Chinese cabbage (colors off due to camera issue)
Well I expected my harvest to go down this week, but it was the biggest poundage week yet. This is not necessarily good. Last year my Chinese cabbage was harvested around the end of June. This year the Chinese cabbage didn't make it. It had started to bolt. I'm guessing it is because of the lack of rain around here. I do water the garden on occasion, but probably not as much as the plants want. And the Chinese cabbage is under a row cover. Though the row cover tends to keep in the humidity so the plants don't dry out as quickly, it also tends to shed the rain. Yes some gets through. It is porous, but I think not enough. I hand watered under my other row cover just a bit, but never under this one. Two of the Chinese cabbages had already flowered. The other had sent up the stalk but I felt it was still OK to eat. I tasted a bit of the leaves to make sure they tasted fine. Yup. At 1lb 11oz it added a lot to the total. At least I didn't miss out on all the Chinese cabbage. It is one of my favorite greens.
Chard really pulled its weight too. I have 8 1/2 plants. One plant was eaten to the ground in its youth and is just now starting to recover but not at a havestable stage yet. Usually I harvest by picking out one of the big leaves every week. When the leaves get big they start shading each other out so I pick them. Well the plants are picking up steam. I harvested once from each plant than later in the week harvested five of the strongest plants yet again. They gave me just over 14oz. I love chard.
I'm still harvesting lettuce. The Merveille de Quatre Saisons gets bitter when it doesn't get enough water. My Red Sails doesn't seem to care. The MQS was leaking tons of the white latexy stuff when cut. Usually the plants do this before they bolt. It makes them bitter. It did sweeten up a bit after it was soaked and refrigerated. It isn't bitter enough to throw away and actually tastes pretty good with my garlic scape dressing which is sweet. I'm thinking though that the plant isn't pulling its weight as well as the other reds though.
I keep harvesting chamomile every week. The harvests are all small, but it can keep up all summer long. Speaking of small harvests, my peas have started producing. OK only three peas last week, but this week is looking good.
Tatsoi
Tyfon - isn't it just huge?
The Asian greens are still coming on. I just couldn't eat them all and gave the Tyfon away to some friends. I've planted a succession of Komatusna and tatsoi. The newly planted tatsoi is getting eaten by the nasty little sow bugs. Bad sow bugs. I give them plenty of mulch to munch on but they pick my tatsoi instead. I think it will grow out of it however. I'm wondering if there are just too many sow bugs here and I should start trapping.
I keep picking flowers. I picked a simple bouquet for a neighbor and kept this pretty one for myself.
So here are the totals:
- Greens 3.36 lbs
- Herbs 0.04 lbs
- Alliums 0.16 lbs
- Peas 0.02 lbs
- Flowers 87
Weekly total: 5.24 lbs
Weekly spent: $2.61 (twine)
Yearly total: 16.44 lbs
Yearly earned: -$85.66
Wow, you're quickly wiping out the garden deficit - you'll be in the "green" soon! The veggies are beautiful, even with the bug nibbles.
ReplyDeleteThat red lettuce is just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks yummy!
How do you prepare your Asian greens? Stir fry?
Great stuff! I love that red lettuce.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I am. I am a little surprised on how much I've spent so far. It is amazing how all those little things add up.
ReplyDeleteToni, Well for each green I have a favorite way of cooking it, but any can be thrown in a stir fry. For tatsoi my all time favorite is to put it in the bottom of a soup bowl. Then I heat to boiling some chicken broth with a little soy sauce added. I pour the hot broth over the tatsoi leaves. It cooks it just right. The Komatsuna I boil up in a tiny bit of water the ribs first until almost cooked then throw in the leaves. Once cooked I squeeze out the excess water and drizzle soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil over the top. Chinese cabbage I stir fry or make oriental salads. Tyfon is harder. I haven't found a favorite way yet. My friend who got my bunch last week said she was going to throw it into some spaghetti sauce. I haven't tried it that way before.
David, thanks. That is the MQS. It is the prettiest lettuce of all.
I've been wanting to try Tatsoi- do you like the taste? It sure is a pretty green.
ReplyDeleteYour greens are looking great. I really need to start clearing leaf miner off my chard, yours looks so much nicer then mine. I have replanted tatsoi as well and some bok choy after both bolted. I will have to make sure to harvest before 40 days this time.
ReplyDeleteAmazing. I am going to keep track of my pounds from the garden this year. I havent ever done that. It should be interesting.
ReplyDeleteDirtDigger, yup I do love the taste. I usually use it in salads and soups I was at the farmers market the other day buying strawberries. One of the other buyers was trying to figure out what tatsoi was. I told her how to use it. I'm sure the farmer had a good chuckle since I made the sale for her.
ReplyDeleteDan, Our leaf miners are so bad around here that I couldn't eat it if I didn't do an inspection every couple of days. I think their eggs hatch in four days so do it at least every three. As long as you don't let your chard get too many leaves on it, it is not that time consuming, but you do have to keep up with it. Luckily there are lulls in the leaf miners at time while the new generation grows up. I'm in a lull right now so don't have to check. As to tatsoi, make sure you don't keep them in pots for too long before transplanting. They are such quickly growing plants that if you keep it in a pot for more than 2-3 weeks it will bolt for sure before getting big. BTW the leaves taste just fine as they bolt, so pull it out as soon as you see the stalk start to come up. Eat it too in stir fries :>
Mrs. Darling, good luck. I have almost forgotten to weigh things many times over the last few weeks, but I seem to be keeping up.
This time I direct sowed the tatsoi and bok choi. They germinated in a couple days so they are well on their way to the wok. I will start my chard cleaning schedule tomorrow I swear :-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the amazing harvest and dent you made on your garden deficit.
ReplyDeleteSome of my lettuce has started to bolt, but not my most successful crop over at my community garden. Hopefully we can get another week before all the lettuce bolts.
Sally, well if this cool weather keeps up you can keep getting lettuce all summer long. Just keep planting it. The weathermen think a change is in store next week though. A Bermuda high has been predicted in the long range forecast and if you've lived here any length of time you know that means hot and humid weather for us. It would be about time for it. Such a weird June with no heat spells at all.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bouquet! I'm growing Merveille des Quatre Saisons also, they say the red is more apparent in cooler temps, I would agree just by looking at yours! It's so gorgeous! Mine is much more green, but it's still pretty the way the green and red blend into each other.
ReplyDeleteLzyjo, I do love the red lettuces with green. They are so pretty. All of them.
ReplyDelete