Me and the boys

Here are my Bare *aked Tomatoes (I didn't want your computer filtering because of the "n" word.) Click on the picture to see just why it would break my heart to not see some of these tomatoes on the table! The boys and I filled 6 bags of blighted leaves. Let's just say if the leaf looked at me wrong...it went in the bag.

As I said in my last post, I have been fighting tomato blight with both guns shooting! Last night Matthew and Joel joined me in battle. Ever since the garden started producing a harvest, they are much more interested in wandering throughout! Joel especially loves finding somthing big to pick

Garden Variety Denial

not mine! (can't give you a good picture yet)


This post could also be titled-

• That's what I get for being so proud

(I really was happy about how beautiful my garden had grown, although I know it really isn't anything I did personally.)

or

• HELP HELP

or

• Don't just sit there crying in your tomatoes

5-6 weeks ago, I began to see some browning of leaves on my tomato plants. Not wanting to believe that I had Early Tomato Blight, I just ignored it, hoping it was something else, or just normal development. Typically I am just the harvester of the crops, so this year I am needing to pay more attention....only I didn't!

So yes, we have tomato blight, but I am not giving up without a fight.

I still have to find out if we can eat tomatoes that have ANY blight on them. I was just assuming that as long as we didn't eat the little black spot we were fine. Last night Ken questioned that, ruining my night - yes I actually had tomato dreams. (Did I mention that he is allergic to mold and that blight is a fungal disease?) Anyway, I will call the extension service on Monday to find out. I do have a few tomatoes already on the patio table without any spots (knock wood), so we won't go totally without. Also, many of the cherry tomatoes are escaping without any spots. Plus my plan of action (actually no longer just a plan) will hopefully cause some changes in the garden.

Anyway, last week I decided that blight and I can no longer peacefully co-exist and this week I have really gone to battle.

1. I am removing all pieces of blighted vine. (10 walmart bags this week so far) I have one plant that is bald, except for 20+ green tomatoes. I figure this allows the vine to put all it's energy into the tomatoes rather than into blighted vine. Also if there isn't any blight on the vine, I am hoping that there is nothing bad to get on the actual tomato.


2. I am removing the fruit as soon as it starts to turn color, hoping to spare it the disease. I am ripening on the patio table (of course yesterday there were bugs under some of my tomatoes out there, so I thought I should bring them in the house, until Ken reminded me of the mold/fungus thing - so now they are back outside, bug free for awhile. Hopefully I am going to have way to many to have on my kitchen counter anyway.)


3. I mulched under the vines. This was recommended awhile back, but I didn't know where to buy straw and didn't want to use the grass clippings that people had left, worried they might have fertilizers. (also in denial and busy, still in weeding mode - very little time left for weeding these days) Last night I decided, better fertilizer under the tomato plants than black spots on them. (The blight is in the soil, so this keeps it from splashing onto the vines.)

repeat steps 1 and 2

Have I mentioned that we had blight in Newburgh and it wasn't really a big deal, just shorted our season a bit. Again, I was just the harvester there and didn't worry about things too much. Now I feel the need to ensure these tomatoes are safe to eat and try to keep all future tomatoes "clean". Wish me luck, because with all the volunteer plants that came up, I have almost 50 tomato plants. They were so beautiful and big - still are, now that I have gotten rid of much of the blighted vines.

I decided that it isn't sacrilegious to say a tomato prayer, since I just want them to feed my family and others. It really isn't selfish and I promise not to take any of the credit. I just need some help from gardening angels.

At home learning at its best/worst.

Ok, the last time I was crazy enough to mix cornstarch and water for my kids to play with, Matthew was 3 years old. Yes that is him below! If you don't know, cornstarch mixed with water creates a wonderful mixture that is a a liquid and solid at the same time. If you squeeze it, it becomes like a solid ball, but as you hold it in your hand, it melts away like a liquid.
Anyway, after the experience in winter 2001, I decided that Glop or Oblic (depending on what you want to call it) would only be played with outside in the future. I also knew it would be a LONG time before it happened again!

Fast forward 8 years and Matthew is going to science camp. He brought home the recipe for this wonderful soquid (solid/liquid). After 8 years I had recovered from the first experience and we bought some more cornstarch. True to my word, the kids played with it outside. Don't they look like they are having fun?Of course, while I was in trying to get a quick dinner ready before needing to be somewhere at 5:30, things got a bit out of hand. (notice Anna's hair gel and face-paint) The only good thing is that Glop does a good job making magic marker come off hands, which was from Anna's earlier body painting experience. A quick bath (that Anna didn't want to get in, then didn't want to get out of) and Anna was as good as new. Next time (maybe in 8 years) Glop will be played with on the grass and everyone will be in swim-suits!

The good the bad and the mystery.

The good is just my garden in general...still my favorite summer destination. We are getting tons of green beans, pea pods, zucchini and winter squash (still on the vine).

The bad is that my yellow squash and cucumber vines died a miserable death as a result of a bug encounter. If I knew last week that I was picking my last, I would have enjoyed them more! My tomatoes also have blight, but you worry less about that when you have almost 50 tomato plants (due to all the volunteer action). Plus the volunteers are at all stages of development, so as one plant may eventually die because of the blight, I have many still just prepping to give us tomatoes. Next year I will plant the tomatoes on the other side of the garden and mulch with straw....wish me luck.

The Mystery....just what is that green thing you can see in the picture above. I was guessing watermelon, just immature...but it tastes like squash.....but it smells like watermelon.....anyone?

Where's the beef?

Remember those old Wendy's commercials with the elderly ladies are looking for a good hamburger? Well today I wandered my house saying, "where's the fish" because I realized this morning that the $12 box of tilapia I bought yesterday was NOT in my freezer.

I went through all kinds of scenarios in my head....it got left in the car, it got left at Walmart......then it hit me. I had the kids help me carry in the groceries and I had given Anna the bag with fish, because that was all that was in it, so it was light.

So, now saddened with my realization, I wandered my house looking for the fish, knowing we were throwing away $12 of good food today :(

Anna had left it just inside the door to the house (which is the laundry room), but it was camouflaged by a bag of notebooks that we had bought for school. RATS. Next time Anna doesn't need to help, unless we have bought a box of cereal....or tissues.

I am not getting too worked up about it, because I certainly can't blame her and don't want to kill myself over it...but for the first time in a long time we have an actual budget on paper, so I am trying to stick with it! RATS.....I was also going to fix fish for dinner tonight.

It's a small world after all!

Forgive me if you have heard this story....

Here is my buddy J. and her kiddos. (her son and Joel went to pre-school together) This picture was taken when J's hubby was in Iraq at our going away party from Newburgh. I met J at my favorite Newburgh establishment - Mother to Mother
After I moved to Ankeny, J. wrote to say that she had a wonderful college buddy living in Ankeny and did I want her to give S. my phone number. Of course I said "yes".

S. and I communicated via email, but always had a sick kiddo or two for a few weeks. Then one week in church I wondered if the lady in front of me might, by a gigantic coincidence, be S. (due to the age of her children - I was guessing) During the sign of peace, she turned and said, "Are you Betsy?" Isn't that great, she was just one pew in front. Ken said he had seen her family other weeks as well.

S. also is a member of the Faith and Friendship group at our church and her older son went to the same pre-school as Joel, but in the mornings. Today we were supposed to get together at a park, but it looked like rain so we settled for playing in my basement. Here is a picture of the fun, courtesy of Carolyn McCleary photography.

Straw trick!

I know there are only a few of you out there who garden and preserve produce....but this is still a neat trick. (I learned from the Internet....so you know it works - ha ha.) Actually, I can tell you from my experience, this trick works:

After you blanch your veggies to freeze and then ice them down to stop the cooking process, put them in your freezer bag. Get as much air out of the bag as you can, then insert a straw into the bag....proceed to suck out any remaining air and quickly seal. It is almost like you bought a vacuum storage system. It really gets the air out, hopefully preventing freezer burn. Obviously it is slick, or I probably wouldn't have felt the need to share! Kids really think it is cool.

Garden Neighbors

OK - I think I have established that the garden is my all time favorite summer destination! Lately, each time we go to the garden we come home w/ a bucket of veggies. I have even frozen some green beans and pea-pods for colder days!
Today while we were at the garden, we ran into Pastor Mike, who lives at the church, and who allows us to use the land and water, rent free! He said, "you know, we never use all three plots, so you are welcome to come back next year". What wonderful words to my ears. I already am thinking of how I am going to do things differently. For example - watermelon will not be planted! We have 2, maybe 3 vines and they have grown bigger than my kitchen. Plus really, how many watermelon could we possibly eat?

Our other garden neighbors are Jeanne and Roy. They live next to the garden and have grandkids who my kids like to play with when they are visiting. Jeanne is always friendly and often has juice for the kids. Today she walked over with a mound of onions! We didn't plant nearly enough and our are almost all gone and never big a beautiful like hers. Plus the onions that remain are being taken over by the watermelon! What a wonderful gift! I will not have to buy onions for all the salsa I am planning on making. It is great because I have been able to share my zucchini! (and maybe they would like a watermelon or 2 when the time comes :)

Check out the big kids - online in the Des Moines Register

click on the link.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=D2&Dato=20090707&Kategori=COMM&Lopenr=907070818&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=1

Before and during (you will have to wait for after)

BEFORE - of course this doesn't do the weeds justice!
The dark spot in the garden indicates our small start at turning over the soil.

DURING: this is all good stuff. My dear hubby mowed all around the garden to help with weed control. (We were busy enough pulling the weeds in the garden, that mowing was a good option for the surrounding GIANT weeds.) Click on the picture to get a good feel for why I love this place.

One of the many lessons learned this year is to plant watermelon and pumpkin seeds away from the rest of your garden! (we aren't sure, but think these are watermelon vines, and they are gigantic)

Here is Joel with his mini-pumpkin vines. He has grown these from seed and just today we noticed that the flowers have produced "ball-buds" (it's a technical term of my own invention). The only scary thing about pumpkins is that the vines must last for a LONG time and you just have to pray that a bug doesn't get to them - like has happened to a couple of our squash plants.

Here is Anna squinting into the sun. I guess in her mind, you never know when you might need a change of shoes, shorts and panties at the garden! Luckily we needed none (at least until later in the day).

Our newest player

Ever since the big kids started taking piano lessons in June, Joel has been on the piano more than both of them combined. He hears what they are playing, and Carolyn gives him "lessons". He imitates what he hears them play and creates his own music.

Since our piano teacher also is my cousin's wife, she asked Joel today if he wanted his own "special" lesson. So after the big kid's lessons, Joel got a mini-lesson, to show him how to hold his hands and how to "read" Carolyn's piano book.

He was like a kid in a candy store - he was so excited. Yesterday he asked me to take a picture of him playing! He is really having a great summer. Knock wood.

Our First Party

It was great to "break-in the house" with our first party. We did miss all our normal party friends and buddies from Newburgh (and other lands), but were happy to reconnect with friends that moved to the Des Moines area after college.
Here are Ken and D*. Ken was D*'s Pledge Dad in our service fraternity (Alpha Phi Omega) in college.

This is my high school buddy L*. She is the gal who hosted us last weekend for an ice cream social.

Notice the lack of a beautiful sun umbrella! We did not need to block the scorching sun, because it was nice and cool. We were lucky since the rain stopped just in time, that we didn't need to use the umbrella to keep us dry.

Here are some of the kids - "spying" on the big boys, who wanted the little one's out of Matthew's bedroom. Look at Anna's gaze in awe - she loves "big kids".

After our picnic we tried to make it to view the fireworks. We saw the show while on the way, but is was over by the time we got there. Our friends brought sparklers though, and our kids got their first experience (no not Anna) and really loved it. Of course I was a nervous Nellie the whole time, but that shocks no one.

Although we miss all the beautiful sights of the neighborhood fireworks, we really enjoy Iowa's "no firework" peace and quiet at bedtime.

Finally ready for visitors

I know, you may think, "but Betsy, you already HAD visitors". While that is true, the house really wasn't in fantastic condition when our last visitors came. On the 4th of July we had a party, planned in part to give ourselves the encouragement to finish preparing the house. IT WORKED. I was even able to give our guests the tour and those of you who have been to my house, often there are more closed doors than a tour. Today the only closed doors were the Master closet (still messy - but Rome wasn't built in 2 months) and the basement store room (which will take 2 months by itself - yuck).
The family room in the basement. The kids got much more screen time on the 4th of July than usual! They did help us get ready for the party, but they also were allowed to escape to the basement (which was a lot of help- really) while we finished up.

"The playroom" - still trying to get the kids to keep their toys on this side of the basement. There only is a 1/2 wall divider between the two.

The living room. It hasn't looked this nice since we moved in. I am REALLY going to work at maintaining this look.

The office - hard to photograph - because I had to take the picture from outside of the room. It looks great too - as long as you don't turn around and see the bookshelves that still need to be conquered.

Guess What's Coming to Dinner

I love gardening just to garden. Yes it is true, before this year I didn't garden, I only harvested things my hubby planted. This year, however, I am enjoying all the parts of gardening (although I wish we hadn't started with a weed patch). The fact that the harvest is so great is really a wonderful bonus.

My latest read

Ok - lately I have been reading magazines and cook-books and a non-fiction book about gardening. I haven't read any fiction this summer, because I only read in short spurts. This book caught my eye on a list at the library (it is actually a children's book - the list was for Matthew).
I wanted to recommend you read it. I wanted to recommend it to Matthew, or one of the other kids one day. It is well written, with many of the themes I like. BUT there is too much sadness in it for me to give it two thumbs up. On the other side of the coin, it was so well written that I couldn't put it down until I finished it at 1:45 am. Of course, now I am slightly haunted by the story line and the real history behind the story - and still not asleep.

I guess you will just have to decide for yourself, but if you read it, do it on a happy day - and try not to finish it around 2am.