2013 - What are you harvesting?

[applestar]

In no particular order -- Purple Passion asparagus, mixed lettuce, spinach, Red Russian kale and arugula (small-medium sized leaves), garlic chives, Egyptian green onions, cilantro, lime green orach, lambs quarters as they are weeded, oregano, thyme, Mitsuba (Japanese parsley), Chinese celery, baby celery, basil, broccoli, rhubarb, rosemary, tomatoes from Winter Indoor Tomatoes... There's another herb I'm harvesting and I've been trying to remember but I still can't remember what it's called -- starts with a "C" one of the Herbs de Provence....

CHERVIL!

[estorms]

Just chives and oregano. We are supposed to get a frost on Monday and Tuesday nights.

[pfong001]

Salad Greens today. I had seeded them early April under a hoop tunnel. Not bad of a harvest considering it has been a pretty cold spring here in Toronto, Canada.

[hendi_alex]

Typical fare from the spring garden. Plants are looking much better for this time of the year, as we have avoided the one to two week venture into the 90's this year. Has been a near perfect spring for us, on the cool side but staying between 45 and 75 degrees for the most part. Arugula did bolt early, so have limited availability until the next batch reaches harvest size. Even here in the hot south, late spring planted arugula will usually produce through the summer and into the fall. It gets fairly peppery in the hot part of the summer and is quite mild fall through spring.

At this point in the season, we are able to harvest salad greens about every other day, and we can harvest a hand full of radishes and a few sweet peas every day. Radishes will last a good bit longer, sweet peas are just getting started.

[hendi_alex]

Forgot to mention this item. Lunch included salad from above items in photo plus this yummy strawberry shortcake.

Home grown berries, home made whipped cream, scratch made short cake.

[hendi_alex]

First batch of Swiss Chard should provide a nice steamed side with tonight's meal. Also a few more radishes and a couple of red spring onions.

[hendi_alex]

May 21st gave the first ripe tomato of the season. Was a chocolate cherry, split from too much water, and ever so slightly under ripe. Was still delicious! The bad news, it will likely be at least 10 days to two weeks before the next ripe tomato is ready to harvest.

Am way, way behind this year. Vines are looking good at this point, just a few signs of blight on a few plants. None of the reserve plants have any yellowing leaves. Of course we have been cooler than normal, and the blight doesn't really kick in gear until humid 90 degree days arrive. During this recent rainy spell, I did spray will neem oil twice. Am not sure that the spraying will help all that much, but if it delays the progression for even a week or two, it will be worth the effort. Will likely spray with copper sulfate and lime mixture in front of and after the next rainy day.

[erins327]

Have been harvesting tomatillos for a few weeks now.

My Sweet 100's and Rainbow (cherry tomato) varieties have also been ripening for about 2-3 weeks.
I have Black Seaman (large tomato) and just got the first of many ripened today.
Jalepenos and Serranos are there, just tiny still.

Bush beans, two varieties, have been going strong for 2 weeks. Had a huge green bean dinner the other night!

[hendi_alex]

Started pulling some garlic this week. Early this year, but most bulbs are full sized, and there is some sign of slick outer husk, probably because of very wet spring. So time to get them out of the ground before the rot spreads.

[applestar]

Garlic looks great! You've really got this down.

Starting to harvest strawberries now.
Today, decided to pull the plug on all of the lambs quarters and orach because the leafminers are starting and its gets to be too much of a pain to sort good ones and bad ones.. I'll harvest all I can and anything else will feed the compost piles or be dried up in the sun and used as mulch (visibly unaffected ones).

Broccoli, red Russian kale, Green onions, asparagus, radish, mixed lettuce....

Some of my spring planted tomato plants have marble sized green fruits -- they'll be ready hopefully in a month or so

[mattie g]

I'm any a week or two from harvesting scapes from my Music garlic, but other than that, I have some deep-planted green onions that are pretty much ready to go.

My onions and garlic have probably eight weeks - give or take a couple - before they're ready, depending on the variety. My first row of carrots has a couple more weeks to go, then I'll have three more succession-planted rows to follow over the course of a month or so. I have my first little tomato (San Marzano) with some more flowers coming out now. I'll be harvesting those quite a bit later than I have the last couple years - I'd say three or four weeks later - because of this spring's cool weather. Basil is well delayed, too. And God only knows when I'll have green beans!

[hendi_alex]

"And God only knows when I'll have green beans!"

My beans are blooming like crazy. Maybe two or three weeks until a first pick. Have picked a few small squash and zucchini, but they are not coming off like they should be, maybe another week for them. Cucumbers have just started coming off, picked maybe 4 in the past couple of days. Still another week to ten days before they really start producing.

[mattie g]

That sounds great, Alex. Lucky you!

Our spring has been really cool in general, with the occasional hot couple days thrown in for good measure. I planted beans six or seven weeks ago, but I think the cool weather stunted them and they just didn't come up, so I replanted earlier this week and finally have a couple shoots poking through. This is my first year growing peas and beans, so it's all a big learning curve. I only first grew onions and garlic last year, but I learned a *lot* and I think I'm doing much better this go round. But even having had success the last couple years with my peppers and tomatoes (I only really started gardening three years ago), there's nothing I can do about the cool weather that hasn't allowed them to take off yet. Same goes for my cucumbers. I just hope the lack of warm weather in the spring means we have a slightly extended summer!

[applestar]

This is a fun thread for comparing where we are in the gardening season

My garden shell PEAS have flat pods that are starting to fill, snow peas are blooming, and fava are blooming also. Beans have not been planted yet -- though I might/could have a week ago. Today, it feels too cold... But two of jal_ut's Charleston Grey watermelon seedlings have germinated so it can't be that cold, right? (though I suspect these to have become adapted to sprouting earlier in colder soil....)

...adding young celery, basil, and parsley to the list.

[hendi_alex]

Probably will pick some green beans tomorrow. Picked my first batch of Arugula from late spring succession planting. These will likely last through the winter. Tomatoes are starting to trickle in. Cucumbers are coming in fairly steady, squash and zucchini are just getting started, giving a small mess every other day. Picked my first egg plant a couple of days ago. Radishes are about through. Pulled up the last of our sweet peas and fed the vines to the chickens. Okra is finally getting a little size, maybe will start blooming in a week or two. Peppers started giving a light harvest but is still very early for most, which are in bloom but a couple weeks from harvest. Corn is silking and tassling. Lettuce is still going strong, but will be surprised if it doesn't start to bolt in another week or two.

[hendi_alex]

Forgot to mention, strawberries are getting close to finishing the season, except for one late bed and a few ever bearing plants. Mulberries are finished on one tree and just getting started on the other. We just started harvesting a few blue berries. Figs are starting to form, but probably a month or longer before they ripen. Looks like a good crop this year. A few raspberries are ripening. Most of the beds were ripped up, so this year will be light for raspberries, but next year will establish a new bed. We made a few dozen plums on a young tree. Those are finishing up.

[Gary350]

Tomatoes, Corn, Green Beans, Squash, Garlic, Bell Peppers.

[jal_ut]

[applestar]

Nice! My asparagus is almost over. Strawberries output has increased. Broccoli continuing.
Harvested snow peas and first batch of shell peas. Lettuce still going strong.
Some green onions need to be harvested.

[imafan26]

Lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant.

[TravisD]

I watched a bee flying around in my cucumbers blooms this morning, and I have my first okra pods on several of those plants. By the end of June I hope I'll be getting a steady stream of cucumbers, squash & okra.

[hendi_alex]

This has been an unusual start to the summer gardening season, but the garden is still providing most veggies for each meal. Squash and zucchini vines are large but very slow harvest with lots of pollinated fruit. Tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans are coming in very steady now.

[jemsister]

I'm so excited! I saw the first two teeny tiny 1/2 inch long beginnings of some sugar peas! Pleased as punch!

[hendi_alex]

Blueberries just started coming off well this week. Currently harvesting a quart about every third day.

[applestar]

Had some garlic scapes and garlic chives with some asparagus and young fava beans in an omelet this morning. Wild strawberries are starting -- picking them just ahead of the birds. The birds are eating the mulberries as they (almost) ripen -- it's a cacophony out there. Not sure if we'll get any. Cardinals and catbirds are stopping by the blueberry patch and the elderberries -- almost to check and see if they are ready?

-- I have to put the bird netting on the blueberry enclosure frame. They can have the elderberries and serviceberries that are also almost changing color. White cherries are blushing on the top but still green underneath.

[hendi_alex]

It is interesting to me, that we have a yard full of mocking birds, blue jays, and many others, yet the loss to blueberries, strawberries, and mulberries is minimal. Our mulberry trees are still only six to eight feet tall, so the birds could easily strip them, but they mostly leave the fruit for us. Nice thing about the Illinois ever bearing is that the fruit is sweet at all stages from red to black.

Two years ago we had a family of catbirds and they were much more aggressive in eating the blue berries. They were also much more aggressive toward our cats. The birds didn't last a season. That is the first and last pair of true catbirds that I've ever seen here. mockingbirds act similar, but only antagonize the cats when babies are on the nest.

Also of interest to me, is the many complaints related to squirrels. We have at least a dozen squirrels here in the yard and they rarely bother any of our vegetable or fruit crops.

[rainbowgardener]

I agree about the squirrels. I have lots of them and they don't bother my veggies. If they can get to the ripe tomatoes they will take a couple bites just for the juice, but nothing else.

I've been eating spinach, lettuce, broccoli, chard from the garden for a long time. The overwintered spinach is done, the spring spinach and lettuce nearly done. The broccoli main heads are gone, but it is still producing lots of side shoots. I've harvested and dried lavender, lemon balm, sage, summer savory, thyme, chamomile flowers as well as putting lots of fresh herbs in the salads. Haven't dried basil or mint yet, but I've been using it fresh. Had some green onions and garlic scapes. Today I thinned some carrots and got to eat the thinnings which ranged from tiny to about 1/2 the size of what they sell as baby carrots. Cabbage is making heads, but I've been eating some of the leaves. Eating chickweed, purslane, violets, pansy flowers ....

I'm sure there's more (at least of the herbs and weeds) that I'm not thinking of right this minute.

Will plant beans today where some of the spinach used to be.

Sophie's choice is my smallest tomato plant, but the only one with tomatoes that are starting to blush.

[hendi_alex]

I usually start planting my beans right among the early crops. Before the bean plants get much size, the cool crops are finishing up. That method keeps the stream of produce from a particular block going much more steady for us.

[applestar]

I picked a double handful of fava beans this morning.
Pulled off the strings, tossed them in shallow boiling water with sea salt, covered and cooked for a minute or two.

Eating them like string beans -- pods, inner skin and all (very tender and edibles long as the strings are removed) -- with buttered steamed rice (short grain brown, sweet brown, and unpolished barley mix cooked with a handful of colorful popcorn -- discovered by accident that the popcorn cooks up chewey and yummy)

...I can't seem to stop eating them...

[jemsister]

So wait--you put the popcorn kernels in, or already popped popcorn? I didn't realize you could actually cook with the stuff!

[jemsister]

Sugar snaps are just starting to ripen. We've eaten the first few, but we are about to get a big wave of them all at once, so that should be yummy. =)

[applestar]

So wait--you put the popcorn kernels in, or already popped popcorn? I didn't realize you could actually cook with the stuff!

Yep. Whole popcorn kernels -- just enough to speckle your rice. Cook as for brown rice (I use a fuzzy logic rice cooker).

[jemsister]

That is so cool! I'm gonna have to try that.

[!potatoes!]

just picking sugar snaps (which are almost finished now) and greens (kale, mizuna, perennial buckwheat)...and seed! just started collecting scorzonera seed from a mass cross a couple days ago. oh yeah, also serviceberries. good year for them, but most are. and mulberries.

[jal_ut]

Gee, I am still waiting for it to warm up so things will grow. Getting lettuce, spinach, radish, and green onions.

[Gary350]

We are getting loads of stuff, more than we can eat. For such a tiny garden it is freaking me out. Tomatoes are picking up speed, picked 20 tomatoes 2 days ago, need to pick about 30 today. Picked Beans yesterday. Been getting about 9 zucchini every week. Corn is 9 ft tall and ears are giant. 3 kinds of melons, long strip, honey due, cantaloupe, will be ready to harvest soon. I harvested all 48 of my garlic, wow they look nice and taste good too used some in enchilada sauce, chili and stew.

[vinyl217]

Harvesting my Chinese Pink garlic this afternoon. One of the earliest garlics I've ever grown, easily a month earlier than most of my other varieties.

[mattie g]

Peas have been coming off daily, but today I pulled all my shallots, and they came out looking great. Here's my post about it:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 78#p304587

[TravisD]

First anything I've harvested this year! There's gonna be a LOT more squash/cukes in the next few weeks.

[jemsister]

I picked our first two zucchinis today. Gave one to my mother in law, and we ate the other--it was so good! So much more flavorful than what the stores carry.