It's the first Harvest Monday of 2010! And I'm not off to the best start so far as photographing the harvests goes. The only photo I have to show for the past week is of the Chioggia beets I pulled when it looked like there was a gopher tunneling around in that bed. I pulled all the largest beets and left the runty ones to perhaps size up now that their largest neighbors are gone (if the gophers don't get 'em first). I used the greens to make a galette. The beet roots are still in the fridge.
I did harvest other veggies and actually weighed them. I'm going to start weighing my harvests (hah, we'll see how regular I can be) because I'm curious about just how much my garden produces. So here's the first weigh in (sounds like a diet program):
January 2
Piracicaba Broccoli, trimmed: 6 ounces
Opal Creek Golden Snap Peas: 10.75 ounces
Olive Leaf Rapini thinnings: 2 ounces
Diamante Celery Root, trimmed: 15 ounces
Carrots, mixed and trimmed: 6.5 ounces
Smooth Leaf Kale, untrimmed: 7.5 ounces
Total: 2 lb 15.75 ounces
The beets are not included because those were harvested last year.
The celery root was very good, sweet and tender. I used it in soup along with the carrots and rapini thinnings. The soup also featured green beans and tomato puree from the freezer and the last of the Christmas roast pork.
So, if you would like to see what some other garden bloggers are harvesting from their plots, head on over Daphne's Dandelions.
I can't wait to grow chioggia beets next year. I think their interior rings look so pretty. I hope the galette was delicious! For some reason, I've found beet greens to taste pretty bland. Maybe I just haven't been eating the right ones.
ReplyDeletevery nice!
ReplyDeletePretty beets. I love the greens. Weighing seems like the only way to figure harvests that works for me. I'm going to have to fine-tune my spreadsheets, how about you?
ReplyDeleteThomas, beet greens are pretty similar to chard, but I think chard is actually better tasting. I just hate to waste them though and I've found the galette to be a perfect use for them. Chioggia beets are a favorite of mine, they're not as strong tasting as red beets and they don't bleed either.
ReplyDeleteMAT k., thanks!
ReplyDeleteStefaneener, I haven't even started a spread sheet yet! This weighing thing is all new for me.
ReplyDeleteWow they are good looking beets! This week is a beetroot week on the balcony garden, except I had to buy them in because the ones here have trouble forming big enough heads - but had to be done as it is beetroot gnocchi time! What do gophers do to beets? Do they eat other crops too (we don't really get gophers here, except in zoos, though I am sure we have something equivalent.)
ReplyDeleteThe beets look great! Last year was the first time for me tracking the harvest weights. It was hard to remember to do it (old habits die hard and I am used to just coming in from the harvest and going straight to cooking!), but once I got into the practice it was useful to see what was really coming out of the garden. It highlighted where I am under performing a crops potential and what is doing splendidly well. Good feedback and fun to do really.
ReplyDeletePrue, Beetroot gnocchi sounds good! Actually, I love gnocchi of any sort. You are so lucky you don't have gophers. They are tunneling rodents that like to eat all sorts of plants. They pull the plants down into their runs and eat them or they will simply eat the roots and leave the rest of the plant to die. Plants literally disappear into the ground. Very frustrating!
ReplyDeletekitsapFG, I too am accustomed to just harvesting to cook right away, it's been a challenge to remember to take pictures of them. We'll see how good I am at remembering to record weights also! But like you say, it should be useful for figuring out just how well the garden is performing.
ReplyDeleteI had trouble at the beginning remembering to weigh them too. Sadly the problem never went away. I'm not very good about learning new habits. Luckily I usually remembered before cooking them. I like to harvest things in the cool mornings over the summer and I have plenty of time to remember then. The dashing out to fill something in for dinner wasn't as well done.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I think a ballpark number will be good enough, at least I'll have an idea of what the garden is producing. And I know what you mean about new habits...
ReplyDeleteI love beets - roasted beet and avocado salad is a staple for me. It seems as if smaller beets have a more intense flavor than larger ones, regardless of the variety. Is that my imagination?
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, Yum, beet and avocado salad sounds great. A favorite around here is roasted beet and apple salad. Last night I paired them with orange segments and baked goat cheese. I've never noticed if small beets are more intensely flavored, I'll keep that in mind next time I roast more than one size.
ReplyDelete