Spring harvests begin!

[sepeters]

This morning I was able to bring in my first harvests of spring, as well what may be some of my last harvests from the winter garden.

I pulled in some zucchini, scalloped squash, cucumbers, snow peas, sweet peas (2, lol), swiss chard, beets, red leaf lettuce and celosia leaves, some tender green onions,red rubin basil, and even a few chamomile and borage flowers!
The tomatoes and beans are setting fruit too, and I can't even contain myself! I want 'em now!

True, that my seasons are way off from the rest of you, but I'd like to know: What's everybody else eating out of the garden? The joy of gardening is great, but the pay off is what it's all about!

[imafan26]

Well, in zone 11, I have much the same kind of thing. I just replanted my tomatoes so I only have a few small cherries. I have been harvesting lettuce, celery, beans, swiss chard, daikon, chayote, eggplant, kale, superchili, cilantro, figs, strawberries, fennel, calamondin, a few lemons are ripening, bell peppers are just starting to produce, and my broccoli is just about at the end of the road, but I was able to harvest it six times. I also got a few snow peas and cucumbers.

The okra is flowering and I have a few romaine that I could start harvesting outer leaves from. The kai choy cabbage is already blooming and the cutting celery is putting up a flower stalk.

[jal_ut]

Oh WOW! We live in different worlds. Here it was windy, cloudy, rainy and temp of 39° F today. I have been able to plant some onions, but nothing else in the garden yet this season.

[imafan26]

Well Jal-ut, your pictures of the snow are still beautiful and at least when you get to go outside, you will appreciate it all the more.

At least when the snow melts you won't have weeds over your head. Here, winter = rainy season and weed explosions. The aphids, slugs, snails, and thrips are already out chomping. The birds are already planning their attack. I went out the other day and these two cardinals were having a "chat". It sounded like they were divvying up the territory. It's a good thing superchilies are too big for them, but I may be missing a few tomatoes.

[applestar]

Yay I'm harvesting tomatoes (these are mostly saladette size)


...and arugula and spinach that were started in my winter indoor garden (seeds were sown in 1 gal containers back around Christmas time and kept in unheated garage under lights).

Outside, I have survivors -- spinach, mustard greens, broccoli (harvesting side shoots), purple sprouting broccoli, and Swiss chard that were under double-cover plastic film low tunnels.

I also intend to dig up/harvest parsnips and am harvesting Egyptian walking onions (looking beautifully lush and dark green), Chinese celery, Japanese parsley, and garlic chives, that overwintered in open beds.

Cilantro and baby Red Russian Kale and one purple cauliflower and 4 more white cauliflower as well as onions and leeks that overwintered are not big enough to harvest yet, but they are starting to grow. I have some purple Brussels sprouts that overwintered but their sprouts seem to have "blown" in last week's heat wave. I might still harvest and eat the little opened sprouts. I have self-seeded radicchio scattered around two garden beds that can be harvested as 3-4" outer leaves, but left to grow, they should form heads.

Rosemary outside and inside (also overwintered inside lemongrass, lemon verbena, and applemint) are always available, out in the garden, oregano, catnip, peppermint, spearmint, applemint, and lemonbalm are starting to come back enough to harvest in small snips. Thyme, too I think.

[rainbowgardener]

The only thing I'm eating from the veggie garden is spinach that overwintered. I also have herbs and picking some wild things (e.g. violet and dandelion leaves and others).

[rkunsaw]

I've cut asparagus twice but most of it still isn't up. Nothing else is ready to harvest yet.

[gumbo2176]

Just some Swiss Chard, Radicchio, a few hot peppers and herbs to harvest now as the garden is in transition. I've got lots of things coming up and growing well but we are getting rain of Biblical proportions today and you could hold boat races between my rows.

We got about 30 seconds of small hail a few hours ago and that could have spelled doom for the garden if they were larger and lasted longer.

[ReptileAddiction]

I really am only eating strawberries. I don't have many vegetables yet. In a few weeks I will have the first blueberries and tomatos are started to set fruit.

[cynthia_h]

Chard and arugula here right now.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[PunkRotten]

I have been eating Strawberries, kale, some carrots here and there, scallions, cape gooseberries, and some Hot Cherry peppers too. I was eating some Tomatoes from an overwintered plant but pulled it up the other day because I was getting ready to put my new variety in. Just got all my tomatoes, peppers, and Basil in the ground now. Chamomile, Sage, Yarrow all flowering. Got a few kinds of Leeks and onions growing, Garlic is growing nice as well. Still nothing from my Sunchokes and Turmeric, but my Yacon is starting to grow pretty good. Trying out some Egyptian Spinach this year. Never got my cUlantro to sprout so I ordered some seeds.

[sepeters]

Awesome! I love hearing about what you guys have goin on in your gardens! Amazing how different the seasons are, region to region! All of our cruces were pulled up in the beginning of February and the winter veggies are long gone. Just finished off the last of the carrots and parsnips; even too warm for the beets to hang out in the bed. I may put one or two fresh ones in a pot where I can water them on their own schedule.

Other things I can't grow with much success. We don't have a long enough cold season or enough frost days for the brussels sprouts to get big or sweet. Though we did enjoy the leaves, lol. The sprouts were tiny and cute, but hardly a meal! The snow peas are already on their way out and I am coddling the sweet peas. We just don't have much of "spring." Highs are up to 90F routinely already, and not going to cool down again until after September. Yes Jal, you'd think we lived on different planets! When you're in full swing we will be winding down for the summer, sacrificing chickens to keep the garden going until amaranth, okra and melons are all that's left.

I am happy to see almost everyone growing and eating chard! And so jealous of the winter tomatoes and everyone's strawberries! PR, we will have to chat about the Egyptian Spinach when you're harvesting. Always on the look out for warm weather greens.

[orgoveg]

Asparagus! That's the only thing I have ready to harvest right now. I started it from seed and let it go for 3 years. This is my first harvest and it suddenly started producing like gangbusters overnight. Olive oil, salt + pepper, 8 minutes in the oven = an absolute delight!