Harvest Monday and it is 42.3 degrees outside!

It is hot, hot, hot, hot out there and yours truly was a little slow off the mark in moving the pots inside and into the shade covered section today. I waited until it was 43 degrees outside before performing this duty to protect all and sundry from the ridiculously hot Australian sun. Some pots, like the cucmber pot are too big to be moved, ever, not even if we get another 46.6 degree day. I did discover that an old sarong makes a great makeshift shade cloth when draped and tied between two tomato stakes. Here is a picture of my handy work. The ties used??? Old stockings cut up into useful sizes!

and here is a picture of the now barren part of the balcony, sweltering in the heat! At least it gives me a good excuse to sweep and mop it later this evening when it cools down.

Oh and note to self, next time you decide to run out onto the white-tiled balcony in this weather remember to put your shoes on!!! I don't think the soles of my feet could have burned any more if I was walking on hot coals (or in any event I don't think I'd made a very good firewalker)

Anyway enough about hot Melbourne days and onto much more sunnier (pun not really intended) horizons - harvests. Would anyone care for a martini? A martini of ripe tomatoes that is! My favourite flashing light martini glass that usually comes with me on picnics to swill champagne from was lying around the kitchen and I thought it would make the perfect vessel to contain a few of the ripened tomatoes. Apparently I even took it outside for a spin according to this photography!

Green Zebras, Black Russians and cherry tomatoes have been ripening indoors instead of on the vines due to the wilt. Here is the master collection of ripening tomatoes!

I also ate the L shaped cucumber! It was still pretty tiny but oh so very tasty.

I have had lettuce most nights, but this hot spell has killed off any chance of more. I will plant some once the weather cools slightly.

And now for the star of the show - the first ever balcony garden eggplant! I did pick him this week and he was just little bigger than my fist. I know that is small and he probably had a lot of growth left in him but with today's very very very hot and sunny weather I thought better to eat him now than when he is bigger but fried to a crisp.

I diced up the eggplant, along with a few baby zucchinis that never pollinated, and put them in a tuna pasta bake! Soooooooooooooo tasty.

If you want to see other harvests pop on over to Daphne's Dandelions! I am going to put my feet in an ice bucket and sit in front of the air conditioner thinking about snow.