End of the summer 08 veg

Written by: adekun on 22 August, 2008 8:32 am - Filed under: garden — 2 Comments »

Towards the end of the weekend I thought I’d follow the crow’s lead and take advantage of the damp ground. A heap of weeds were brought together, rather like one of those Eastern European hay stacks fondly remembered. Elsewhere, more potatoes were planted; about half the amount of the previous lot. Once the tomatoes and cucumbers were removed, everywhere was dug over before a scattering of red clover seeds. There’s still a few pepper and chilli pepper plants that are good and the aubergines should last a bit longer.

Tags: cucumbers, garden, potatoes, tomatoes, weeds

Bum Tomato

Written by: adekun on 17 August, 2008 7:05 am - Filed under: garden — 4 Comments »

On Friday we had a heavy downpour which is worth noting for my own benefit. With the ground being damp the crows returned to dig up more peanuts. Not much going on elsewhere in the garden. The unruly sweet potato vines should be clipped; there’s a chance they will turn out all vine and no tuber. I did spot a tomato (maybe it’s two) that looks arse shaped. Holding it in my hand it really looks like two tomatoes stuck together.

Tags: garden, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, weather

Tomato Sauce

Written by: adekun on 1 August, 2008 8:53 pm - Filed under: recipes — No Comments »

• six or more big tomatoes
• a few small onions
• half a carrot
• one clove of garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• two vegetable stock cubes
• good pinch of salt
• pepper
• rosemary
• basil

Sweat the diced onions and garlic in the oil. (continue reading…)

Tags: recipes, tomatoes

Cold damage

Written by: adekun on 2 June, 2008 6:45 pm - Filed under: blog — 2 Comments »

I’m surer that it’s the case of the cucumber. The nodes are barely an inch apart and as yet no tendrils have appeared.

It seems more like numerous stems than side-shoots spawning from the tomato. While some of the other plants are leggy, this one only appears to be growing outwards. I don’t know if it’s due to a different complication or reason. It still has its top and I’m unsure if I should hack the sides off.

Tags: cucumbers, garden, tomatoes, weather

Tomato tribulations

Written by: adekun on 1 May, 2008 7:07 am - Filed under: blog — 1 Comment »

I’ve been too hasty planting out the summer vegetables. It probably would have been okay if it wasn’t for the weather that soon followed. Since the cold and the rain it has been super hot; a bit too hot for digging. The leaves on the tomatoes promptly grew dark brown spots. I wondered if I might be in with a chance of winning a prize for the quickest onset of blight. After an anxious week they seem to be in the clear. There are even a few tomatoes forming.

The rest of the veg are in a similar state, not perky but alive. Hopefully we’ll have some rain and save them from being frazzled.

Tags: garden, tomatoes, weather

Tomatoes and the typhoon

Written by: adekun on 14 July, 2007 3:05 pm - Filed under: blog — No Comments »

Presently I’m watching the news to see where the latest typhoon is headed. Over the past couple of days it has moved up from Okinawa and is now passing over Kagoshima at the bottom of the island of Kyūshū. It is expected to continue east over Shikoku towards Tokyo, good distance south of us. I guessed wrong about tsuyu (the rainy season) being behind us the time we returned to Japan. There has not been a day without heavy rain and strong wind since.
As a precaution, I decided to run the gauntlet and recover the ripe and almost ripe tomatoes, the cucumbers and aubergines.

Running up and down the rows, returning to the place a handful in a bowl, against the elements seemed comparable to a Japanese endurance game. Perhaps the star prize was an exotic red p-man.

Tags: cucumbers, garden, tomatoes, weather

Canned Tomato Sauce

Written by: adekun on 27 December, 2006 11:38 am - Filed under: recipes — 1 Comment »

• 400 g can of tomatoes
• 100 g onions
• 50 g carrots
• one clove of garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• good pinch of salt
• 1 tsp of brown sugar

Sweat the onions and garlic in the oil, adding the carrots after a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for at least 15 minutes. Prepare as needed.

I like to add some chopped rosemary and a little pepper when the tomatoes go in. Basil would be good in the summer.

Tags: recipes, tomatoes