Last of the Garden

Our garden has ended its productivity for the season.  It was slightly better than last year.  Our zucchini plants actually produced the way zucchini plants are supposed to produce...rather excessively!  The potatoes were bountiful and the peas and beans were OK.  The peppers were stunted.  I don't think they got the sunlight they needed.  The carrots were completely overgrown by the potatoes and looked like pale, knarled little roots.  I think they need more sunlight than they can get in our back yard.  The tomatoes were late but they produced quite a few tomatoes.  

Before pulling out all the dying and dead plants, Justin harvested everything that was left after the last freeze.  This inlcluded a bag of green tomatoes.  Justin's mom told of an old technique she knows from her childhood which entails placing the green tomatoes between layers of newspaper.  It sounded legitimate and similar to the trick where you can ripen fruit by putting it in a brown paper bag.  I looked it up and many university extension sites validated the technique.  So I am trying it!  The websites I saw said that the tomatoes should not be touching each other.  They also said that each one should be individually wrapped.  I am too lazy to do that so if this doesn't work these will be going in the trash!  I think it will work though, especially for the ones already starting to turn. 

I love those bite sized grape tomatoes!  They are perfect for my lunch salads!