Lazy time of year

Ah, early August. The days are warm and sunny. The plants are so large they are shading out most of the weeds. This year's rains have been just right, so not much irrigation is needed. I can just sit back and watch my tomatoes ripen! Speaking of tomatoes ripening, during this downtime I am mentally preparing my checklist for canning. Jars, lids, making sure the pressure canner is working properly. In a week or two I will be spending some hot days in the kitchen with quarts and quarts of marinara sauce. But for now, I can enjoy the cut flowers I bring in from the garden, let the chickens romp around the yard catching bugs, and steal a few cherry tomatoes and pop them into my mouth still warm from the sun.

This week at the urban farm

My new favorite cherry variety, the hybrid "Cherry Bomb," started ripening this week. I love the look and it is late blight resistant, too!

Cherry Bomb, Sun Gold, and Yellow Pear cherry tomatoes. Sun Gold are still the sweetest cherry tomatoes I've ever had. Have you found something better?

The 5 hens are laying about 3 eggs per day. No signs of molting yet, but that will be coming up sometime in late summer or early fall.

I planted these blackberries a couple of years ago for my dad, and I have a love-hate relationship with them. They have large, delicious fruits, but they are thorny and birds get most of the berries! Our raspberries are definitely my favorite fruit crop.

I can't say enough about cut flowers. If I have the space, I will always grow them. They bring so much beauty (and so many pollinators!) to our urban farm.