The harvests for the last week have been a little of this and a little of that which actually added up to quite a nice harvest for the week. There's one of them shown above, a few Gigantesque tomatoes on the left, some Aunt Ruby's German cherry tomatoes (which should be green), a few Galinas cherry tomatoes, a couple of Katja tomatoes, and some zucchini. The zucchini plants have put out side shoots that are producing the smaller zucchinis, the main stems are still producing one big zucchini about every other day on each plant.
I'm losing one of the main branches on the Katja tomato plant to some sort of fungal infection so it doesn't look like I'll be harvesting a lot of those for the rest of the season. I just hope that the entire plant doesn't die, I like this tomato.
A few things didn't get weighed this week and aren't in the totals below, some strawberries and the first green Guyana peppers that I roasted and put into some roasted tomato salsa. I liked the flavor of the Guyana pepper, even though it was green, and it had a nice medium heat level that was just right for me.
I picked the first small eggplants last week, they weren't very impressive looking so they didn't get their own camera shoot. This weekend a vole started to tunnel around the eggplants, disturbing the roots and trimming off the lower branches, it's so infuriating, just when the plants start to produce the first runty little (but still tasty) fruits they come under attack by another stupid rodent. Grrrr.....
And I picked the first Topepo Rosso peppers over the weekend. I was going to roast them and make my husband's favorite pepper salad, but I got so distracted and wound up over those stupid voles and the rats and rodents in general that I didn't get around to it. Tonight, I promise honey. (The man is a saint, I came in raging from the garden and he presents me with a glass of wine and a big hug and a sympathetic ear - he's a keeper). Ah, but I did make him his favorite stuffed zucchini blossoms the other night and I'll be posting the recipe later this week.
So here's the totals for the last week:
Piracicaba broccoli - 1 lb., 10 oz.
Capers - 4.75 oz.
Chamomile - .75 oz.
Diamond eggplant - 8.5 oz.
Malaysian eggplant - 3.25 oz.
Butterhead lettuce - 8.25 oz.
Cimarron lettuce - 1 lb., 7 oz.
Cuerno de Cabra peppers - 2.5 oz.
Padron peppers - 5 oz.
Topepo Rosso peppers - 8 oz.
Mara des Bois strawberries - 1.75 oz.
Seascape Strawberries - 3.25 oz.
Aunt Ruby's cherry tomatoes - 8 oz.
Galinas cherry tomatoes - 1.25 oz.
Gigantesque tomatoes - 2 lb., 12.5 oz.
Katja tomatoes - 3 lb., 6 oz.
Zucchini - 2 lb., 5.25 oz.
Zucchini blossoms - 9.75 oz.
The total (that I got around to weighing) for the week - 15 lb., 9.75 oz.
The total for the year - 315 lb., 12 oz.
Eggs last week - 7 (what's up with that girls?)
There are lots more harvests to ogle and inspire over at Daphne's Dandelions, the home of Harvest Monday.
Dumb vole. Smart husband. I can't wait for your blossom recipe. They look lovely, even though you're facing challenges.
ReplyDeleteWow! The tomatoes look great. Your harvest totals are certainly impressive.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel about the rodents! Those voles are pesky indeed.
ReplyDeleteNice looking tomatoes and zukes, even if Aunt Ruby isn't green!
Those tomatoes look very ripe and delicious. I remember how amazing your tomato pics were last fall.
ReplyDeleteIt kills me that I've had to pick my low lying tomatoes before they are fully ripe. Better to ripen on the counter than in the belly of a mouse right?
Ooh, stuffed squash blossoms! I've been looking for a good recipe, I've never tried to cook them before.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about the vole. I didn't get eggplant started this spring, so I won't be getting any. But to have plants going and see somne pest defeat them. Well, I hope the eggplants thrive in spite of him.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I've done it, but I did manage to harvest all of my tomatoes before the groundhog could get at them. I feel good about that.
I love those small zucchinis. They must be very tasty.
ReplyDeleteAs I have only one zucchini plant this year, I let them grow bigger.
Darn rodents! Your harvest is beautiful and abundant as usual.
ReplyDeleteThe zukes look interesting and those yummy tomatoes.
My tomato plants are not doing anything lately, maybe because of the cool trend.
I didn't know zucchini plants even produced side shoots. I guess my plants didn't grow long enough for me to find out. Your harvest picture looks like it should be made into a poster, it's so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat zuk variety looks nice, is it less mushy then your typical zuk?
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you get one pest or disease taken care of in the garden and another one surfaces to take it's place! Darn rodents! Your harvest pictures and totals look wonderful despite the nibbling and damage done. Good work!
ReplyDeleteA little of this, a little of that, those are the nice harvests. Nice dinners and not too much work. Mine have been like this for a while too, and will continue as long as the weather stays cool.
ReplyDeleteGreat harvest! I might have to try out the Guyana pepper, you always have such variety of veggies. Sorry to hear about the vole.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, just for the record, I love your vegie art on the Monday Harvest posts. Some loving, creative work goes into each and every one of them.
ReplyDeleteStefaneener, The recipe will be coming as soon...
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Ribbit, the tomatoes taste great too!
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villager, the feeling seems to be widespread, the hardware store had run out of basic rat snap traps when I went to buy a few more. Aunt Ruby's Ungreen tomato tastes great so it's not too disappointing.
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Thomas, the tomatoes taste great but I don't think I'll be posting harvest pics like last year, between cool weather and competing oak roots the plants are struggling. I agree about depriving rodents of snacks from the garden even if we don't get the full enjoyment out the harvest ourselves.
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meemsync, Recipe coming soon!
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Martha, Thank goodness I don't have to compete with groundhogs too! All the hungry critters are so frustrating, I'm happy to hear that you beat them to your tomatoes.
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vrtlarica, the small ones are tasty, it's nice to cook them whole, they are so pretty that way. I continue to harvest the zucchini on the day that they bloom, they accumulate quickly even so.
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mac, darn rodents seems to be a continuing theme in the garden this year, I think there was a population explosion this spring. Cool weather certainly does seem to slow down the tomatoes, some of the ones in the garden have been taking forever to ripen even after they started showing the first signs of color.
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thyme2garden, Thank you! Zucchini are funny, some plants seem to have only one or two shoots (vines? stems? not sure what to call them) and others grow like octopuses with multiple shoots, even when growing the same variety. It seems like when I grow only one plant I end up with a plant that doesn't want to branch out and when I grow more than one plant they all turn into prolific octopuses.
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Dan, It seems like all zucchini cook up soft, but this variety is certainly firm and crisp when I harvest it, although that might be because I pick it so young.
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kitsapFG, that does seem to be a fact of gardening, a parade of pests and diseases, although the parade seemed smaller when I lived in the burbs. I shouldn't complain too much, I'm still getting good harvests of most things.
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Angela, I realized after I wrote this post that the garden is producing just the way that I've been aiming for, a bit of this and that without being overwhelmed by large quantities of stuff that need to be preserved. Maybe I'm finally getting the hang of a nice productive and varied kitchen garden.
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Nartaya, the Guyana pepper is good, I'm looking forward to trying a ripe one. It is also nice because it seems to be an early producer. I'll have to try to save some seeds, it's not an easy variety to find.
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Jamie, thank you! I do try to keep the harvest post photos interesting, just how many photos of zucchini can you look at week after week?
Darn rodents !
ReplyDeleteSo envious of anyone flaunting tomatoes right now. Lovely harvest !
miss m, I hope you have big luscious gorgeous tomatoes of your own to flaunt soon.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about all your rodent troubles. They are terrible little creatures. But you still have a nice harvest, in spite of them!
ReplyDeleteI can send you some of the Vermont Cranberry beans this fall if you would like. The colour is a little off in the current picture, they are pinker then the picture shows.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have seed for the Gigantesque tomato to share later this year. I really want to try it. I'll be collecting seed from my tomatoes too.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your rodent problems. I know just how you feel. I've got a nasty groundhog eating every last one of my butternut squash.
Jackie, I can't complain too much, we're still eating well from the garden. (But I really don't like to share with those little boogers).
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Dan, I would love to try some of the Vermont Cranberry beans. Would you be interested in trying some Petaluma Gold Rush beans in trade?
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Daphne, I will definitely have to save some Gigantesque seeds this year, they are earning a annual spot in my garden. Your groundhog sounds even worse than my rodent foes. I hope you can save some of the squash from it. Can you trap groundhogs?