You're not kidding, lol! But it's a thing of beauty!

Is that lettuce in the second pic? It's huge.

Good to hear another review of that eggplant pasta. I saw that show a month or so ago and saved the recipe. Did you use all the cheese? Seemed like a lot.

Yes it's lettuce, several types, but its all done now. New baby lettuce plants should be ready in about a month. Hate when I have fresh lettuce and cukes but the tomatoes are ready. Now the tomatoes are ripening and the lettuce is finished. I guess I have to settle for tomato, basil with mozzarella! I did use the cheeses, just not as much as the recipe called for. It really was good.

All my gardening friends, and on here too, if I remember correctly, well, we all snickered at Meryl Streep's garden in Something's Gotta Give: just too outrageously gorgeous to be real. Seeing yours has me wondering! :>) Holy smokes, though, some folks over in Roses have hundreds of bushes that make me ponder how they keep up with them. Your DH has me agog at the thought of picking tomatoes from 300 vines...yowzers! Lucky friends and neighbors, I imagine! Love those home-grown 'maters, and sure is a pretty garden.

Beauty and functionality...wow!

Unlike Judie's gorgeous garden the one in It's Complicated wasn't real.

Here is a link that might be useful: buzz on It's Complicated fake garden

Judie, I made eggplant chips the other night. They were surprisingly good. I cut the slices much thinner than the blogger's 1/3 inch.

Here is a link that might be useful: eggplant chips with cilantro pesto dip

Oh, thanks natal! As I was typing Somethings Gotta Give it didn't feel quite right...yeah It's complicated. Now to go look at your link :>)

That garden in amazing! Quite gorgeous.

Amazing is right! Very impressive garden.

That is just beautiful. Makes me want to garden. No wait, makes me wish I lived near you so I might benefit from your abundance.

Judie, does your husband sell at a farmer's market or do you give away what you can't use or--?

Here's some pics. of the fun we have, come September.

Gorgeous garden!

What do you do with all the canned tomatoes?

Where do you livc that you don't harvest them till September? Ours were late ripening this year (craxy weather I guess) but are coming in hot and heavy now. I put up pasta sauce yesterday.

tina

We are in the suburbs of Boston. Ours tomatoes are just starting to turn red. We'll be picking continuously from now on. We like to wait until we have enough to can 100 or more jars in one day. We do that about 4 weekends starting the end of August thru September. We give 50 jars to our grown daughters. We use them as gifts all winter. I use tons of them for many recipes. I still have about 40 jars left from last year. A taste of summer is really appreciated in the snowy months of New England.

WOW! That's awesome!

May I ask a couple of questions?

Are the rows just ploughed right into the grass?
How wide is the grass strip and how wide would the planting strip be? I'm guessing that the grass is about the width of your mower?
Do the plants not intrude onto the grass?
What is the white material (black in some rows)?

I have a much smaller space, but this looks like something I could do. Any help is welcome.

Thanks.

The vegetables are planted in plastic mulch with irrigation tape underneath. The black is for vegetables that prefer warm roots and the white is for cooler type vegetables like lettuce, spinach and swiss chard. the entire plot is plowed and tilled before he lays the plastic. What you see in between the rows is clover that he seeds after everything is planted. It grows fast, he mows in between the rows (weekly) to keep weeds down and our feet comfy. No mud tracking. there is about 3ft. between the rows. Its like walking on carpet.

so much work and care that must go into this, and everything looks so pristine. I am in awe...truly! Beautiful little girl, too:>)

Ah, judiegal, your garden/tomato posts are coming to be a regular, much-anticipated event in the summer Home Dec forum : )

So amazing. Every detail is so wonderful. Thank you for sharing yet again - it seems we learn something new every year!

Sigh! My DH loves to garden, but he is very messy. We used to live in the northeat with a large lot and the veg garden could be placed far enough away from the house. We are now in CA with much smaller lots and the mess is right up against the house. I'll just stare at your clean, straight rows and dream!

Thank you for that information.
I can start dreaming about (and planning) next summer's garden now. :)

Amazing!

I am not showing this photo to my DH. He always has big ideas about vegetable gardening but he forgets that he doesn't have the time to take care of it and I'm stuck with being the gardener.

I have a question about the room where the tomatoes are being prepared for canning. Is that your garage? I love the ceramic tile. That's a dream set up. And are your jars stored there. You don't have to worry about freezing temperatures. One last question- what tomatoes are your favorites?

That's outrageous! Outrageously gorgeous as well as wonderfully functional! That garden should be featured in a magazine. It's a fine example of what can be done with lots of hard work and know-how. I've never seen a vegetable garden so well maintained & beautiful in my life. His work is inspirational.

Great pics of your family too. Your dh is a very handsome fellow, & your children are absolutely gorgeous.

What outstanding tomatoes...wish I could reach in and take one... or two...or a dozen!

You're a lucky lady Judiegal!

We have an area in the garage with a restaurant sink,dishwasher, a huge cabinet my husband built to hold 500 jars, a gas burner and pots that hold 60QT jars at a time. We tiled the back splash with left over tiles from jobs my husband did many years ago (hence the Italian color scheme). The garage is heated in winter (50'F). It's really a labor of love. Lots of work for a few weeks, but the kids and grandkids love helping out. My grown girls have now been spoiled and only like "sauce" made with our homegrown tomatoes. The majority of the tomatoes we can are from seeds that my DH's uncle brought here from Italy in the 1940's. They actually have our last name. They are a roma type tomato. MMMMMMMMM.

Wow! I am in awe. Y'all have done an amazing job and I agree that it's definitely worthy of a big magazine photo spread. The fact that you're growing true heirloom tomatoes with a family connection makes your garden all the more special.

I am just catching up with this thread. Your garden is amazing. What a labor of love. I've never seen such an immaculate garden. This almost makes me want to dig up the front lawn and start a garden -- almost. Actually, I wish I lived next door so I could wheedle a couple jars of that sauce from you.

Not only do you have a lovely garden, you have a beautiful family.

All I can say is WOW!!!! Impressive garden, impressive room and equipment for canning. In my dreams.....

Wow, yes an amazing garden!!!

I wish you lived close to me. That is one awesome garden. No wonder your yields are so prolific. A thing of beauty.

Gorgeous!!! Honestly -- that garden is a true work of art!

And your tomato sauce looks divine -- I would be haunting your pantry for handouts! Your dinners must be so yummy!

Your DH is a treasure! :)

I am deeply impressed with everything. Really, all those pics need to be in a magazine.

Thank you all. Things are in abundance now, maybe I'll take some updated pics and post them later on. We picked 3 bushels of tomatoes yesterday for canning this weekend! Last weekend we prepared 80 lbs. of eggplant for the freezer (battered and fried, not the healthiest way to save but mmm are they good)!

Do you mind posting the recipe for your sauce? It must be great! I have a bushel of fresh tomatoes right now.

When we can the tomatoes, we blanch, skin, seed, and crush.
We then put the crushed tomatoes in jars with a bunch of basil leaves, then process/seal. We also can whole and sliced tomatoes with the basil. Depending on the menu I open a couple of jars and add to lightly sauteed garlic in EVOO, the basil is already in the jars, salt, pepper. I'll add meat, or meatballs, for a basic pasta and meat sauce. When I make a parmisan type meal I dont add meat to the sauce, just simmer it till it thickens up a little. My DH is from Italy and they don't make their pasta sauce thick like we americans do, so most of the time I don't add paste.
We like the sliced tomatoes for home made pizza and dozens of other dishes.

Oooooo -- your DH could hold seminars on creating the PERFECT veggie gardens!! :) May I ask the secrets to his successes -- type of fertilizer? Does he add anything to the soil to start? Does he move/switch the veggies around in the garden itself to keep the soil good?

BTW -- my DH has decided that we'd like to be adopted by you .... especially around dinner! :) LOL! :)

Our garden is gone now -- baked and fried dry -- today the temperature here will reach 108 degrees .....

OMG! That is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! I am bowing to you and your husband.

I have questions too!

- What does your DH do for pest control?
- How do you manage 60 quarts for canning at one time? - More than one canner? Stacking jars?
- How long does it take for the water to come to boil with that many jars?
- What kind of propane set-up is your DH using?
- Do you can other things too?
- How much time does your DH spend tending to the garden each week?

I want to come to your house and watch and learn! I'm in D.C...I can drive up with my DH and we can help!

Judiegal, if you're going to invite Gardengrl up for a tutorial, I think you should hold a special seminar for all of us GW people, lol!

Teacats, so funny...yes, adoption into the Judiegal household sounds like a great option! Tea, it's 108 degrees? That's way too hot! What wouldn't be dried & fried & toasted & roasted!