Harvest Monday

This week we've been busy having hardly anytime to post. So we'll mix this post for Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday with a some pictures of what's growing and of one thing that is not.


We harvested our regular bit of kale again this week. Believe it or not, it's still going strong.

This is two of about 8 plants we have. They're about 2 feet tall now. If things keep going this way through the summer we'll have tomato8 6 foot tomato stakes for next season!

We also harvested our first handful of potatoes. We only dug up 3 plants. We're waiting until later this week to finish the patch.

Russet Burbank

The last of our spring onions

This week we harvested:

kale 4 lb
potatoes 2lb
onions 3 lb
zucchini 1lb 4 oz
lettuce 1 lb
blackberries 1lb 12 oz
raspberries 1 lb

We also have several things growing.

Our melon patch, 2 watermelon, 2 cantaloupe and 1 honeydew plants

cantaloupe

honeydew

Spaghetti squash

Finally, there is one thing -an acorn tree- that has now stopped growing. 

This was very hard for us do do. We loved that tree.

Please take your hat off to this 30 year old acorn tree that we very reluctantly cut down this week. We've been debating this for years. The tree shades our garden until noon. Our tomatoes don't do so well. On the other hand, our early spring and late fall vegetables thrive. We finally decided to take it down.

I cut it to fall away from the garden, but as it began to crack and lean, it began to lean toward the garden. My heart fell. I stopped cutting, came down from the ladder then thought and stewed about it for while waiting for it to fall on the garden at any moment. Finally I came up with a plan and went back up the ladder. The tree finally came down it missed the garden. I was literally shouting for joy. I think the whole neighborhood heard me.  

Harvest Monday

You have to look closely, but a volunteer Vivian romaine plant is there between the kale and arugula.

The highlight of our Harvest Monday with Daphne's Dandelions is a single volunteer romaine plant. At the end of May we harvested what we thought was the last of the spring romaine. This little guy was a complete surprise! He'll make a nice salad for lunch today.

Last Tuesday we harvested more kale and radishes. On Wednesday it was our first carrot. On Thursday it was even more radishes and a bit of arugula. On Friday we gathered raspberries (we've been gathering raspberries all week). Then on Saturday we harvested our first peaches and a single zucchini. Finally, on Sunday we harvested green leaf lettuce. Sometime during the week we harvested a single jalapeno pepper.

Of the six trees we have, this one always ripens first. The fruit is very fragile and small. We usually get just a few peaches. Maybe it's a Georgia peach tree, not meant for Pennsylvania. Who knows? We inherited it. The rest of the trees won't ripen for several weeks.

Bel made an 8 foot bean trellis earlier this week. The vines are climbing quickly.

romaine 12 oz
green leaf lettuce 1 lb
arugula 4 oz
kale 3 lb 12 oz
Radishes 1 lb 14 oz
Raspberries 1 lb 4 oz
blackberries 6 oz
Carrots 1 lb
Zucchini 1 lb
peaches 1 lb 6 oz
1 jalapeno pepper

Our first Carrot... Ever!

It's only 3 or 4 inches long -but a true delight around here!

This is the first time we've ever tried carrots. Truth be told, we were a little worried. We haven't had much success with root crops in the past, boy were we surprised! My nephew asked us why it looks so funny. I said, this carrot doesn't look funny. The carrots in the grocery stores are the ones that look funny.

Bel and the boys went blueberry picking at a local u-pick farm. They harvested 20 pounds. She froze many of them, but she also dried some. They are tasty!

Dried Blueberries -a delightful winter snack.

We also bought 25 pounds of beets for 12 dollars from an Amish farm near us. It seemed like a good deal to us.  Bel will freeze most of them. She loves, loves, loves beets and will eat them all winter long. She'll make a batch of pickled beets. Sorry I don't know the recipe.

Bel is cutting and freezing beets for winter.

We got a really great salad dish idea with radishes from another blogger. Everything she used we had in our garden or pantry, so we made it. Unfortunately, we can't for the life of us remember who it was. Whoever you are, if you read this, thanks!

Homegrown green leaf lettuce, calamata olives, feta cheese, thinly sliced radishes, Greek dressing

Our very first blackberry. It was a bit tart, but who can resist?