Surprises

Today my daughter brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers from her garden. She also brought me yellow and green beans and a container of her ziti for my dinner. 

She took a walk up to the old rock garden to see how things were growing up there and came back with great news! A poppy has opened and several others will soon.....Would you believe it?? Of course I had to get up there on the buggy and get a picture. 

Have a closer look.....

This is the tomato that will provide seeds for next year's crop. My NJ daughter is going to try saving seeds too for the first time.

Not least but last....My clothespin project is almost finished. It needs a coat of shellac or clear varnish to solidify the unit more permanently. It was a very difficult project as the old clothespins were quite warped. I was going to paint it white but decided I like the wooden shades better. It has better character naturally.  One of the skirt feathers fell out and I glued it back in backwards. Toooo late to change it now! Can you spot it?

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Beauty in My Eye

Yes. It's RED. Yes. It is a beautiful sight! Yes. It is the last of my gifts of the Oxhearts. Yes. It will not disappoint when we have lunch today. The flavor is like no other tomato. The meat is dense and juicy. This beauty will give seeds to continue on the propagation of this treasured variety. It almost hurt to slice it in half. Almost. It was a pleasure to reap the few seeds it produced. They are special. Believe me. After fermenting in their own juice for about 10 days, they will be dried, saved in a paper envelope and put in a pill bottle to go into the freezer until next spring. YAY!

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The Gift

YAY! Today our daughter brought us a large Oxheart tomato from her garden. I have written about these many times before. I save the seeds, she and her sister in NJ plant and tend to these beauties every year. This year she is having a terrible time with the deer gobbling them up right in her front yard as they ripen. There WILL be a fence next year. Did I say they are meaty and VERY low acid and wonderful?

please click on image for the deliciousness to appear

Planning Ahead

Our daughter brought TWO MORE of our wonderful Oxheart tomatoes from a garden in NJ to us this weekend. These last two were grown from seedlings PA daughter started and grown by NJ daughter. Now insurance for more next year is my part. I have saved seeds from the first three, some from the next two and will still save some from these two beauties before eating them.

It is a process as there aren't really many seeds in the Oxhearts. I just scoop them out with a teaspoon as I slice and then they ferment in their own juice in a small jar for about a week or more. They are next rinsed with cold water in a plastic mesh strainer and separated and dried on newspaper (never paper towel). They will be stored in paper inside a pill bottle in the freezer until next spring. Seeds from batch #1 below.

They came from these three:

Seed batch #2 below:

The above seeds came from these three:

I REALLY love to share the pure seeds from these wonderful tomatoes, especially now that I don't grow them anymore.

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Pretty!

I'm so pretty! I love me! I'm beautiful any way you look at me! I am in GREAT SHAPE no matter your view, AND...

I am the seed producer for next year's crop!

I am pure OXHEART

 My other friends, the yellow squash, green beans and the red beets who were cheerfully delivered today, do not smell as sweet but they are loved as well. They will be sliced and diced - chopped, grated and frozen - dried and fried. Lucky me! The new batch of peaches are feeling cold but soon will wish they were back on the tree!

Please click on image to see the pretty

Summer's Best

I watched this mushroom grow from a little white blob at the base of the tree to this magnificent mushroom. Guess I should have done a growth progress series. It took two days to become large. Then! I broke it off because I wanted to see the underside. 

This is one of two tomatoes that I just got from my daughter's garden. It's almost a sin to cut into this beauty. The Oxhearts are meaty and non-acidic with few seeds (that I will save for her for next year). SOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!

The marinating salad was made from my brother's tomatoes and cucumber.

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Next Year's Tomato Seeds

The seeds are drying and will be put in a paper envelope and then will be stored in a sealed waterproof container and placed in the freezer until next year.  They are sure to germinate. The process of fermenting them in their own juice for two weeks has been completed. They have been rinsed and drained and put on newspaper to dry. I also have separated them with a wooden toothpick. These seeds are few as the tomatoes have few seeds. They were reaped from the largest and sweetest tomatoes as I devoured them in the sandwiches that I love to be able to enjoy every year. I do share them so if anyone would like a few, just ask. They like lots of sun and must be staked as they will grow into a 6 ft. plant. The middle blossoms of a three-blossom branch must be plucked away as they appear and the suckers that grow between the main stems and the branches must also be plucked away. They shouldn't be planted near other tomato plantings as there is a chance they would be cross-pollinated and not remain the true heritage variety that they are. It's well worth the effort because of the harvest to follow.