August 2016
     
Tomato Feast
Celebrating Tomatoes
 
Nothing satisfies the gardening cook like the pleasure and satisfaction of harvesting big baskets of richly ripe, juicy tomatoes. Their tangy-sweet full flavor and jewel toned colors are one of the main reasons lots of us got started gardening. It is really true that freshly picked, home grown tomatoes beat anything you can buy by a long country mile, and these natives of South America are vigorous plants available in varieties that grow well for gardeners all over the US. Read More  
 
August In The Trial Garden  
 
Candy Land Tomato 

Summer harvest is in full swing! We have ripe tomatoes of all shapes and sizes ready to taste. A favorite is 'Candy Land' which bears heavy clusters of rich flavored, itty bitty little "currant" tomatoes and 'Nugget,' prolific, yellow-orange grape tomatoes that are candy-sweet. 
 
Brandywine and Nugget Tomatoes
On the other end of the size spectrum, we have bright red and deep pink selections of delicious heirloom 'Brandywine.' Both are big, heavy fruits with meaty flesh, few seeds and great sweet/tart flavor.

Pumpkins are especially fun to grow from tiny seedlings into large-leaved vines with gorgeous fruits. We have 2 different varieties of giant pumpkins in trials now, looking for ones that get huge but keep their bright orange color. 
 
Blue Pumpkins and
Giant Pumpkins
We also have some blue colored pumpkins that are growing. They are looking very promising, with vivid grey-blue skins and bright orange, very thick flesh that has great eating quality.

We are always looking for container vegetable varieties. This season we've been impressed by watermelon 'Mini Love' from a French breeder. 
 
Mini Love
Container Watermelon
The vines stays very compact and each one produces 2-4 fruits. 
They are early to ripen into perfectly round, green 5-6 inch "personal size" watermelons with light green stripes. Best of all, flavor is extremely sweet with a very crisp texture. 
 
Next season we will grow 'Mini Love' in our Vermont trial garden to see how it produces there.


Please visit reneesgarden.com for more articles, great seeds, recipes and ideas. We look forward to hearing from you. 
Best Wishes, Renee Shepherd  
Recipe Of The Month

The Mediterranean-style sauce needs no cooking and adds real pizzazz to all summer squash.