What an interesting, challenging, fun, constantly busy summer this has been. I am finding that the perfect storm of garden maintenance, harvest, cooking, preserving, seed saving - overlaid with book-related events - is requiring a real juggling act. Rather than make this too long and detailed, here are some high- and low-lights of what's been happening!

Side bale garden - I am waving the white flag on much of it. I've learned so much, but am finding that my love - and need - is with the driveway and the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. I will be able to apply what I've learned to a much better result looking ahead. Still growing well are the basil and squash bales - and that's fine. Heat, inability to keep up with watering, and critters (deer, rabbits, slugs, cabbage looper larva) really took their toll. The good news is that there are lots of available, well broken in bales for some fall crops - greens, garlic, maybe peas - we shall see.

Driveway and deck gardens - wow!  On the deck we are picking Diva cukes and loads of cherry tomatoes - Egg Yolk, Sun Gold, Mexico Midgets. Peppers are just starting to turn color - I picked some red Paprika types, sliced them thin and dehydrated them yesterday...they will be ground into paprika. Between breading and baking and roasting, we are constantly dealing with a great eggplant crop - and a few are turning yellow and ready for seed saving. The Straw Bale tomatoes are really spectacular - what a treat to be able to compare all 36 released varieties in terms of yield, health, and flavor. The mid driveway indeterminate varieties in 5 gallon containers completely exceeded my expectations for them. 

About 75% of the Dwarfs are living and very healthy. Half of the rest are struggling, and the other half are dead and gone - but that is really a very good percentage of success for me. I think that around 80% of the indeterminate types are doing just fine. I continue to water at least once daily, because it continues to be hot - and we are not getting much rain here in North Raleigh. 

Other important observations - the 5 gallon bags are superb for healthy, high yielding peppers and eggplant. Supporting the plants when they get more than 3 feet tall and loaded with fruit is an issue - we have lots of leaners and tippers. But that's OK - it is still working great. My utter failure to top most of the indeterminate tomatoes once they reached the top of the 5 or 6 foot stakes is all on me - part of it traveling and events, part the pain of removing fruiting potential!  The bonus is continued great yields. But it is becoming a bit of a tangle out there!

Here are just a few pics.  Top row - view from the road end including my happy potted Okra, Cherokee Purple, Islander project pepper Fire Opal
Second row - middle of the driveway garden, surprise color break from the Islander project - supposed to be White Gold (nice olive green with brownish purple wash!), Bulgarian Carrot
Third row - Dwarfs running perpendicular to the road, great jalapeno type Pinata, a favorite hot ornamental I've had since 1986, Pretty Purple
Big bottom pic - many of our favorites - Lucky Cross, Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Green - then Sun Gold, Green Giant, Lillian's Yellow Heirloom (the real prize of this group!), Cherokee Chocolate....and a few tiny Mexico Midgets!

...both here, and on the Epictomatoes.com site. I knew this would be a time with a crescendo of activity - tomato events, harvesting, seed saving, preserving. So this blog will be my shortest ever! It's all good - the tomatoes, eggplant and peppers are coming in like mad - also some cukes, squash, ground cherries. Though there is disease in the tomato patch, things look better than typical for late July. 

I promise to do some full updates. Some space to get caught up will emerge this weekend - and I will have a month or so before things get cranked up again in the book event arena!

I hope all of your gardens are producing abundant harvests and that everything tastes wonderful.

It will take me some days - weeks, perhaps - to process all of the good vibes and new friends and stimulating events and delicious food and...and... - you get the idea - from the Seed Savers Exchange 2015 Campout. Sue and I rolled into our driveway at half past midnight - we actually left Heritage Farm for the airport at 12:30 PM - so it was a bit of a long day. We slept well.

But Sunday continued the theme of excellence of the event. My morning workshop on the Dwarf Tomato Project was such fun to present, and if the enthusiasm and size of the audience is any indication, we will have lots more volunteers joining us next year (which is GREAT news!). 

I couldn't begin to name all of the new friends we made (but my Twitter and Facebook contacts are growing - thanks for making the links!), but as always, that is one of the best parts of these types of events. To all at SSE - board members, advisors, staff, volunteers - you did yourselves proud. Sue and I are so thankful for the warm welcome and hospitality afforded us throughout. 

And so we get back to our "stuff" - which in my case is a garden that was more than ready to be watered - and harvested. There are fun events sprinkled throughout this week. Bring on tomorrow!

But before that, here is a selection of pictures from Sunday in Decorah.

Today was a blur (a familiar feeling during book-related events this year, particularly when they involve workshops). This morning felt just wonderful - after a lovely introduction by SSE President John Torgrimson, I had the privilege of sharing the story of how my book Epic Tomatoes happened, much of it catalyzed by joining the organization in 1986. It is always gratifying to be able to share my stories with such a large, involved audience.

This evening I got to spend an hour with many fellow garden authors signing books. Always an enjoyable activity for me, many wonderful gardening stories were shared, and I am grateful to all of those who purchased Epic Tomatoes.

Tomorrow, I get the caffeine shift once again, sharing the story and progress of the Dwarf Tomato Project at a 9 AM workshop. Not long after, Sue and I will head for the airport for our return to Raleigh...where, no doubt, many tomatoes, peppers and eggplant await harvest.

A visit to Decorah, and, particularly, an invitation to speak at an SSE event is so memorable and enjoyable, as well as great honor. Thanks to all for your warm hospitality.

Here are some pics from the day.

It hardly seems possible, but this is my fifth visit to Decorah, Iowa, to Heritage Farm of the Seed Savers Exchange. I first came here just a few years after I joined - late 1980s, right around the time my heirloom tomato addiction was taking hold. It was wonderful to be asked to present here for the first time in 2011 - our blog entries about that trip can be found here and here. I've attended two SSE tomato tastings here as well, both of which were great fun. 

We arrived here last night, landing in Minneapolis-St. Paul to a shocking 68 degree drizzle (what a contrast from summer in Raleigh!). After a drive through countless cornfields, we arrived in Decorah, checked in to the wonderful B&B on Broadway, and had a great meal at Rubaiyat restaurant downtown. 

We attended the morning through lunch time part of today's big event at SSE's Heritage Farm - Member Field Day. It was nice to be reunited with distant friend, including Mike and Denise Dunton (Victory Seeds) and their daughter Hannah, Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and our many friends that are part of the SSE organization. 

We are soon off with the 20 lbs of tomatoes that we squirreled away in our carry on luggage to an ad hoc tomato tasting at the Farm, combined with a similar haul brought here by Ira. We shall soon see how the tomatoes survived the long trip. After that and other events (seed swap, dinner, music), we will return to our room and I will likely make some last second changes to the slides I will use for my presentations the next two mornings.

Here are just a few pictures from our day.

As I've said previously, travelling when the garden is in full production and need of near constant attention is rough on the nerves. Today saw a final feeding, harvesting - and tonight a spot watering. I have lots of data collected. My afternoon will consist of processing eggplant and tomatoes into the sauce for Pasta alla Norma, perhaps baking some breaded eggplant rounds, doing a large canning and seed save, and finally, selecting tomatoes to bring to Iowa with us to taste on Saturday.  

Just some general data - the range of days to picking from transplant for eggplant is 41 (Skinny Twilight) to 65 (Rosa Bianca) days. We are just in mid July and only 10 days from the first harvest, and I've already picked at least 50 eggplant - and the 14th plant isn't bearing yet. 

Of the 38 dwarf tomato plants in bales, I've harvested fruit from all but 9 plants - the days to maturity range is from 50 days (Dwarf Pink Passion) to 73 days (Dwarf Sweet Sue) - those with later DTM will be Sean's Yellow Dwarf, Chocolate Lightning, Chocolate Champion, Summer Sunrise and Sweet Adelaide (the rest of the 9 were planted a bit later).  Yes, I am counting tomatoes harvested to get an idea of yield.  The most tomatoes so far are a dozen or so, from varieties such as Iditarod Red, Dwarf Arctic Rose, Bundaberg Rumball, and Dwarf Pink Passion. Arctic Rose's yield is approaching 4 lbs of fruit from those dozen tomatoes.

Here are my counters and tables pre-processing.

Getting away is great - Sue and I love road trips. But a road trip in gardening season - especially then things are ripening, crosses are taking, weather is hot and the garden gets dry quickly - causes a bit of angst. But, our daughter Caitlin and our neighbor Ray kept everything healthy and happy, and I just came in from a morning of observing, photographing and harvesting. Things are cooking out there!

First, for the side straw bale garden, most of the action is in the front right greens bales (collards, kale, chard), and the rear squash bales. In fact, miracle of miracles, I picked our first zucchini today, as well as a nice white patty pan. I am fine with that - there are plenty of bales ready for later planted potatoes, radishes, and garlic - and the rabbit is still about. Plus, the pots of bush beans that I planted in the driveway are up and growing well. Most impressive may be the various hibiscus blooming in the rear!

And now on to the rest of the driveway - especially the Dwarfs in straw bales. The news is mostly great; ripe fruit is showing up everywhere. Newly ripened varieties are Summertime Gold (which indeed looks very much like Mr Snow, but the inside is different - it is something distinctive, for sure), Dwarf Kelly Green, Sleeping Lady, Dwarf Emerald Giant, Dwarf Blazing Beauty, and Sweet Scarlet Dwarf - which, alas, is orange (it is really hard to stabilize red fruited dwarfs - the dominant trait is harder to get stable!).  A few other dwarfs - grown in 5 gallon grow bags - ripened; an unexpected dwarf from the purple fruited selection of Burgundy Traveler - which is a nice smooth medium sized purple - and a real shocker! When I planted Ferris Wheel for seedlings, some dwarfs emerged - I have a potato leaf and regular leaf examples both growing. The regular leaf dwarf ended up producing the whitest dwarf tomato I've seen - 6 ounces, oblate, and nice and smooth in shape.  We shall see how it tastes!

Disease-wise, I've already reported on the demise of Dwarf Wild Fred and Dwarf Pink Passion. Others showing significant struggles now are Dwarf Blazing Beauty, Summer Sunrise, Sweet Adelaide, and Dwarf Purple Heart - but, still, I am delighted that so many are thriving - it's been pretty challenging heat this summer.

Lots of indeterminate tomatoes are ripening - my own hybrids, Chocky (from Cherokee Chocolate X Dwarf Mr. Snow) and Morty (from Summer Sunrise X Mullens Mortgage Lifter) are impressive - the former is a smooth 8 ounce red, and latter a near pound oblate pink. We are eating plenty of deck-growing Sun Gold, and Tiger Tom is blushing. I picked the first purple fruited selection from Burgundy Traveler (smooth and purple and round), Arkansas Traveler (round and pink and medium sized), Rosso Sicilian, Yellow White and Pink Berkeley Tie Dye. 

There are peppers, peppers everywhere, but they are essentially all at the unripe color (except for Red Belgium...and there are blushing patches on Feherezon, Alma and Lydia). Padron is a machine - there is a bag of about 50 of them in the fridge. Finally, it was a monster eggplant harvest - 20 or so beauties, all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Sue and I are being graciously and generously hosted for two events in Mt. Holly, North Carolina. We are staying at our favorite Bed and Breakfast, Robin's Nest....the hostess, Robin Williams, has become a dear friend, and we always enjoy our all-too-infrequent stays here.

Last night I was invited to talk tomatoes at the wonderful new community garden. What a remarkable place; walking through the numerous healthy, productive plots was truly inspiring, and a model for what this type of garden should be...bravo to all involved!  Tomorrow I will be at the Farmers Market participating in a tomato tasting and, from what I am told, doing some cooking with local chef Gina Guthrie - here is the write up of both events in the local newspaper.  

But this is the "something completely different" - when we come to Gastonia or Mt. Holly, Sue and I make it a point to visit the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont.  We are so fortunate to have our visit coincide with the remarkable examples of ZimSculpt - artwork by sculptors of Zimbabwe. Sue and I took dozens and dozens of pictures and were truly moved by the works. A small sampling of some of our favorites can be found below.

Wow. Maybe it is the weather...the separation between plants...the 5 gallon black grow bags. Everything is thriving, and we are on the cusp of an avalanche of great produce. The eggplant are 2-4 feet tall - there is great variation between varieties - and most are loaded with fruit. Peppers vary from 1-4 feet tall - and...yup - peppers everywhere, though the only one that is at the ripe color is (as usual) Red Belgium. And the indeterminate tomatoes are just loaded. The only varieties that are struggling - and this is typical in my garden - Berkeley Tie Dye and Pink Berkeley Tie Dye. It may be bacterial wilt - not absolutely sure - but I just can't get these varieties to do well for me.

I am going to post a somewhat random selection of pictures of this and that.  Enjoy!

There is an awful lot happening in the driveway right now - tomatoes ripening, disease showing up, on the cusp of eggplant overload, and hot and sweet peppers revealing a few surprises as the fruit shapes and colors emerge. What fun!  I will cover eggplant, peppers and non-dwarf tomatoes tomorrow - it's dwarf update time!

I guess that the most surprising observation is that in most cases, vertical growth has slowed considerably - no wonder, since most plants are loaded with green tomatoes and it is time to ensure that they ripen. Height-wise, the biggest gainers were Wherokowhai at 5 inches (clearly still in catch up mode), Rosella Crimson (also catching up), Fred's Tie Dye, Banksia Queen and Sean's Yellow Dwarf all gaining 4 inches, and Sarandipity and Dwarf Kelly Green advancing upward 3 inches. 21 of the varieties stayed essentially the same. This is very different from the indeterminate varieties that are in grow bags, all reaching the tops of the stakes and in need of topping.

The tallest-of-allest are Jade Beauty, Sean's Yellow Dwarf, Beryl Beauty, and Emerald Giant at 4 feet tall, and Summertime Gold, Banksia Queen and Summer Sweet Gold right behind them at 46 inches tall. The Sneezy family for the most part are the tallest. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the 16 inch Rosella Crimson (the last to be planted, as a re-rooted cutting), 22 inch Yukon Quest, 30 inch Dwarf Arctic Rose 32 inch Sarandipity and 33 inch Iditarod Red and Uluru Ochre.

Despite the intense heat and risk of wilt mid-afternoon, blossom end rot hasn't been a big issue on most varieties. Only Perth Pride (several fruit), Sean's Yellow Dwarf (one), Summertime Green (one), and Rosella Purple (one) are experiencing any at all. 

Disease - dreaded disease - is showing up here and there, but again - considering the heat and humidity of this summer and it being early July, I am quite delighted. The sickest varieties - as in death bed status - are Dwarf Pink Passion (Fusarium wilt) and Dwarf Wild Fred (Bacterial wilt). I've had to do some significant surgery on Dwarf Purple Heart (possibly bacterial wilt) and one Sweet Adelaide (Fusarium, I think), though both are hanging in there. Summer Sweet Gold and Summer Sunrise had some lower Early Blight foliage removed - Summer Sunrise may be starting to battle Fusarium as well. These are all troubling, yet 6 out of 38 plants suffering issues means that 85% of the Dwarfs continue to thrive and be completely healthy.

The only plant that has yet to set fruit is the recently re-rooted and replanted Rosella Crimson, but it is loaded with open flowers. I am now picking fruit from 11 varieties. In general, flavors are just delicious, in some cases exceeding my initial impressions of them in previous years. Iditarod Red, Sarandipity, Bundaberg Rumball, Dwarf Arctic Rose, Perth Pride, Dwarf Wild Fred, Dwarf Purple Heart, Big Green Dwarf, Boronia, Dwarf Pink Passion and Dwarf Golden Heart are the ones that lead the pack in ripening. Fred's Tie Dye and Uluru Ochre are blushing and will likely be next. Bundaberg Rumball is the smallest at 2 ounces, and so far, Dwarf Purple Heart the largest at 13 ounces. I am already starting to save seeds.

Here is a selection of pictures.

top row - first two are different sections of the dwarfs - you can see the diseased Pink Passion at the left of picture 1. Third pic is Iditarod Red, first ripe one on the plant, just before picking.

Second row - Unripe cluster of Sarandipity, Bundaberg Rumball and Arctic Rose, and Dwarf Purple Heart, showing the 13 oz heart shaped purple fruit just before picking.

Third row - Fred's Tie Dye beginning its blush, and unripe Uluru Ochre.