Final Fruits

While we are not expecting an evening frost for another week or so, I harvested all the vegetables that are ripe:  a whole bunch of eggplant and the only three red tomatoes to ripen on the vine all summer.  It has been an unusually cool summer and overcast at least half the time.  The tomatoes didn't even set fruit till mid-July.  There are more than a dozen or so mid-sized and very green tomatoes on the vines but I hold out very little hope that they will ripen before first frost.  I will have to use the old brown paper bag and apple trick, which rather defeats the whole purpose of growing you own tomatoes.

At least the local Farmer's Market has been a great place to fill in the gaps.  One of the booths has organic produce and each Saturday morning I buy two ears of the sweetest corn I have ever tasted.  Both my husband and I have to watch our carbs, so that one day a week indulgence is all we can afford.  I have found local peaches and plums, and the vegetables have been wonderful: potatoes, tomatoes, onions, radishes and peppers.  I have even bought a local Reisling and some jams and preserves.  The only things our local market lacks are a booth with artisan breads and rolls and a booth with flowers.  Otherwise, it is well-nigh perfect.