The beets are finally outgrowing "Baby Beet" status. After a very long and wet spring, the plants are enjoying the warm (HOT) weather and the relative lack of munching pests. The variety is an heirloom called Flat of Egypt beet, from Baker Creek.
These spicy Cherry Bell peppers ripen to red. I've been picking, deseeding, and freezing them as they ripen. As with everything in the garden, they're thriving in the summertime heat. They're a bit hotter than I expected, so I'm sure the bounty will last well into 2014.
The first tomato plant I put in this year was a Beefmaster from the Union Square green market in the city. It's by no means a distinctive variety, but it's definitely making a case for hybrids. There are already half a dozen fruits on the plant, which is towering out of the cage and still flowering profusely. I've got high hopes for this guy.
I've never had much luck with beefsteak style tomatoes in my plot. I tend to overcrowd with too many things, and inevitably something gets shaded in the fight for UV resources. Three years ago I planted a very typical cherry tomato (a hybrid) and got quarts and quarts of fruit off the thing. I've yet to match that in productivity. I blame it on the fickle heirlooms I'm so drawn to. With the Beefmaster doing so well though, I might just leave the heirloom tomato growing to the farmer's market vendors.
