gardening | august harvest in maine

40 pounds of tomatoes later... The past two weeks have been a harvest of tomatoes, more tomatoes, more tomatoes and well, more tomatoes! I'm not going to lie to you... it's been absolutely fabulous! So far this season, we've harvested over 65 pounds of tomatoes.

I overcompensated from last year's tomato-less summer by planting over 60 plants. The heirloom tomatoes have been a blast to grow. I grow a variety mix so you never really know which variety you're growing until the fruit begins to color. Tossed into a fresh sauce, the Black Krims gave the dish a beautiful deep, red color. The Sweet Persimmons are next in line for a quick salsa.

I'm making a plethora of sauces. Some just with Romas, some just cherry, and then of course, some with a little of every kind of tomato we're growing. New culinary adventures have lead to jars of cherry tomato ketchup and dehydrated Romas. I've frozen bags and bags of whole tomatoes with dreams of chilies and stews on a cold winter's night.

I've pulled around 15 pounds of onions. The lack of rain this summer has not been a friend to my onions and shallots. The bulbs stayed relatively small. Sweet, but small. The Borrettana Cipollinis fared the best. I think the Red Marbles would have enjoyed a slightly better planting spot. Next year!

The broccoli patch sang its swan song with one final offering of side shoots. After that, the plants found a new home in our compost bin. While some other folks were rolling in cukes back in July, mine are only starting to come around now. I bottled several jars of my absolute favorite refrigerator pickle recipe over the weekend. Hopefully a lot more are on the horizon as a July planted cucumber crop is coming along with much vigor. Right now it'll just be a race between the fruits and the last frost date.

Pickles wouldn't be pickles without some fresh dill and dill seeds. My original dill crop is producing beautiful seed heads that I can barely keep up with harvesting. My second sowing is providing the fresh foliage and flowers that give the pickles not only great taste, but a cool visual addition. Toss in some fresh garlic and cayenne peppers and you'll have your newest food addiction.

Though I would love a little more rain, we have been really fortunate for this summer's growing season. I hope you're having the same garden luck. Check out Daphne's Dandelions and see what your fellow gardeners are harvesting this week. Happy gardening!