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Updated April 9th, 2009
By Robin Corwin - LCF Outlook
Summer is Around
the Corner
Visions of sun-kissed, flavorful
vegetables and herbs are
filling my daydreams. Looking
ahead to summer, I see ripe,
tasty tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers
and strongly perfumed
basil in my future.
Are you like me? Do you
pore over seed catalogs for
hours trying to decide what
delicious new things to grow
this season?
Tomatoes always top everyone’s
list. Even though last
summer’s home tomato production
was generally dismal, this
year’s weather will hopefully
be more conducive to success.
“Enchantment” and “Sungold”
are two I always grow.
“Enchantment” produces
Italian-style tomatoes exactly
like the supermarket kind, but
better tasting and, of course
thanks to me, organically
grown. It’s a very generous cultivar
with a long-lasting harvest.
“Sungold” is a reliable and
delicious cherry-type with
sweet orange-yellow globes
perfect for salads and oven
roasting. I’m considering
adding a black cherry tomato
with burgundy-colored fruit
that a friend asserts is tasty as
well. “Yellow Pear” and “Red
Pear” tomatoes look so cute in
salads, too. Though it takes
some searching to find varieties
other than “Better Boy,” “Big
Boy” and “Early Girl,” it’s so
worth it.
I also want to grow cucumbers
again for their lovely crunch, non bitter
peel and fresh taste. Seeds
sown soon should sprout easily
once the air and soil are consistently
toasty. I’m hoping a Texas
Tomato Cage will corral the vines,
since this support worked perfectly
this past winter for Chinese pea
pods. I’m still harvesting handfuls
of snow peas every other day.
Basil is a summer necessity,
both for flavoring fresh tomato
dishes and for pesto I’ll make and
freeze in small cubes to enhance
stews, soups and sauces all winter
long. Basil seeds also start easily
once the weather heats up. I’ve tried
many kinds of basil, from Siamese
and purple to African blue, but I
think the “Genovese” large-leafed
common variety has the best all around
flavor.
Last summer, I was finally able
to grow peppers successfully once I
located a place where they could
receive the sun, heat and rich soil
they require. For me, that was in a
big, automatically irrigated pot on a
sunny deck. Buoyed by last summer’s
success, I’m planting peppers
again this year. I’m even trying an
exotic Hungarian long yellow, frying
cultivar.
Now, what about eggplant, arugula, beets, melons, radishes,
squash, grapes, strawberries, sorrel,
leaf celery, summer savory and
beans? Have I forgotten anything?
Hmmm....what’s on your list?
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