Tomatoes Galore

Tomatoes are starting to come in now. Seems that they are about 2-3 weeks behind most other people's plants. I think I need to not winter SOW the seeds but start them indoors in Feb. and let them get some size before I transplant. The plant sizes are now mostly slowing down in growth and topping off at about 7 or 8 feet for most of them. So far, the best tasting tomato has been the Marglobe and Purple Cherokee. The Black Krim was good but a little bland, the black cherries were not as sweet as I would have wished but the yellow cherries are a huge hit with the kids. Although Jen is not much of a fan of Cherries, I will grow them for the kids every year, maybe even two plants. Their appetite for tomatoes is insatiable.

The radishes sprouted (both white icicle and red globe) and I also just noticed the Chioga Beets starting as well. Nothing for the carrots or the golden beets. With the Chioga starting as quickly as they did, I am not so quick to blame myself for doing something wrong. Once the garden starts to finish up, I think I have decided to buy some 4x4's and build up the upper bed to better define the walkway. Eventually I can do the same to the bottom bed and have a fully defined walkway where I can lay weed barrier and nice stone. I have to make sure Sam the Scarecrow is OK with it first though.

Jen and I discovered the Summit Farmer's Market which is 10x better than Scotch Plains and Westfield. There are about 10 vendors including fresh seafood, local beef /lamb/poulty, local cheese and the kids favorite, a pickle vendor. This past Sunday was our second time going and we managed to plan meals relatively well. We ate two local meals where nothing came from out of the state (except butter, sea salt, butter and olive oil). We have been eating a lot of red beets, chard and fresh eggs all from here.


Oven Baked Sea Scallops:

• 1lb Sea Scallops (about 12-15 scallops)
• 4 Tbsp melted butter
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 2 pinches ground nutmeg
• dash of salt
• 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese (optional)
• Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Clean, dry and place scallops in a bowl. Add melted butter, garlic, salt and nutmeg and scallops and mix. Place in baking dish arranging to one layer. In a separate bowl, mix breadcrumbs, cheese (optional) and enough oil to see it START to clump (about 4 Tbsp). Pour evenly over the scallops and place dish in the oven for 45 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are browned.

Food Harvested:
Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes
Lemon Cukes

Things Planted:
Nothing

Preserved/Cooked:
Carrot Cake
String Bean Salad
Local Sea Scallops

Seeds Saved:
Nick's Yellow Cherry Tomato
Black Cherry Tomato

Things to Remember:
1. Use 4x4 to clean up the edges of the garden
2. DO not plant so heavily on the cukes
3. Move the tomatoes to the higher part of the bed
4. Tomatoes need more spacing