Veggie Garden Update August 2020

Hello and happy Friday to you all!  How was your week?  Busy? Are you ready for the weekend? Our week was hot hot hot!  This hot weather  we had for almost 10 days caused so many wildfires that our air quality was one of the worst in the world.  A very heartfelt gratitude to the amazing firefighters who are fighting all the blazes around the Bay Area.

Can’t thank our firefighters enough for working tirelessly to keep properties safe and get our wild fires under control.  Just heroic efforts!!!   This warm weather also meant that my tomatoes finally started ripening and  I am also thrilled to report that I harvested my first ever harvest of green beans!!

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With the COVID lockdown we had earlier in the year I missed the window to pick up veggie plants, but I need not have fret, as my friends Veena and Mani came to my rescue!!  They delivered over 30 veggie seedlings! Tomatoes, green beans, squash, watermelon, and pumpkin seedlings just to name a few.

The fact that I I didn’t get to plant any veggie plants until late June and the mild summer we’ve had until August meant that my veggie harvest had been delayed. But with the arrival of August and warmer temperatures I finally saw some action on my veggie plants.  Tomatoes started to ripen last week and I even have green beans!

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Green beans!!

The biggest surprise in my veggie patch??  Green beans!!  I’ve never grown green beans before until Veena gave me green bean seedlings.  When I asked her what tips she had for these plants – all she said was give it a trellis, water and sunshine.  Its been about 2 months now and the vines are big and bushy and to my surprise covered in flowers and green beans!

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I almost missed harvesting these beauties if not for the fact that I was so intent on photographing my tomatoes and the green beans just happened to show up in my photos.  They were so camouflaged that it was easy to miss them among the bushy vine. Imagine my surprise to notice an actual tunnel of green beans elegantly hanging from my trellis!!

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My first harvest of homegrown green beans!

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Tomatoes too 😊🍅

In my excitement surrounding my first green beans harvest, let me not forget to share my modest tomato harvest.  Not as many tomatoes as I usually get but its a good amount.  I still have many more tomatoes waiting to ripen.

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That’s a look at my veggie patch in August.

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Have a good weekend everyone!

16 thoughts on “Veggie Garden Update August 2020”

  1. You’ve got all kinds of hidden treasures under the trellis! Good to know you can plant late and still get a nice harvest👍🏼. Mike plants our tomatoes in late April/early May and cherry tomatoes are still coming. Maybe we’ll try green beans next year.

  2. Dolly !!!! Wow ! You do have the Green Thumb!!! After looking at your Crop of Green Beans, i was reminded of Our Rukku Thatha , your mom’s dad . Thatha loved growing Vegetables and i recall how he planted a ” Pudalangai ” plant in our Green Park House . I used to love making Poricha Kootu and Coconut Curry with this Vegetable . Pudalangai is called Snakegourd in English . Green Beans is a Staple in our Diet . Beans are Good Carbs and rich in Fiber and Vitamins and Minerals . I love making Green Beans Kootu with Moong Dhall and simple Curry with grated Coconut .

      1. Kootu with Green Beans . Boil a cup of Moong Dhall (yellow) with a Pinch of Turmeric and set it aside. Meanwhile , chop Green Beans into pieces ( not too Tiny not too Big) . Boil the Beans in pot with just Enough Water so they get cooked . Now add the cooked Moong Dhall and stir and mix, Meanwhile . Take 2 tablespoons of grated Coconut , 10 Black Peppers , One teaspoon Cumin seeds and make a paste of Fine consistency . Add this to the Beans and the Dhall . Time to add Salt per taste . I also add 1 teaspoon Sambar Powder to give it a Good Appearance (reddish) . You are welcome to add a little bit of Tamarind juice to give it a “Soury” taste . While garnishing ., add Mustard Seeds ,1/4 teaspoon Urad Dhall and One chopped Green Chili and a few Curry leaves . Before serving with Cooked Rice , add fresh Coriander Leaves . I serve Kootu and Rice with Fried Appalams and Cucumber Raita . Your Kittu Mama loved my Kootu preparations … he loved Pusanikai Kootu the most .

      2. I love using green beans in my regular diet/cooking. Your garden look so beautiful. I make Subji mixed with green peas, fresh coconut, sesame seeds & cilantro. Also love Kachori made out of green beans too. Also use them in pav Bhaji.
        Your garden is truly heaven.

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