I just found out that Epic Tomatoes is in the running for a 2015 Good Reads book award - to vote, click the link here.

And you can still vote in the UK Grow Your Own gardening book award - the link to vote in that contest is here.

The garden still grows - I am anxiously awaiting ripening of the new indeterminate X dwarf hybrids. Still no frost in the forecast.

I am just about to head to Cape Cod to support my wife and her family. They lost a wonderful woman, my wife's sister Elisabeth Grees, wife of Ed, mother to Jesse and Tyler. 

Yesterday, Sara (our daughter) married her boyfriend Adam, in a small celebration in Seattle. Sue and I are now grandparents of Adam's sons Aiden and Aaron. What fun!

Yesterday also saw my wife Sue heading for Boston to be with her sister, who is in the hospital with a serious illness. So it is me with two dogs and three cats, my thoughts and prayers in two very distant and different locations, elements of elation and sadness. In other words, life.

I am trying to find my momentum and energy - the longer colder days, feeling a bit burned out by this very busy year, with so much to do. Focusing on what's growing is always a good way to ease back into the swing of things.

We've yet to have a frost, so a few eggplant, lots of peppers, and lots of new indeterminate X dwarf hybrid tomatoes are growing well. The garlic that I planted in the side garden straw bales is also emerging nicely. 

Below are pictures of the tomatoes. I've had to use occasional dilute fungicide spray due to aggressive Septoria, and also some dilute Sevin due to aphids and whitefly. Growing in the fall certainly brings on a different set of issues.

Top row - first pic is of the two rows of plants. Then the varieties are in pairs starting with a pic of the plant from a distance, then a close up of flowers or fruit (if it has formed). The pics were uploaded alphabetically - so starting top row, second pic, each pair of pics is as follows:  Arcky, Betty, Burly, Dummy, Leafy, Priddy, Reddy, Roddy, Ruggy F2 plants 1, 2 and 3, Scary, Sissy, Sorry, Speckly, Steamy, Teensy, Tiggy and Worry.

Three Teensy fruit ripened and seeds are being saved. I am also hopeful for Betty, Burly, Dummy, Reddy, one of the Ruggy, Scary and Speckly in terms of getting ripe fruit before frost. A bit more iffy are Sissy and Tiggy - fruit are set, but they are small.  Of the rest, a few have open flowers; I think the least likely to ripen will be Steamy, followed by Leafy and Sorry.  But this is all a bonus...my expectation was to do the crosses and perhaps prove that the cross took by seeing indeterminate seedlings. Having a long enough season to get a fall crop of the hybrids is really beyond what I expected. I really look forward to seeing the colors of the crosses using Sun Gold, and when any variety not red fleshed crosses with a green or white.

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These are the last five crosses to take, ripen fruit and germinate. I plan to let these grow until they are shipping size and send them to Dwarf Project volunteers who are able to grow them out during the winter, either outside or in a greenhouse. Top row - left to right - Acey, Artsy, Emmy, second row Fishy, Sandy.