Housewarming Gifts

After our first, very brief, visit to this house in August, I began to get excited about the gardening opportunities such a wet region presented to me. I began planning flower and vegetable gardens. Some in containers and some right in the ground.

The night we arrived was a dark and rainy night. I didn't properly get a good look at the house. Keith and I were focused on getting the mattresses into the bedroom so we would have a place to sleep. I obviously didn't get a good look around the property.

The next day, however, the looking commenced.

We have flower beds running along three sides of the house and along the edges of the backyard. In addition, we have three trees with space around them for flowers and a semi-heart-shaped bed in the middle of the front yard. Off the back patio is a small bed that I think would be great for vegetables.

The yard and all the beds were completely overgrown. Grass and weeds up to my knees. I did find, in the corner of the patio, a tiny tomato plant. Two green tomatoes were waiting for us. What a great housewarming gift!

I don't know how many of you remember my green tomato ripening trick. It is so easy. Pick the green tomatoes and wash them. Let them dry thoroughly and wrap them tightly in newspaper. Store them in a cool, dry, dark place such as a cardboard box with a lid.

I picked the green tomatoes. I wrapped them in newspaper but didn't have a box with a lid available. So, I just stored them in what I think the previous owners were using as a clothing closet. I have converted it into a food pantry.

After three weeks those two little green tomatoes were nice and ripe.

I really recommend this wrapping technique for late-season tomatoes or if you are overwhelmed by tomato worms. Either way, the newspaper ripens the green tomatoes into juicy tasty tomatoes.

I sliced up some cucumbers and added the tomatoes to the top. No dressing is needed. Salt and a little pepper are all it takes to make this salad taste great!

I'm so happy that even nature seems to be welcoming us to the neighborhood.

I am also excited to see what I will be able to grow here. I don't think a vegetable garden will be as necessary here as it was in Texas. Living there in the middle of a food desert meant if I wanted to eat it I had to grow it. Here in New York, there are so many good grocery stores around with an excellent selection of organic food. I won't have to grow anything out of necessity. I can just grow stuff for the pleasure of growing it.

Keith wants to try to plant a grapevine. I imagine it would do better than any of the vines we planted in Texas. The only grapevine that did well there was Grandma's wild grapes. That vine had been there since Grandma and Grandpa first moved to Clarendon.

I'm told grapes do extremely well here. It is considered to be wine country. I haven't yet been to a winery, but I look forward to going to several. I have been to one of the local breweries. There are so many breweries in Rochester. Keith is probably more excited about the beer than I am.

Regardless of where (and what) we drink, I am thrilled with our new home. I am pleased with the variety of activities we can do as well as with all the things I'll be able to grow. I mean! Look at those tomatoes!

Well, y'all, I had better get on with my chores for the day.

I'm out the door, dinosaur!

All images original photos by Jonica Bradley