Green Tomatoes

About 3 weeks ago it started getting too cold to continue heating the greenhouse so I brought my tomato plants in the house.  I had a slew of tomatoes on the vine but they were not starting to get red.  Once in the house they started to turn red but the plant was not very happy and started to look pretty sick.

A few days ago I was at lunch with a friend of mine who said that she used to pick all of the tomatoes off her plants and lay them out on a cloth in a cool room.  They would slowly turn red throughout the winter.  I figured since she was able to do this, why not give it a try.

So here is a photo of my tomatoes today.  They are quickly turning red and we are eating them as they do.  Tonight I am making pitas with hummus, olives, spinach, tomatoes and free range chicken.  Yum!

Artichokes - Slug Control

This morning I went out to water my covered garden and found that I have an artichoke.  I am so excited!  For the longest time they were not doing very well because the slugs were getting to them.  I heard from a friend about a product called Escar-Go which is a naturally occurring slug control that she swore by.  (google it)  I finally gave in and gave it a try and now my artichokes are finally growing.  I had all but given up on them.

Here is a picture of the little guy.........I am so proud :)

I have a horrible problem with slugs in my garden.  I tell you what, now that I have tried this slug control stuff.  I am never letting those pesky things get into my garden again!

Peppers in the Greehouse

So my greenhouse has turned out ot be a huge success.  The tomatoes and peppers are going crazy.  Take a look.

Here is a little hint.....I tried using safer soap and the pepper plants did not like that at all.  If you look at the first photo you will see the brown spots on the leaves of the plant.  That is what happened when I applied safer soap to try and get rid of the aphids.  After that I got the ladybugs which worked like a charm.  Now when I see aphids on one of my plants I just go find a few ladybugs and put them on the plant.  Once I do that the little aphids are gone in a few days.

 See the anehiem peppers on the plant?  My family LOVES tortilla soup and which is what I typically  use anehiem peppers for.  I am looking forawrd to making it using our own peppers!

These are on a plant that is labeled red peppers.  Either they turn red once they reach maturity or it was not lableled correctly.

Here is a photo if the ladybugs I added to the greenhouse to keep the aphids at bay.  They have been doing superb job!