Monday, July 20, 2009

Monday Harvest - 20 July 2009

Wow where to begin? It has been a really good harvest this week. When I left for the July 4th weekend, I told my friend taking care of the garden that he would have a ton of raspberries coming in. Historically - and I put these raspberries in 17 years ago - July 4th is what I think of as the start of raspberry season. Well I checked last years records and nope I picked my first berries on July 7th (3 of them) and on July 16th I showed the huge bowl of raspberries. I wonder why I think of July 4th as raspberry season? I'm thinking it is the Latham raspberries I used to have, but pulled out over a year ago. I used to use my Heritage raspberries as only fall bearing raspberries (technically they are called everbearers, but in reality they fruit in the fall on new wood and in the summer on old wood and there is a break in between) and would cut all the canes out in the winter. Now without my summer bearers I let them fruit twice. And they are fruiting like crazy. I pick them every two days and they fill up a large container. I eat them every morning on my cereal and I'm starting to freeze the excess. I just toss them into a bag and add more as I get more. I'm thinking raspberry sorbet or maybe jam.

Another wonderful new fruit coming in are my peppers. I've picked one or two before, but there were so many hanging off the plants I decided to pick them so they could set even more. I picked the oldest fruit so none would get ripe and stop production. Some are large and some are small, but they are all so tasty. I expected them to be hot. They are supposed to be twice as hot as jalapenos, but not this year. I think the cold weather has turned them sweet. They were sweet as candy with just a touch of spice. Quite tasty, but they will have to heat up a bit if I want them to spice up my salsas later in the summer. I diced them up and tossed them in the freezer. I'll keep saving them. They freeze fine. When defrosted they get a bit mushy, but for making salsa this isn't an issue.

The earliest spring carrots were pulled. They will keep me supplied for the next month until the next set comes in. As you can see I pulled the last of my cabbage too. These are all trimmed and washed and ready to be weighed.

It was a big herb week and I have more today to get dehydrated. I picked chamomile, sage, and mint (chocolate mint and candy mint). I had given all my dried sage to my son last time he was here. Now I have some again. My mint and chamomile is for tea in the winter time.

The peas are still producing. I think the Super Sugar Snaps have about had it. I have one more picking of them then they will be pulled. I'm saving seed on them and am a bit worried that the covings all have holes in them. Is this normal? The Cascadia are putting out more side shoots. The foliage on them is a bit wonky. It is thick and tough. The peas seem fine though. There are more blossoms starting so they will stay in for a while. The Mammoth Melting are still going strong. They may catch up in production to my snap peas if they keep this up. I wish I could pull them now. They are leaning in the paths so I have trouble walking by. They shade the squash a bit too.

The chard is still doing its thing every week. It is like clockwork. One picking a week at about half a pound. They have about four square feet (3' x 16") of space and this year have produced 4.7lbs of chard. I usually think the plants are doing well if I get a pound per square foot. These little troupers have already given me more than that. BTW I have about hmm maybe 400 sqft of bed maybe. I haven't really measured. But if I get a pound for each sqft of bed then I'd have 400lbs of food for the year. Somehow I don't think 400lbs is in my future, but I can dream.

Another good producer is my zucchini, but not yet. So far I have a few squash blossoms. The squash blossoms bring me to a dilemma. Which is the same dilemma I have with my cutting flowers (which I didn't do this week) and if I ever counted them my nasturium and borage flowers. I found out they sell for somewhere between $1-3 a blossom! I couldn't find them in my area so called it $1. Really? I would never in my life pay $1 for a single squash blossom. I understand why they cost that much. They are very perishable. I eat them the same day I pick them. They are good and are tasty in salads and stirfries, but really I wouldn't buy them at that price. I really think at the end of the year I'm going to put up two tallies - one that has my flowers in the total and one that doesn't. For now you are stuck with the tally that has flowers.

As to little bit of other non photographed items. I'm still picking lettuce. It is bolting faster so the heads are smaller, but it is still producing. I pick my Tropea and bunching onions when I need them. I have picked some tomatoes. The first one was abnormally large, but the last couple have been normal sized and smaller. Tomatoes are an issue though and to a smaller aspect my raspberries. I'm having shrinkage problems in my garden. No not the chipmunks stealing the fruit (yet), but the gardener is eating things out of hand. They get eaten right there. They don't get weighed. It is hard to resist a sun warmed cherry tomato. The raspberries are an issue too, but only when I drive somewhere. Luckily I don't drive much. Usually once or twice a week. The raspberries line the driveway. The drivers side opens right up onto the berries. You can't resist berries just staring you in the face. Really it is impossible. Some herbs miss the scale too. I picked a couple of basil leavess for a salad. Really a couple of leaves aren't worth weighing. They add up over time, but it is too hard to keep micro weights.

So here are the totals:

  • Alliums 0.28 lbs
  • Berries 1.64 lbs
  • Carrots 2.34 lbs
  • Greens 3.52 lbs
  • Herbs 0.55 lbs
  • Peas 1.44 lbs
  • Peppers 0.34 lbs
  • Tomatoes 0.19 lbs

Weekly total: 10.37 lbs
Weekly spent: $0
Yearly total: 41.2 lbs
Yearly earned: $33.33

Whoohoo! On the positive side. Finally. Of course without the cutting flowers I'm still quite negative, but for now I'll celebrate.

If anyone else is doing harvest posts, add your latest harvest to Mr. Linky. I hope it works. It is the first time using it. If not well put the link in the comments. Last year the Ottawa Gardener was trying to start up a harvest meme, but ended. Then Tessa was thinking of it, but didn't start. I was really hoping someone else would do the work because I just love seeing other people's harvests. Hopefully you will join me. Tallies are totally optional.

13 comments:

  1. What a bountiful harvest Daphne, I'm impressed.

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  2. Oh, I'm so glad you started this, Daphne. Unfortunately I won't be able to join in until later- probably much later. I will be having surgery soon and then possibly moving to the Bend area of Oregon! I will have to start all over again and who knows how big a garden I will have! I'm looking forward to the new journey, but it can be a little scary too! In any case, I'm so glad you started this meme because I love seeing what others are eating out of their gardens too! Thanks so much, Daphne!

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  3. Tyra thanks. Your tomato is pretty impressive too. Next year I want to grow a large black tomato of some kind. This year is cherry tomato year. Though I do have one regular red slicing tomato.

    Tessa, now I just need to get everyone to join :>. Maybe we can pass it around sometime. That would be fun. I'm looking to move sometime soon too. I just can't find a house I want to move to. I guess I'm too picky. I want to move to an area that has no houses with big lots, but I want a decent sized lot to grow things. I want it all but it doesn't exist. Well it does. There are these houses on the lake that I drool over, but they never go on the market.

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  4. MMM, chamomile. I've been harvesting mine as well. I need to get some mint harvested and some lemon balm and oregano. This time of year there's so much to do !

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  5. Hi Daphne,

    I'm keeping a running (daily) tally on a google spreadsheet. It's http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p6aRAZwN7UvfD0RUl1yq9WQ&single=true&gid=0&output=html

    You were the one who gave me this great idea!

    Thanks, Jackie

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  6. Your produce is every bit as lovely as what grows in Florida. I'm a huge raspberry fan, I even eat them frozen. Such good photos.

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  7. Wonderful wonderful! Such bounty. You're obviously doing so much right.

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  8. I never could figure out what that Mr. Linky thingy did. But your harvest looks delightful. Trade you some of my crookneck squash and green beans for your carrots and raspberries. I had to actually buy carrots at the store yesterday.

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  9. Everything looks beautiful. I'm not sure what happened with my early carrots, they don't seem to want to grow this year. I think I like the carrot that is doing the splits the best! I will have to remember to do a harvest post next monday.

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  10. Daphne, I knew halfway through reading your post that you would be reporting that you were in the black with your harvest tally. Congratulations. I'll have to check out the Mr. Linky thingy tomorrow when I'm not so mentally spent.

    I agree, some of the tallying gets tricky when the harvester starts eating the harvest! Happens with my strawberries and snap peas.

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  11. Also, I just responded to the comment you made in my 7/15 post about weights and prices.

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  12. Chiot's Run, there is a lot to do. We finally had a nice run of sunny hot days without rain so I thought it was a good time for herbs.

    Jackie, I love that you have it online and everyone can look at it. I should have done that.

    Donna, I've never tried them frozen. Once I freeze them I always cook them in some way. But I suppose my son likes his grapes frozen so why not raspberries.

    Stefaneener, Thanks, I've had a few failures, but hey, it is gardening and mother nature will have her way with the garden. At least most things come out right.

    Annie's Granny, well if you put your name in on the top line and the link to you blog (or the post) in the second line and press the enter button, it will add your name to the list of links. Right now only Tyra has put in a link :<. Maybe next week I'll get more. Though hers is pretty good. I love that tomato. And about that trade I think I'll keep the raspberries and carrots. Though I'm looking forward to having my zukes and beans, I like the raspberries and carrots better.

    Dan, I always get a chuckle out of my weird looking carrots. I think I would be sad if none of them turned out like that. I just want most of them to turn out nice and straight. they are so much easier to clean and use when they are straight. Oh I'm so glad you are going to join in next Monday.

    Sally, lol yup I did harvest a lot this week. It was over a quarter of the total harvest to date. All we needed was a bit of warmth to start.

    Since people are not figuring Mr. Linky out I'll put a brief note next week about how to use it, but it is pretty easy as long as it is working (tell me if it is not and put the link in the comments). Put in your name on the top line and the URL to your post on the second line (find the link by going to the post you want and copying the location in the bar above), then press the enter button.

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  13. You have a beautiful harvest. Those carrots look so good.

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