Saving Summer
Often even our small garden gives us more than we can eat fresh.  Today for example, as I surveyed my kitchen I realized I had a few tomatoes that need to be used up, some zukes, some green onions, and several bell peppers.  One of my super simple solutions to a glut of such vegetables is to prepare and freeze a vegetable sauce. 
You will need about half a dozen tomatoes to make this worth doing. More is fine. Wash, core, cut into chunks.  No need to seed or peel--the seeds and peels are good for you.  Put them in a blender and puree smooth then transfer to a saucepan. You could just use tomatoes, but I always throw in whatever else I have that needs to get used up.  Today I had a zuchini, a couple of bell peppers and some green onions. Eggplant is also a good addition.
 For the peppers I did remove the stem end, seed, cut out the pith and cut into chunks.  The zuke was young and not too seedy.  I just cut off the stem end and cut into chunks.  All those green veggies went into the blender to puree and then got added to the tomato puree.  I added a little salt, pepper and italian herbs.  Go light on your seasoning.  They will become stronger as you cook the water out of the mixture.  You can add more seasnoning later when you serve it if needed.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer.  Reduce it (simmer the water out of it) by about half.  This way it takes up less room in your freezer and you can add water later. Stir frequently as you reduce and the sauce thickens.
Once it is reduced, cool it by placing the pan in cold water, being careful not to let water get over the rim of your sauce pan into the sauce.  Stirring will help it cool faster.
Once cooled, pack into freezer containers, label with contents and date.
You now have a taste of summer to add to your winter soups and stews or just to serve over pasta.  The sauce has a garden fresh taste that is unequaled by anything you can buy at the store. 

Garden Reboot
Time to make some tough decisions in my little garden this week.  In such a tiny space everything has to pull its weight...

So out come the zuchinnis. One because I think I have enough shredded and stashed in the freezer to make a winter's worth and of zuke muffins.  And two, because though the plants are still pretty healthy, their production has slowed way, way down.  So out they come to make way for fall crops.

And here's a trick for tired tomatoes:
My tomatoes are still producing well, but blight has killed the lower leaves and the vine is outgrowing its support.

First I removed the lower leaves from the tomato vine.  They were not in good shape and the fruit from the lower portion of the plant had already been harvested so nothing is lost.

Next I dug a trench across the bed and laid the vine in it.  This is just the bare vine part, not all the way to the

top.

Then I covered up the vine and watered it in.  Because of the design of my beds, I was able to just move the support pole to the other side and reattach the now much-shorter vine. Roots should form along the buried portion of vine which will give the vine a boost that should take it up to frost.

Pullet Surprise

The new hens, the five lovely barred rocks I have left after the "whatever" got so many of them, have started laying.  There is a marked difference in the size of pullet eggs compared to regular hen eggs.  The eggs will get bigger as the girls mature.  It seems a little early for them to start.  I wasn't expecting them to lay for another month at least, but every breed is different and I have not had barred rocks for years.  The eggs are coming in abundance from the older hens as well.  Sometimes when it is this hot they really slow down, but for some inscrutable chicken reason that has not happened this time.

Above: a cooperative rooster puts himself in the fire ring. BBQ chicken?