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Monday, December 21, 2009

Harvest Monday - December 21, 2009

It's Harvest Monday again and the pickings have been getting slim around here. A couple of excuses for not harvesting very much are that my husband and I were away for a few days celebrating our 20th anniversary and the holiday social scene has meant evenings out so I haven't had to cook very much. Even so, if I had been around there wouldn't have been much more to show.

So here's what came out of the garden in the past week...



A bunch of Piracicaba broccoli shoots.




A basketful of Tuscan arugula.

And... that's all folks!

If you would like to see what other garden bloggers have been harvesting lately head on over to Daphne's Dandelions.

12 comments:

  1. Happy Anniversary! I think I might be growing Piracicaba broccoli next year. I've got to learn how to pronounce it though. Your's looks wonderful.

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  2. We haven't had much more than this - salad leaves and leeks mainly - and we've been here all the time. Congratulations on your wedding anniversary!

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  3. Well it may not be a bumper harvest, but it looks good!

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  4. Thanks Daphne! I've been really happy with the Piracicaba but it is a little different than regular or even sprouting broccoli. There's a very good article by Barbara Damrosch about it in the Washington Post that you might want to read: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/18/AR2006101800375.html

    One thing that I've like about the Piracicaba is that it produced well and tasted good in both warm and cold weather.

    Oh, and Fedco (where I got my seeds) says it's pronounced peer-a-SEA-cah-bah.

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  5. Chaiselongue, thank you! I suppose we really can't complain about the small harvests, at least there's something fresh coming out of the garden.

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  6. Congratulations on your anniversary Michelle! What a milestone.

    I'm very excited to grow Piracicaba broccoli and will definitely check out the article. So it looks like you eat the leafy parts of the young shoots as well? Do you ever let the side shoots get bigger?

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  7. Thomas, thanks, it does seem like a significant number of years, and yet it doesn't feel like it's been all that long.

    I usually leave nearly all the leaves on the shoots, sometimes the lowest leaf might get really big by the time I harvest so I'll cut it off. I pick the shoots when the little heads start getting a bit loose looking and and each bud starts to swell. Next time I'll try to get a closer shot of one of the heads, it's definitely looser looking than regualar broccoli.

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  8. Congratulations on your anniversary! If you're eating out a lot, then you don't have to worry about a large harvest going bad or needing preservation. Nice greens and broc.

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  9. Your garden seems to know what it's doing. You probably don't like to see your veggies rot in the fridge when you eat out a lot, so it just reduced the production. Pretty amazing!

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  10. Congratulations on both your anniversary and that kale basket. Yum!

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  11. Nice harvest. I never made it out last monday, hopefully I will next. Happy Holidays!

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