The harvests are slowing down as the garden transitions from spring to summer. No onions were harvested last week, but not because I'm running out of onions to harvest, I've just been using up the "spring" onions that I cleared out of the garden the week before.
Here's what is new...
 |
| Romanesco zucchini and pea shoots |
The Romanesco zucchini harvest has started. That's one day's harvest above and another day's harvest below. That's from one plant. Last year was not an anomaly. My one plant last year put out 4 branches and this year it looks like my one plant is sporting 6 or 7 branches. Oh my... I haven't used the zucchinis yet, but today I'll be preparing one of my husband's favorite dishes -
Zucchini in Agrodolce (Zucchini in a sweet and sour sauce). The blossoms went into a frittata this weekend.
 |
| Romanesco zucchini |
The basket shown at the beginning of this post has a bunch of pea shoots from my first planting of pea shoot plants and the basket below contains an even larger bunch of shoots from the second planting of pea shoot plants. Now that the marauding rat has been done away with and my strawberry plants are more securely protected the strawberries are actually maturing and ripening. I'm not keeping track of the berry harvests but I like to take a photo every once in a while to remind myself that yes indeed I have harvested a few berries. I harvested another half dozen large shiny perfectly ripe berries yesterday. I was really nice and brought them in and shared them with my husband, we just stood at the kitchen counter and reveled in their natural sweetness.
 |
| Usui pea shoots and two perfect Seascape strawberries. |
Other than the zukes and pea shoots I weighed more dried chamomile and I harvested more capers. This is my best year yet for capers, yesterday's harvest brought the harvest up to 4 pounds for this year. I also weighed the last of the runty garlic and used it up.
Here's the harvests for the past week:
Capers - 8.8 ounces
Chamomile, dried - 3 oz.
Lorz Italian garlic - 4.9 oz.
Pea shoots - 12 oz.
Romanesco zucchini - 1 lb., 2.9 oz.
Zucchini blossoms - 2.7 oz.
The harvest totals for the past week were - 3 lb., 2.3 oz.
Which brings the total harvests for 2014 up to - 264 lb., 12.9 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.
Strawberries! I have yet to find anyone who doesn't like them. Mine are not ripe yet, but it won't be long. And if only all veggies were as productive as zucchini, eh?
ReplyDeleteI ought to try that zucchini. Maybe then I'd have the dubious pleasure of having too many zucchinis.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know peas shoots are edible. How do you prepare them? Do you eat them raw or cooked?
ReplyDeleteBtw, delicious looking strawberries :)
The strawberries were as good as they looked. The pea shoots are good either cooked or raw. I generally cut them into pieces to use them in salads. Or I stir fry them, either whole or chopped, very simply with either garlic or onions and a splash of fish sauce or soy sauce. One time I stirfried them with enoki mushrooms, garlic and fish sauce, which turned out to be a fabulous combination.
DeleteThanks! I will try them next year :)
DeleteI can't imagine 4 lbs of capers, hats off to you!
ReplyDeleteI need to grow that Romanesco zucchini. Although I'm guessing you don't get the lovely vine borers out there. I've never tried zucchini blossoms. I should do that.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a problem with vine borers, but they aren't unheard of here, they just aren't common.
DeleteFOUR POUNDS of capers!?! You're a miraculous woman!
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to try zucchini blossoms as well but never have. It seems to me they are only open in the morning - do they have to be open when harvested if you want to stuff them, I wonder
ReplyDeleteCold Hands Warm Earth Blog
The blossoms open in the morning, but I like to harvest them later in the afternoon when the blossoms start to close up. It's difficult to stuff them when the blossoms are wide open, it's hard to get them enclosed around the stuffing. I have even picked them a day old if I'm going to stuff them.
DeleteThanks for the details .... recipes usually don't explain that extra info. I hope to give that a try this season!
DeleteI love fried zucchini blossoms, but it never would have occurred to me to include the zucchini blossoms in a frittata - I must give that a try. I have no problems getting lots of blossoms - actual zucchini, however, is another story....
ReplyDeleteThose strawberries look absolutely perfect! I have three of those zucchinis in my garden and three patty pans. If the vine borers and cucumber beetles stay away, maybe I'll be drowning in summer squash??
ReplyDeleteYour zukes have us looking forward to when our own finally come in... it's been too cold to even get the seeds in the ground yet!
ReplyDeleteThe strawberries DO look perfect! I bet they taste good too. I am growing a similar zucchini and am hoping for a zucchini glut this year since I want to dehydrate enough to use all winter long.
ReplyDelete