2013 - What are you harvesting?

[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!