2013 - What are you harvesting?

[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.

[rainbowgardener]

The first ripe tomato!!! YAY!! It was a red boar, smallish slightly bronzy and stripy, and tasted wonderful. A week later than I sometimes have tomatoes, but it was a slow spring.

Still finishing the last broccoli side shoots, but most of the broccoli has been pulled now. Still have a little bit of lettuce in a shady bed. Harvesting chard and kale and baby carrots as I thin the rows. Celery. Lots of herbs.

[hendi_alex]

Tomato vines mostly look very bad, but lots of fruit is ready and much more hanging. Young replacement plants still look fine, so maybe the harvest will continue to frost. This year is my first in a long time of freezing, so have been preparing 24-36 ounces each day for a while now. I figure there is no reason to buy low quality, contaminated canned tomatoes as long as we can freeze our own non pesticide, carefully selected tomatoes. Probably a much healthier option, and they most likely compare to very expensive organic canned tomatoes, so carry a fairly high value. Perhaps will eventually start canning my own, up to maybe 24-36 quarts per year. That will require a bit of a learning curve however.



The garden is a bit slower right now. Squash plants are getting old, and young ones are not yet into production. Same story with cucumber plants, though the replacements have lots of young fruit. Egg plant and peppers are steady. Arugula and Swiss Chard are still producing adequately. Onions are through, all the garlic is harvested. Blue berries have been a massive crop this year. Have been eating our fill since about April and the bushes are still loaded. Figs should start to ripen in a week or two. Okra just started trickling off this week.

[Cola82]

I can finally post something other than basil!

I made vegetarian paella last night for family dinner and ran out to quickly snip off some kale for a side dish. It was delicious.



Also, I finally got ONE ripe tomato. I took this photo the day before yesterday, but rest assured it was very ripe when I popped it into my mouth this morning.

[jal_ut]

Just got the first zucchini and crookneck squash. Picking peas.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Some Musik garlic and a few red potatoes





Eric

[pfong001]

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[imafan26]

Wow! You got a lot, all I got were a couple of kabocha pumpkins (one is full of holes), hon tsai tai, Michili Won Bok, eggplant, peppers, chayote, and lettuce. I am still waiting for my first zucchini. I think I have to go out and give that plant an ultimatum produce or get replaced by a cucumber!

[Gary350]

Harvesting melons and tomatoes only in the 115 degree temperatures. The hotter it gets the better melons do. I put white 2x6 ft sheets of paper over the tomatoes so far so good.

I am in a motel near salt lake city UT on my way to Twin Falls ID. I hate this laptop computer.

[jemsister]

And they're yummy too! =D

[applestar]

Very nice!

I dug some potatoes today:

Washed these to eat for lunch:

[pfong001]

Those potatoes look great. I wish I had more room. My little girls would love the idea of harvesting potatoes.

[amylong]

I got 4 tiny strawberries!!! I hope as the year goes on..they make bigger strawberries?? A bird or something took a peck or small bite out of the biggest one:( so now it has a small dent:(:( But I am grateful it didn't take the whole fruit:) I am not sure what type of strawberry plant it is...I forgot to ask the person at the farmer market is it safe to assume it is either ever bearing or day neutral?? since it is july....