Harvest Monday & Sauerkraut

This week for Daphne's Dandelions we have several things to share. We started the week off with a few more radishes. On Tuesday we harvested the last of our cabbage. On Wednesday we ate up the last of our blueberries and pulled up a few more beets. On Saturday C. James pulled our first red onion.

Total Harvest
radishes 8 oz
beets 1 lb 12oz
Red Delicious red onions 2 lb 8 oz
cabbage 3 lb 8 oz
blueberries 8 oz


We made sauerkraut about 2 weeks ago, and I promised to post pictures with a recipe. So here it is. Finally!

C. James was a very helpful cabbage crusher.

Here's the finished cabbage, 4 cabbage for 8 pounds.

Cabbage leaves form the cover.

The baggy is full of water. We're using it to weigh down the shredded cabbage. A close look at this picture reveals the white scum forming around the edges of the baggy. This is a picture of the kraut after about 2 weeks into the process.

We were happily surprised by how simple the process was. It only took about an hour-and-a-half to make.

8 pounds of green cabbage (we used 9)
5 tablespoons kosher salt
4 teaspoons caraway (optional)

Makes about 8 pints

Quarter, core and thinly slice the cabbage. Then, working in batches (2 lb sliced cabbage per batch) work in the salt 1 teaspoon per batch. Squeeze and kneed the cabbage until its wilted and has released enough liquid to cover the cabbage.  Pack the cabbage into a large container and repeat until finished. Cover the cabbage with leaves and place weight on top to hold the cabbage under the liquid. Let sit for several weeks then water-bath can or freeze.

Harvest Monday

This week for Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday we have several things to share.

Our first try at kale chips. They are very light, crispy and incredibly rich.

We harvested lots of kale and made kale chips. We harvested 4 more heads of cabbage, then sowed carrots in the space they left behind. I'll post about pictures of the sauerkraut we made later this week.

Green onion will keep in the fridge for a couple weeks.

We harvested spring onions and we're expecting a huge harvest of summer onions, probably in mid to late July. We also harvested lots of blueberries and raspberries this week.

Tiny radishes we pruned from the row for space. Yummy!

Our very first beet. Bel ate it right up beet, stem and all the leaves. She loves them!

We also harvested lots of blueberries and raspberries.

Bel made delicious strawberry jam.

Weekly harvest totals:
Cabbage 10 lb
Kale 2.5 lb
Onions 1.5 lb
Beets 1 lb
Blueberries around 2 lb
raspberries around 1 lb (It's hard to weigh these because the kids eat them so quickly!)

Harvest Monday

For this week on Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday we begin with cabbage. We cut 4 heads for a total of 9 pounds and 4 ounces. Bel made a delicious potato and cabbage dish with ham.

Our biggest cabbage was just over 4 pounds.

We also harvested 4 more pounds of kale. Bel blanched and froze it. After more than 14 pounds of kale this year, I asked Bel if we had enough. She said she could use 30 pounds of it. And if things keep going like they are, we'll get that much. Unless the heat ruins them.

Some of  our kale with cabbage for sale roadside.

Our funnest harvest was very small, we gathered 10 or 12 ounces of blueberries (they barely made it inside before the boys devoured them) and just a few yellow raspberries. We don't know what specific breed they are. They came from Ashcombes Nursery. We really like them. The berries are hearty and sweet!

Our first raspberry of the year!

We made several cauliflower dishes with last weeks harvest while my parents have been with us visiting. Bel mixed it into mashed potatoes and made a parmigiano cauliflower dish that was delicious. My mom, "grammy", made a delicious vegetable stir fry with sausage.

All told it has been a very productive week here at springgardenacre. We also harvested about 20 gallons of water from the roof in a short storm on Friday. Be sure to check out our last post Catching Roof Rain Continued  to see the system I and my dad installed this week.