Monday, January 11, 2010

Harvest Monday - January 11, 2010

Harvest Monday is here again. The pickings are getting more slim as winter progresses, the veggies just don't grow as fast. I thinned the Vit mache and plucked out a bunch of Golden Corn Salad that is volunteering under my garden bench.  Here's the two varieties mixed together.



The mache and cornsalad accompanied some roasted Chioggia beets and orange segments for a nice salad. We also had some baked goat cheese that was coated with an almond and bread crumb crust.

And I thinned my pot of mixed lettuces.



And here's one more harvest of Opal Creek Golden Snap Peas and a few Kefe Beinwil snow peas. Some of the snap peas showed damage from the frosts and freezes we experienced a few weeks ago. The undamaged peas were sweeter.



So, here's the harvest totals by weight for the last week:

Piracicaba Broccoli shoots - 4.5 oz.
Cutting Celery - 1.5 oz.
Golden Corn Salad - .75 oz.
Lacinato Kale - 1.75 oz. (stems and ribs removed)
Vit Mache - 1 oz.
Opal Creek Golden Snap Peas - 9.5 oz.
Kefe Beinwil Snow Peas - .5 oz.

Total 21.5 ounces or 1 pound 5.5 ounces

Head on over to Daphne's Dandelions so see what other garden bloggers have harvested lately.

20 comments:

  1. The harvest may be dwindling in winter, but it still is looking pretty good to me. I would kill for some fresh peas, even frost touched ones.

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  2. This is still a great harvest Michelle. It's been a while since I looked at my mache. The weather has been so cold here. I can't wait to taste it for the first time!...that is, if it's still alive.

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  3. Yes, it's a thin time in the garden,isn't it? Mache is always reliable, though, surviving cold winds and frost. We find that reddish leaved lettuces survive the cold better than green, and it looks as though that's what you've got too. Ours are Rougette de Montpellier and they keep growing all through the winter.

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  4. That looks pretty tasty Michelle. I remember reading in Golden Gate Gardening about how easy winter gardening around here is (and it is, except for the weeds) but a real touch of freeze will change all that.

    Or, you know, forgetting to plant things in August for the fall. . . That doesn't help either.

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  5. Daphne, I can't complain too much, it is really nice to be getting something fresh from the garden.

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  6. Thomas, I think you're really going to like mache, it has a nice flavor and texture. I love to dress it with nut oils, usually hazelnut or walnut, and some good sherry vinegar or balsamico.

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  7. Looks like a nice salad in the making with the mache and corn salad. I tried both of those this year but they didn't really take off. They're out in the freezing temps now, but maybe they will rebound in the spring.

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  8. chaiselongue, thin is better than none though, isn't it? The green lettuces came through ok, they just don't seem to grow as quickly as the red ones in the winter so the red predominates in the mix at the moment.

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  9. Stefaneener, It sure is easy, especially for lazy gardeners like me, I always forget to cover my more tender plants at some point. One difficulty that I have is that there is more gopher activity around here in the winter. I guess it's easier for them to tunnel in the soil after the rains start. One of them plowed through half my parsley this week and I just trapped it in the middle of my baby chard plants. At least the chard survived.

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  10. Emily, The mache and cornsalad seem to take a long time to get going, even in my mild climate.

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  11. Michelle,
    Those sugar snap peas yum! Really enjoy your harvests! We need to plant some peas soon. Warming up to 59 on Friday, today the ground was still frozen.

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  12. Randy, 59 will feel absolutely balmy after the weather you've been enduring lately! Let's hope it stays *warm* for you.

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  13. We grow Vit mache and it is one of our favorite winter greens. I started mine a bit late this year and so it is going to be an early spring harvest as opposed to some winter harvests - but it is coming along in that slow way that mache does!

    Great harvests Michelle!

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  14. Hello Michelle!
    I see you have mache harvest also! And it looks so nice. It is one of rare winter greens, so it would be shame not to grow it.
    Lettuce and peas look lovely, especially lettuce, very fresh. Peas did suffer some frost, but I’m sure they will taste just as good.

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  15. I think I paid $16 dollars for you dinner at a restaurant recently!

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  16. The mache looks excellent. I grew a nice crop but never got to harvesting it. Now it's really frozen but I am hoping for a harvest once we get a thaw. The peas must taste great, yum!

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  17. kitsapFG, Mache does seem to have its own ways. I've found that if I try to sow it early it just waits until the time is right. One method I use to judge when it's time to sow it is to let it go to seed and let some of the seeds fall in the garden. When I notice volunteers sprouting then I sow some of the saved seeds where I really want it! The birds get most of the fallen seeds so it doesn't become weedy, not that I would mind if it did.

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  18. Hi vrtlarica, Mache is pretty rare, there's only one grower that I know of that grows it commercially. That stuff is good, not as good as homegrown, but it is available year round, unlike my own.

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  19. JP, oh the joys of being able to grow and cook your own! Well, I'm not sure that I'm saving any money by growing my own, but it didn't cost $32 (plus tip!) to put that dinner on the table.

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  20. Dan, the mache probably is sitting there in the garden, waiting for you to come and get it! And the peas are a tasty treat, but it looks like there's going to be gap in the harvest while the new shoots develop the next harvest. I am impatient for the next round...

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