This Monday we don't have much to share for
Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday, but we sure did enjoy what we have. C. James and I harvested 16 oz of Viroflay Giant spinach from cold frame #3.
Dave kindly sent us seeds. They germinated well and are growing like mad! Thanks Dave! We've never had much success with spinach in the past. I think the combination of good soil, a great location on our south wall and a good seed variety is finally bringing success! There should be lots more spinach to eat before it gets too warm. I've got to add how rich tasting and great the thick velvety Viroflay leaves are. Yum! Belle sauteed them briefly in Balsamic vinegar and served it for lunch.
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| Rhode Island Reds |
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| Cold Frame #3: Mache (right), Komatsuma (middle) and Viroflay Giant (right). Thanks Dave! |
I keep reading about wonderful spinach harvests and I have to say its making me rethink not growing it. I have a lot of chard and use that instead but perhaps I should find some space for the real thing.
ReplyDeleteAs with your other gardening endeavors, I bet you'd grow great spinach!
DeleteSo glad you are having success growing spinach now - it is a great crop that we always savor and enjoy. The chicks look healthy and happy and C. James looks pretty pleased with that harvest himself. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks kitsapFG, we're glad too! We love spinach, and we've always been a sore spot between us and our garden that haven't been able to grow it. C. James was very proud. He helped pick the leaves and what kid doesn't like the harvest! Thankfully he eats it too.
DeleteI think a pound of spinach is a pretty good harvest for this time of the year. I can't wait for my spring spinach to start producing. Over wintered spinach is nice, but not as tender as the spring planted spinach.
ReplyDeleteThanks Daphne. We'll have to see about overwintered spinach next spring. This time, having a harvest of spinach at all is a huge step in the right direction.
DeleteThat's a great deal of spinach in one picking...should make some wonderful meals :).
ReplyDeleteThanks SM, and thanks for dropping by. I tried to read your profile and blog if you had one, but I was denied access. Have you considered sharing some of your labors with other gardeners and homesteaders this way? I bet you have lots to offer.
DeleteLooks wonderful! I'll have to order some of this variety and try it - the one that I usually plant is just not doing it for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny, we have two varieties growing right now and this one is growing the best. It could be the location. The Viroflay is getting lots of sun where it's at. The other not as much. It's definitely worth a try.
DeleteWhat a wonderful spinach harvest! I don't think I planted enough of it in my hoop house last fall (can you believe it?)! Ah well...
ReplyDeleteWelcome to your Newbies! I love pullets, even if they're a bit skiddish for a while ;-)
The newbies are great! Unfortunately the oldbies are not happy with them at all. One of the pullets almost lost an eye to an older hen. We're going to slow the process for bringing them together way down. Any recommendations? They've got to get along eventually. We simply don't have enough space to keep them separated.
DeleteCongrats on the Reds. :-D They look happy to be home. Nice spinach, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbie. We're enjoying both!
DeleteWhat a nice spinach harvest and even nicer to have a son that looks happy to be holding a bowl of spinach!
ReplyDeleteIt's a miracle what gardening can do. It even helps children eat their spinach!
DeleteYour spinach looks great! I wish I had half that much to harvest. And your son looks really happy with the harvest!
ReplyDeleteThanks Christy for stopping by Christy. Thanks for following our blog too! I look forward to keeping an eye on yours too.
DeleteI'm glad that spinach did well for you all. The ones I planted in fall have produced gangbusters for us here!
ReplyDeleteWe're so glad! I only wish we were having as much success with the Flashy Trout Back. I've had good germination, but on one occasion the chickens scratched half of them off. On a second occasion, after reseeding they came back and scratched the seeds out again. Then just yesterday the new starts were cooked dry and brown by the high temps. At least we have about 8 or 10 heads that have survived this torrent of misfortune. Do you think we should wait until fall now to plant the rest of them? Or is there still time to seed them this spring?
DeleteThe question my boys would ask: Does your son EAT the spinach? My crew loves to help me harvest-even things they won't eat.
ReplyDeleteMakes me rethink a coldframe for this fall...
Thankfully they'll eat it too! We're hoping to hook the boys on veggies while they're young! So far they're enjoying what they harvest. We have a mantra with them that says, "we're bringing it to the table"!
DeleteIt was reading about the harvests that bloggers were getting from their cold frames that motivated us to build one too. I'm so glad we did. They have added a new dynamic to our gardening experience.
That's good progress in spinach! I don't really hv luck with them. They grow and start flowering young...sigh....
ReplyDeleteGood harvest!
Sorry to hear you don't have much success with it. Maybe there's a way you haven't thought of yet. If so, I hope you can find it. I'm sure you will.
DeleteI think the pound of spinach is a great harvest! I wish my spinach was doing something, right now it is stalled.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vanessa. Sorry to hear yours has slowed down. I'm betting it will pick back up again before it gets too warm.
DeleteBeaut spinach,I think sometimes it takes a little experimenting to find the variety which grows well in your own area.
ReplyDeleteI love getting new chooks and watching them settle in to life, today i let out my 4 pullets(iv'e had them for about 4 weeks)into the garden to explore, my old black chook fussed around them showing the best places to peck(compost bay) and where to have a dust bath.
Always handy to have a helper especially when so cute!
Thanks Andrea. This variety is working very well so far. I wish our older birds were so kind. They are very aggressive toward the pullets. One almost lost an eye. We've had to be very careful with them because of it.
DeleteI never tried sauting with balsamic vinegar. Will like to try. Your cold frame look amazing.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll really enjoy the vinegar and spinach. Thanks for the compliment on the cold frame. The top needs a little work. I'll have to get out there and fix it soon.
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