The tomatoes are ripening quickly now. Using our hand-woven baskets, it takes four trips out of the garden to harvest all the varieties we've grown. This means we'll be processing a lot of tomatoes this week.

We have a new variety listed: 'Chipolla's Pride,' a large tomato grown for canning and making sauce. 'Pozzano' paste tomatoes are also listed, along with a price drop on the tasty 'Valencia' orange slicing tomatoes. This week, we also have quarts of 'Citrine' cherry tomatoes available. Our 'Blush' snacking tomatoes have stalled; there's plenty of fruit on the vines, but they're not ripening. I think they will at some point.

Switching to the fruit, the cantaloupes are coming along nicely. They are forming the netting on their skin, a sign that we're getting close to harvesting those sweet, golden melons. Watermelons, however, present a dilemma every year: how do you know when they're ready to harvest? The only sure sign is when a rodent damages them, but that's not the ideal way to know when the inside has turned that beautiful pink color.

The late plantings of 'Bolero' and 'Romance' storage carrots now have mature tops and should start developing roots for a fall harvest.

All of the cruciferous plants have been pulled except for the late-season cabbage. It looks like the year will wind down quickly.

Put on your apron and get into the kitchen while this season's bounty is producing a great variety of vegetables. Freeze it or can it but preserve what you can for those long winter months.

Eat well and may you have a great week!

PS: Total of seven raccoons removed from the garden.

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Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers

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