Bringing in the Tomatoes

Another gardening landmark!  I am happy to note that with our expanded garden space we were able to harvest more tomatoes than we did all of the produce we harvested last year combined.  Amazing.  We are so pleased.   My counter has been taken over by ripe tomatoes waiting for processing.  The basement store room has many boxes of green tomatoes waiting to ripen.  Last year we had good luck with our rate of successful ripening.  Here's hoping its the same this year.

We harvested the remaining tomatoes on Monday and Tuesday as the first frost was predicted for this morning.  I told Matt that we could cover them if we went to the thrift shop and picked up some sheets which I would sew together to make giant bed covers.  Most surprisingly, my garden-obsessed man seemed ready to just call it a season with the tomatoes.  Between buying a house, working on the house, prepping a new garden space, selling tie-dye all summer, etc I think he is ready for a calmer, quieter season.  And he also thought it would be a hassle to cover twenty-four 6-10 foot tall tomato plants.  He may have been right about the hassle, but I was more than willing in order to let a few more tomatoes vine-ripen. 

But we hauled them all in (and just in time--Matt harvested the last few in the cold, grey drizzle yesterday morning) before the cold rainy, sleety day that was yesterday.  More cool weather expected.  It seems that summer is really over now.  I am both eager and sad about it.  Like Matt though, I am ready for a quieter season.   Almost.