Basil and Tomatoes and a Recap

Is there a better combination of foods to pair than fresh basil and tomatoes?  The complementary colors and flavors excite the senses.  The subtle anise aroma of the tender basil leaves.  The brilliant deep reds of the tomatoes, and their plump, round shape, smooth to the touch.  The symphonic balance of  herbal nuance and sweet acidity. 

Let us take a moment to celebrate their beautiful marriage and to give thanks for all our recent harvests, with a wish for more to come.

Ed's digging for potatoes. 

And finding them.

The Romaine lettuce proliferated, outpacing our ability to consume it, though we tried.  We ate at least a head of lettuce every day for over a month and we could have eaten twice as much as not run out!  

 
A bounty of beets finds us juicing them daily, and we still have not exhausted the crop, with a second planting's seedlings beginning to thrive.

We had only a small excess of sweet peas, which will be dried and planted next spring.

We used up our considerable carrot supply very quickly and are now awaiting the fall crop.

So many onions that we'll be enjoying them well into the fall and perhaps winter.  

The hardneck garlic haul is curing peacefully for storage, though of course we use what we need as we need it, daily.  

The cloves are wrapped in beautiful purple skins.  

And so it goes.  So far this year's garden has been an unmitigated success and everything we have planted has produced bountifully indeed.  Our tomatoes are beginning to blush and soon we'll have stories of their harvest and our canning of the fruit. 

Your farming friend, Ed Peterson.  Author and urban grower.