Monday, July 30, 2012

Harvest Monday

It's Harvest Monday over at Daphne's Dandelions where fellow gardeners are sharing their harvest successes. Go on over and be inspired!
This has been a week of catching up for me since my week abroad. The first flush of spring harvest is long over and now the heat loving crops are coming into their own. Green beans has been the big one of late but I didn't get any photos of them this week. In fact, I was pretty bad about taking pictures of everything!
 We got our very first slicing tomato, a beautiful and delicious Red Brandywine! The tomatoes are very slow ripening and the plants are battling disease so I fear the total harvest this year will be pretty low. I have close to twenty varieties growing.
 Eggplants on the other hand are doing terrific, as are the green peppers. My favorite variety of eggplant is pictured above. It is called Swallow and I got the seed from Fedco seeds. It is an asian type that produces prolifically and early, which is ideal for northern climates. I have a few other varieties, but they have yet to give me a harvest. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the peppers. I have six varieties growing, all sweet because I'm not into hot, although someday I may have to grow some mildly hot ones to try making homemade salsa. Someday. Maybe.
 Carrots are still small but getting there. I am still pulling thinnings and they are tasty in salads. I just planted a third bed of them for the fall.
The few little tomatoes we've been getting so far. I'm very bad, because I'm not sure what varieties these are. I believe the two biggest are the Fourth of July earlies and I know the light orange ones are Sungold. There are some Sweet One Hundreds too. All very tasty but I wish there were more of them!
Zucchinis and yellow squash is still coming in but they are definitely slowing down. I have been hit hard by squash beetles and am diligently battling them. I have a second planting of these that are getting big and healthy so they will hopefully be producing very soon. Oh, and I forgot to mention my potatoes, that had an entire post of their own a few days ago; 20 pounds of them! And cucumbers. Last year we were inundated with cukes and this year they are doing well, but I think will not be as productive. Still, I picked quite a few this week and hope soon to be making the refrigerator pickles we love around here. I also picked most of the remaining beets. I have a second planting but it remains to be seen whether they will bulb up or not. I don't usually have much success with the later-sown beets but I keep trying.
Looks like today will be a good gardening day. We've had two days of rain and now it is sunny and temperate. Time to get in some of the fall plantings!

20 comments:

  1. That Red Brandywine is a thing of beauty. Yum!

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    1. It was delicious! I have to admit though that the underside had an ugly black scab, but that didn't inmpair the taste and it was easy to hide it in the photo :-)

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  2. Great harvest! That Brandywine is gorgeous. I have never tasted one (too hot here to grow them) and I am dying to.

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  3. That brandywine and eggplants are gorgeous!

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    1. Thank you! I am definitely having a good eggplant year! Which is good because we love ratatouille and eggplant parmesan.

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  4. Perfect-looking eggplant! I can relate to wanting more tomatoes. It is hard to be patient when I see other's harvests!

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    1. For the number of tomato plants I put in, I don't get all that much of a harvest. The limited sunshine and the disease around here really keeps them down. But I'll take what I can get and I'm with you. I've been very envious of the big early harvests I've seen on the web!

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  5. Great harvests. I love eggplants. Maybe I should try your variety next year.

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    1. It is a wonderful variety Cristy. I've grown them the past three years and they are quite reliable and early.

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  6. That is practically a perfect Brandywine. I hope to get some, but mine went in late so we will see.

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    1. Well, it isn't really perfect. The picture is showing its good side! But taste trumps looks any day!

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  7. Your Brandywine tomato is just beautiful. I tried to grow them one year and they were kind of ugly! Eggplants are great. I am not sure if I like eggplant but want to try it! I have not kept at the beetle problem this year. Boo hoo. Nancy

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    1. Brandywines aren't the most productive, but they taste great. I think I am losing in the battle of the squash beetles. We had none last year but they are terrible this year!

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  8. Great looking harvest. I love that Brandywine. I planted Brandywine for the firs time this year but the plants are really struggling in our Utah heat. In fact they have yet to set any fruit so I'm afraid we may not even get to try them this year.

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    1. Thanks! I think Brandywines are a bit finicky. My Brandywine plants got diseased the earliest and I don't know how many more I will get to harvest.

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  9. What a great harvest! Love that Brandywine; I'll have to try that one next year.

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  10. Wow, what a beautiful harvest and the Brandywine...just about as perfect as one can get. What color!

    What a productive garden and you even have eggplant...they have never done well for me..so thank you for the variety tip. That's what garden blogging is about heh..sharing experience.

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    1. I agree! I have learned so much from fellow garden bloggers! Yes, you should try swallow. It produces so early and most years it does really well. I've only ever seen it sold by Fedco, and I will be distraught if they ever stop selling it!

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