Monday, July 9, 2012

Harvest Monday

Here it is Monday again and I'll be sharing my harvest along with many others at Daphne's Dandelions. Go on over an be inspired by your fellow gardeners!
It's been a good week again for harvesting. My zucchinis and yellow squash are the best I've ever grown and coming in fast and furious!
 I picked my second batch of bok choy, the variety is Joi Choi and it will make a terrific stir fry tonight or tomorrow.
Four varieties of kale. These were processed for the freezer. I have a great kale recipe I'll share one of these days!
 Swiss chard for steaming. My chard is suffering from some sort of disease this year. Many of the leaves are developing brown speckles all over. Chard is usually the one foolproof thing I grow in the garden, so this development is a bit upsetting. I've never needed more than one planting of chard as it lasts all summer and well into fall, but this year may be different. Beets and carrots are starting to fill out and I picked some, but no photos. I'll wait til they are sizeable. Also have begun to pull the hardneck garlic.
And what's this? A tiny new Red Norland potato. I wonder if there're any others out there. Unfortunately my potatoes also are not doing too well. The plants look sick and there are no blossoms. Last year was my first real try at potatoes and the plants were hale and hearty and bloomed like crazy. Time will tell if I get anything at all.
My green beans are late! They are blooming profusely and I expect them to com in next week, which is a shame because I won't be here next week. I am going to Haiti on a mission trip next Saturday. My husband will man the garden for me, so he will likely be picking the first batch of beans. For some reason, after I planted my bean patch, they all sprouted, then disappeared. Birds, maybe? I don't know, but out of the whole large patch only ten plants remained, so I had to re-plant the entire thing a second time. The second time they made it, which is a good thing, because green beans is my other "never-fail" crop. Gardening does keep you humble, doesn't it? Happy harvest everybody!

20 comments:

  1. Gorgeous greens! Ours all bolted and had to be riped out long ago :(

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    1. Sorry to hear that Jenny! The extreme heat hasn't helped any. My lettuce is shot now!

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  2. Beautiful harvests. And, yes, I agree, gardening does keep you humble.

    Have a safe trip to Haiti.

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    1. Thank you Cristy! Whatever happens I'm sure Haiti will be an adventure. I just hate to leave my garden in the middle of the season.

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  3. I lost two early plantings of beans, too. Bummer, but the bush beans I have producing now have more than made up for it. My Red Norlands have been great...wonder what happened to yours. I've had years when none of my potatoes blossomed at all, but still got good crops from them.

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    1. Well, that gives me hope. Guess I'll find out when I start digging. I'm very inexperienced growing potatoes. Three years ago I tried the straw/hay method and critters ate all the plants. Last year I went traditional and did fair, not a huge harvest, and some scabby ones, but they tasted good. This year we'll just have to see.

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  4. Isn't that the truth that gardening keeps us humble! I was looking forward to lots of green peppers but guess they got some disease. Nice harvest you have even with your couple little disappointments. How long will you be gone on your mission trip? Stay safe! Nice of your husband to pick your beans for you. Will he preserve them too??? Will look forward to your Kale recipe as I have about given up on liking it! Maybe yours will do the trick for me! Nancy

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    1. My trip to Haiti is eight days Nancy. It should be an interesting experience; we will be in a village in the mountains. I am thankful my husband will be taking care of the garden. He's very good at it and I'm sure if needed he would preserve those beans! I'll get that kale recipe up soon.

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  5. Your food all looks so lovely. My garden certainly keeps me humble.

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    1. Ain't it the truth! Thank you for stopping by my blog!

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  6. Everything looks so good! Does the bok choy take a lot of room to grow and is it a one time cut or cut and come again? I've never grown it before.

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    1. Hi Lisa! I don't think bok choy takes much room, especially if you use the smaller varieties. I like Joi Choi and Mei Qing. I plant them about 8 inches apart. They grow very quickly and it is a one time cut. They do keep fairly long in the fridge, but I understand they don't freeze well.Very nice in stir fry!

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  7. Humble? Absolutely. I'm continually getting knocked on my bottom by my garden! It sure is worth it, though! ;-)

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    1. Agreed! I think that's what separates the gardeners from the rest, we keep coming back for more punishment because overall, it is worth it all!

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  8. Brown speckles on your chard could be leaf miners eating inside the leaves and leaving dead spots. Row covers will prevent them from getting in if you keep them covered from the time you plant. Cut and toss any damaged leaves to the chickens, to kill them off so they don't breed more. Birds are bad for pulling up beans, peas and corn as well as scratching around plants and digging them up even if they don't eat them. Rabbits,rats and squirrels will also eat seedlings and young plants.

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  9. Good insights Mary! I hadn't thought of leaf miners since I've never had this problem before. I've had beans thin out after sprouting, but never so wholesale as this year, so it's still a mystery. No evidence of rabbits, rats or squirrels in there, but I have had voles and birds.

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  10. I love your harvest. I'm getting a little bit every day. Think that's going to come to a halt: it's 105 today and suppose to stay that way for a week! Yuk!

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    1. I'm sorry you have to deal with all that heat! Hope it doesn't stall things to much for you. Thanks for visiting my blog!

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