coming and going

been a little while since i've updated. things have been busy.

in regards to the last post - the guy at the gardening store told me to stop wasting my time with soap-, milk-, and baking-soda-based home remedies.  so he sold me poison.  it's organic poison, mind you, but it definitely steps up the combat to a level i didn't want to take it.   i was resigned enough at the time to buy it, so there you go.  poison combat it is.  one kind takes care of the various molds and mildews (copper spray), the other takes care of the little bugs that appear to be burrowing INSIDE the leaves of the cucumber and now tomatoes too (leaf miners) -- the stuff is called Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew, which equal parts cracks me up and bums me out.  i'm a lover not a fighter, but i feel like i'm being left no choice.  oh and some calcium spray to ward off the blossom end rot (which, sadly, HAS, in the end, befallen the baby :/).  fingers crossed.

in other news, i am killing the squash today.  it breaks my heart, but it hasn't produced any squash that aren't yellow and wrinkly and desseccated-looking in weeks now, and it is the main source of powdery mildew for the farm.  i don't know what's happened to it, it's been slowly shrivelling up and drying out.  i can't detect any critters on the surface, maybe they live on the inside?  or maybe it's dying of mildew.  either way, ever since the once-dominant squash has started fading, the gypsy sweet has begun to thrive.   out with the old/broken, in with the new.  i don't have it in me to nurse it back to health.

but onward with the update.

in the pot that was once to house tomato baby #3 (RIP), and then a variety of micro-greens (RIP -- apparently, the guy that told us to keep them OUT of the sun was wrong), josh and i decided to go with some more sturdy leafy greens.  now rocking some freckled lettuce, a new attempt at arugula, some kale, and mint.  salad and mojito time :)

i never talk about the herb garden anymore.  so here it is, the herb garden.  heirloom chives, garlic chives, oregano, parsley, thyme, basil.  the oregano and thyme have been making for some heavenly grilled poultry.

hard to believe, but this is tomato baby #4!!  sprouted at the end of april and planted almost exactly 2 months ago today, i can't believe it's already moved on to producing these perfectly executed little pre-tomatoes (well, minus the rotted blossom-ends).  they grow up so fast!! 

the cucumber, back at it.  makes me happy.  i wanted to make a cucumber salad, but then i had intense salt cravings one day (stress?), and basically used them as delivery vehicles for more salt.  still delicious, though.

this is from when a worm decided to set up shop in one of my jaune flammes.  not cool.

then the momotaro started turning...

...and then bunches of the jaune flamme started turning...

...and now we make entire salads without ever having to leave the house :)  mission accomplished, i'd say.  also, the momotaros have got to be some of the sweetest tomatoes i have ever tasted, it's crazy/awesome!

and, as of this morning, tomato baby #4 has decided to turn, too.  so exciting!!  let the swimming-in-tomatoes commence!