Blight?!?

Guess what? I just discovered that there is a reason the lower leaves of my tomato plants turn brown every year. It's called early blight. Perhaps it is a reason why I don't get as many tomatoes as I expect.

Of course, reading about these things is like falling down a rabbit hole. You go from one thing to another. Control by fungicide! No, cut off offending leaves! Watch how you water! Honestly, it makes one wonder how any tomato plants actually manage to grow enough to produce tomatoes.

So add another problem. The birds are still pecking at some of the tomatoes, so I'm picking them before they turn completely red. Should be OK, but I always love picking right before eating---it seems like that should be one of the rewards of gardening.

I'm now getting one or two cucumbers a day. This morning I went out and found two that I didn't expect. The fruit does have a habit of finding ways to hide from me until they get too big. Fortunately, that wasn't the case this morning.

Are you doing better at tomatoes than me? Try this pasta sauce: cut up a tomato and some mozzarella into pieces, and chop up a few basil leaves (doesn't have to be very fine). Add some olive oil, mix and let sit for an hour (to blend the flavors). Then toss with your favorite pasta. This has long been very popular around our house. I think it tastes even better when you use tomatoes and basil you've grown yourself. In fact, it would taste best with home-grown olives and mozzarella. Unfortunately olives don't grow in Rockville, and I'm not yet ready to make my own cheese.

(How much tomato, cheese, olive oil, basil? As much as you like! Just about any reasonable proportions will work.)