Culinary Fun, Tomatoes, and To-Do Lists

Did you all enjoy your Labor Day Weekend? I know I did. We had a wonderful picnic on Monday, complete with hot dogs, sausage, baked beans, and (my specialty) grilled potato skins. I even got to use a fresh-picked tomato! Tuesday I made Pesto Chicken for dinner. It turned out really well, as did my experiment of putting some pesto on tomato slices and broiling them.

I have good news, and no, I didn't save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico(R). The slugs seem to have vanished from my garden! I'm not sure what persuaded them to leave, but I don't really care, as long as their gone.
My tomatoes have finally started to ripen. The Mrs. Benson tomatoes are very large, weighing between 8 and 15 ounces each. So far I have not gotten any Brandywine tomatoes; the ones that ripened got blossom end rot. I'm somewhat surprised since Brandwines are supposed to be very easy to grow, and not prone to disease. I guess end rot is exempt since it's not a disease, but a calcium deficiency in the fruit. If I can get to the garden center some time soon, I will try to find a calcium spray for the leaves, so more calcium can get to the tomatoes. In the meantime, I've been trimming the plants of unnecessary leaves and runners in an effort to keep the leaves from absorbing all the calcium. I'm also fertilizing and watering the plants more often.

Due to the cooler weather most of the flowers have slowed their seed production, but I'm still getting seeds from Calendula, Cosmos, Anise Hyssop, and Salvia plants. On the To-Do List this fall is revamping my flower garden, and finishing the new bed around the mailbox. The bed around the mailbox will be getting Lavender and Rose Campion. I'm not sure what else is planned for it. For my flower bed, we are going to put in a mix of peat moss, top soil, compost, and sand. We're also going to reshape the border to make it look more like a circle than a wavy line.

Farewell For Now~
Sarah