Monday, July 9, 2012

Harvest Monday - July 9, 2012

I did not photograph all the harvests this week, just how many photos do you need to see of the same stuff. So here's a couple of highlights...

Lark's Tongue kale

Sweetie Baby Romaine and Super Sugar Snap peas

The kale is growing my leaps and bounds and then some more so I'm trying to come up with ways to use it rather than just let it get big and tough and turn into chicken snacks. I don't bother to freeze kale since it will be a staple in the winter garden so I won't be raiding the freezer for the frozen stuff. The frittata that I made last week was deemed a big hit by my husband, he loved the smoky notes from the bacon. I think that the kale may be starring as salad fixings for a while now that the Sweetie Baby romaine is starting to bolt and the replacement lettuces are struggling to get going. I had a test run using the kale to make a small caesar salad and it was quite good so I see a few of those in the weeks to come. And I have to try making some kale chips with this variety as well.

The first handful of Super Sugar Snap peas are shown in the basket with the romaine lettuce. I got really lucky and managed to sow the seeds for the snap peas so that the harvest started just as the snow pea harvests dwindled down to nearly nothing. I have to look at my sowing dates and try to replicate the timing next year.

The Apollo broccoli put out a few more side shoots and looks to have a few more in the works but I think those harvests will trickle down to nearly nothing in the next week or so. I've already got seedlings for their replacement on the way.

The filet beans have been a real surprise, they have been producing quite a respectable crop of very good tasting beans, I have harvested enough for both fresh eating and pickling. The third quart jar (1 lb.) of pickles went into the refrigerator on Friday. I sowed another flat of beans and they've started to germinate, but something, probably the dreaded RATS (S#%@)!!! came through last night and mowed down every seedling that had pushed it's head above ground. There's a few more emerging but now I have to sow some more. And it's time to start sowing some rat traps around the premises again.

Here's the harvest totals from the past week:

Rolande filet beans - 1 lb., .7 oz.
Apollo broccoli - 8.3 oz.
Capers - 2.5 oz.
Lark's Tongue kale - 1 lb., 10.7 oz.
Sweeetie Baby romaine - 2 lb., 6.6 oz.
Parade Scallions - .7 oz.
Oregon Sugar Pod II snow peas - 2.8 oz.
Super Sugar Snap peas - 1 lb., 1.3 oz.

The total harvests for the week were - 7 lb., 1.6 oz.
Which brings the total harvests for the year up to - 60 lb., .4 oz.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne on her blog Daphne's Dandelions, head on over there to see what other garden bloggers have been harvesting lately.

11 comments:

  1. Nice harvests. I usually don't even have kale in the summer. I plant it in late summer for a fall/winter crop. Then it either dies or lives for a spring crop then I pull it out.

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    1. I don't usually do kale in the summer either, but I was really excited about trying the Lark's Tongue kale so I started it extra extra early.

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  2. That reminds me -- I want to try a new Italian market. Maybe I'll get some pancetta and make another frittata. Yum!

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  3. I understand eh kale bonanza. My Beedy's Camden kale from last year won't quit and I am buried in kale. Have you tried using it in soups? Our family's favorite is Portuguese kale soup. I use the recipe in the Victory Garden Cookbook but you can also google it. It uses onions, carrots, and garlic, softened in butter or oil, with chicken stock, tomatoes, smoked sausage, kidney beans, and lots of kale. It's almost a stew and is a single pot meal with a loaf of good bread. And the leftovers are even tastier.

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  4. Now you've got me wondering what a lark's tongue looks like....

    I started my pickled nasturtium "capers." We'll see how they turn out.

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  5. Lark's Tongue kale, that's a new one for me. The leaves are very pretty. Your Sweetie Baby Romaine is so well formed.

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  6. Jealous of your bean harvest, I'm still struggling with them, they are not growing well and producing as they should, probably the heat has something to do with it.

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  7. I've been enjoying my cavolo nero so I think next winter might be a good time to try some other kale varieties and that one is fun to look at.

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  8. Oh stinking rats! I have trapped over 30 already this year and saw another one the other day running down a hole. But my last trap broke so I have to get some more; that is #1 on my shopping list this morning!

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  9. We are ramping down on kale at the moment other than the regular harvests coming from the tree kale plants. I have been freezing some of that because even with our winter crops, they get easily overharvested if I am relying on them too much, so a little bit in the freezer is actually useful to us.

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