Mission accomplished! Our first ripe tomato

The cage works!  We have been snacking on cherry tomatoes for a week now, but way more exciting to me is that the first three Mortgage lifters made it to about 90% ripeness without being picked off by greedy squirrels.  I had to pull them off because after the big rain storm they started to crack.   The cracks healed quickly and last night we at our very first ripe tomato from our own garden.  A good day!

Also last night, I pulled up all of the onions.  70 in all.  About 10 are the size of a pool ball, about 50 are the size of a ping pong ball, and the rest are pretty tiny.  Both groups of onions were planted in high traffic areas -- in the herb garden they kept getting whacked by the hose, and in the main garden they getting hard to find between the lettuce and the peppers.  Because of this, it was hard to tell when the tops fell over on their own because most of them were knocked over at some point.  You are supposed to pull the onions when 75% of the tops fall over on their own.  When that happens, you are supposed to knock the remaining tops over, and pick them a week later.    

Just like with the garlic, I think I left them i bit too long. One or two actually rotted, and a few look like they might go that direction sooner than later.  All in all, it is a good lesson for next year.  I'm definitely curuios to see how long they last before the start to turn. 

Right now they are supposed to sit in the sun for a few days (covered by a cotton cloth).  I am supposed to turn them every few days, and bring them inside when it rains.   Hopefully I can pull this off without it raining while I am at work.   

The sweet potatoes vines have fully filled in, and they look pretty cool.  I think they are the point where we could eat the leaves now.  It still seems strange, but I am looking forward to trying it out.   I read that they cook and taste similar to spinach.

The last update for the day is that the Anaheim Peppers are stating to grow.  No signs of poblano's, picante's, or jalepenoes yet, but these guys look pretty nice.