Every year I'm amazed at what I'm harvesting in November. I spend the summer watching other garden bloggers harvesting tomatoes and peppers and other summer vegetables. It's always so difficult to be patient but I know that all I have to do is wait, it will happen, "summer" will start 'round about the end of August. And then the glut of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant will begin and if the weather cooperates I'll be harvesting them well into November.
Sonora Anaheim type peppers |
Bonica eggplant |
Potiron Ecarlate tomatoes |
Topepo Rosso peppers |
Aleppo (top) and Tarahumara Chile Colorado peppers |
I hope the mild weather continues so that more of the Aleppo peppers ripen, there's lots of green ones left on the plants. I've been drying the Aleppos by cutting them in half, removing the seeds and ribs, and salting them very lightly.
Cucumbers and zucchini start producing in late spring and if the powdery mildew doesn't take over too quickly the harvests will continue well into fall. I grow PM resistant varieties to keep the harvests coming. The Romanesco zucchini that I'm growing this year seems to be particularly resistant to PM. I started harvesting from the plant on May 21 and the plant is just lately becoming overtaken by PM, although it is putting out a final few zucchini of remarkably good quality.
Tasty Green cucumber, Romanesco zucchini, Andine Cornue tomatoes |
Tasty Green and Garden Oasis cucumbers |
Green Fingers cucumbers |
Di Ciccio broccoli and Lacinato kale |
The birds have been ravaging my Lacinato kale. These are some of the better looking leaves. I've had to swathe the plants in row cover. I hope they do ok under cover, I'm concerned that it may be a nice comfy spot for aphids but so far it doesn't seem to be a problem. This week I harvested enough to make a kale salad with almonds and apples. That came out so good that I wanted to make it again but my husband was lobbying for sauteed kale with pancetta and pine nuts. I compromised and made a wilted kale salad with pancetta, pines nuts, and apples. I'll try to write up my notes for the recipes on my recipe blog one of these days.
The weather this past week has been kind to both the garden and me. The forecast is for continued mild weather so look for some more colorful harvests from my garden next week!
Here's the details of the harvests for the past week:
Di Ciccio broccoli - 10.1 oz.
Garden Oasis cucumbers - 8.2 oz.
Green Fingers Persian cucumbers - 10.3 oz.
Tasty Green Japanese cucumbers - 12.3 oz.
Bonica eggplants - 10 lb., .6 oz.
Salangana eggplants - 10.3 oz.
Sicilian eggplants - 3 lb., 4.3 oz.
Lorz Italian garlic - 1.4 oz. (weighed as I use it)
Red Janice garlic - 3 oz.
Lacinato kale - 2 lb., 4.1 oz.
Sweetie Baby romaine lettuce - 9.8 oz.
Aleppo peppers - 1 lb., 1.3 oz.
Happy Yummy sweet peppers - 1.3 oz.
Pico de Pajaro peppers - .4 oz.
Piment doux Long des Landes peppers - 2.2 oz.
Sonora peppers - 5 lb., 9.4 oz.
Tarahumara Chile Colorado peppers - 1 lb., 3.5 oz.
Topepo Rosso peppers - 3 lb., 11.2 oz.
Andine Cornue tomatoes - 1 lb., .5 oz.
Isis Candy cherry tomatoes - 5 lb., 12.3 oz.
Potiron Ecarlate tomatoes - 5 lb., 1.2 oz.
Romanesco zucchini - 1 lb., 13.8 oz.
The total harvests for the past week came to - 45 lb., 8.8 oz.
Which pushes the total harvests for the year up to - 839 lb., 10.7 oz.
Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne on her blog Daphne's Dandelions, head on over there to see what other garden bloggers from around the world have been harvesting lately.
Lovely harvests as always. Too bad the birds got to the kale. I had mine under cover for a short time and it was enough for the aphids to take over. Sadly. Luckily the aphids will die over the winter and the kale will live. But I won't be eating any kale until spring.
ReplyDeleteVery colorful harvest. My lacinato kale was loaded with cabbage worms, would have been nice if the birds had seek them out,
ReplyDeleteAmazing summer produce harvest, it's been a long wait but well worth it. If I grow 2-3 varieties of kale together the aphids always go for the Lacinato Kale and leave the others untouched, I guess they know which variety is best tasting.
ReplyDeleteI never tire of looking at your pepper harvests. Well, the other warm season veggies look good too, as it is 32F here at the moment and my garden is shivering! The Topepo Rosso looks especially interesting to me. I'll add it to my list to investigate for 2014.
ReplyDeleteI still have one potted Aji Angelo plant in the greenhouse. The peppers are ripening up nicely in there. I wound up using the green ones from the ones in the ground to make green chile powder, which gave it a great flavor.
Your photos are glorious! I cut down my kale, because it all had powdery mildew. I've got a new crop coming up, in a different section of the garden. Something, either birds or snails is chowing down on my baby plants. I've got everything sprinkled with sluggo, and covered with wire structures.
ReplyDelete(Did you really have tarantulas in your garden? I just adore them! I must go looking for them this year. We see them on Mount Diablo, if we time it right.)
Wonderful ideas for cooking up your delicious looking harvest! Most everything is gone from our garden, seeing yours is a much needed tonic for these ever-shortening days.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I always see the reddest peppers and tomatoes on your blog!!
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