 2 kung pao peppers, 2 giant aconcagua peppers, and 2 giant marconi peppers.
Also in my collection from the green house is a little fingers eggplant.  I have never had much luck with eggplant, planted one multiple times and have yet to have seen any eggplants, so maybe this year.

Our Pardoned Salad

 Some pardon turkeys on Thanksgiving, but we pardoned the salad.  Well all least we used it to add a little green to our table.

A Fall Hello

My garden is empty.  On a nice day last weekend I cleaned up most of my garden, leaving just my kale.  I would post a picture of my kale for you, but one of my helpful fellow gardeners seemed to have helped me out while I was busy enjoying the company of my aunt and uncle and cousin and his wife who were visiting my parents this week and weekend.  Guess I won't be harvesting any more kale.  Oh well.

A sunflower field from my travels this summer.

Is it really fall already?

I can't believe it is time to clean up my garden and I haven't posted a thing since June.  Well, today I thought I would enjoy a few kale chips from my garden, and was pleasantly surprised with a few Snow White tomatoes.  Seems that even though the plant froze about a week or two ago, a few had fallen on the ground, and it stayed warm enough that I could still enjoy them this evening with my brown rice and kale chips.

Kale chips ready for the oven.

Praying for Rain....but I still have to weed.

    It has been hot and dry and the ground is hard, now that I have my cast off, I have two hands to carry the watering can....and two hands to weed, but I have yet to do that - maybe tomorrow.  According to the weather man, it is considering raining today, that would be a blessing....but my weeds will grow too.  Oh well, I will still need to weed, so bring on the rain.  Here are a few pictures of my porch pot and hanging baskets today.

The hanging baskets

The porch pot

My garden planted and growing, but in need of weeding.

Spring Pots

So I have been doing some gardening this spring.  Here are a few of my pots that I have on my porch, they are a little fuller now as it has been about a month since I planted them.

Dahlias, petunias, geranium, and some spiky thing. 

Basil, geranium, and roesemary

I also revamped my fairy gardened, added a house and replaced the dead pine with a olive tree.  

Also had some help from mom to get my vegetables planted, since I am having some difficulties with my right hand - not allowed to lift anything, little use of my thumb as noted in the last picture.  

Thanks Mom.

Setting up teepees, for my long beans and rattlesnake beans.

Managed to take a flying exit from my bike March 17 and it has slowed me down a bit.    I got this beautiful cast a little over 3 weeks ago, after finally going to see an orthopedic doctor.  Hit a pothole while bicycling, and it just kept giving me problems, no broken bones, but a partially torn ligament and some fluid around one of the bones.  Looking forward to its return to proper use.

It is February, but feels almost as if spring is in the air. I suppose it is time to start thinking about what I want to plant in my garden this year and order any seeds that I want to start.

Since I haven't posted in a while, here are a few late findings from my garden las fall.

A persimmon tomato

Hungarian Oxheart tomato

Beets from my garden that I shredded for a salad.

I mixed them with mandolin sliced spinach and tossed them with some dressing.

A tomatilla from my garden.

They never really got any bigger than that before frost, so here are some I got at the farmer's market.

I am thinking maybe some Hungarian Oxheart, one yellow tomato plant - perhaps persimmon, San Marzano for sauce, and a Snow White cherry tomato this year, and maybe one Japanese Black Trifle, if I can find one, I don't think I'll start it myself. Some red peppers, I made a most delicious Roasted Red Pepper Spread last fall, and I want to try it again......... More planning is in order.