Whoohoo! Another good spring harvest week. Our weather went into the 90s this week. I remember Mays when we got a day in the 90Fs (32C+) before the cool comes back, but this week had a couple of days there and a lot in the 80Fs (27C+). Where did spring go? July has hit and it is only May. I decided it was time to pick some lettuce and the last of the radishes before the heat hit. Most of the radishes were already bolting, but I got a couple of nice French Breakfast radishes.
Red Sails and Deer Tongue
Little Gem
Tom Thumb
So I've been picking the leaf lettuce and the smaller of the head lettuces. I've left all the romaines because they are just heading up now. I hope they can survive the heat.
I also picked three perfect Shanghai bok choy. Two have already been made into a stir fry. I've got one left. I picked one Komatsuna and a single stalk of Chinese Broccoli. I think if I do Chinese broccoli again I need more plants to get a real harvest. They easily go into stir fries, but it would be nice to have them prolific enough to get a better sense of how I like them.
I had a great dill harvest from the volunteer dill. This is half the harvest. I dried it and filled up a large spice bottle.
My favorite harvest from this week was my Fun Jen. I love Fun Jen in salads. I don't think it holds up to cooking as well as bok choy.
I wanted to make an oriental salad, but I really wanted mandarin oranges in it. I was out. So I made myself a salad mixed with Fun Jen and lettuce. I threw in a few of my radishes. Then I topped it with a raspberry salad dressing made from my raspberry jelly. It was good but it was missing something. My daughter was eating pasta with Parmesan cheese. The Parmesan cheese was the perfect addition. It was just what it was missing.
I did spend some money this week. I spent about $11 on plants for the new house, but I can't find the receipt. I bought a bunch of nasturtiums (some will have to be replaced as they died in the heat and me not watering except every other day) and some peppers.
- Lettuce 1.21 lbs
- Bok Choy 0.84 lbs
- Chinese Broccoli 0.02 lbs
- Spinach 0.10 lbs
- Komatsuna 0.31 lbs
- Dill 0.28 lbs
- Radish 0.18 lbs
- Total harvested this week 2.93 lbs
- Total for the year 8.38 lbs
- Total dollars -240.33
Harvest Monday is a day to show off your harvests, how you are saving your harvest, or how you are using your harvest. If you have a harvest you want to show off, add your name and link to Mr Linky below.
I love the cashews in the salad! I always forget to keep some on hand.
ReplyDeleteVery very nice harvest. That bok choy is just amazing! The salad looks absolutely delicious.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! You had a great harvest this week. Lots of spring greens.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the move!!
Looks like a fun salad. I like the idea of using jelly in a salad dressing. Yum.
ReplyDeleteThose bok choy plants look great. It all looks great, actually. I was hoping to get some baby bok choy this year to try on the grill. Maybe this fall. I also need to try Fun Jen. Where do you get your seeds for the Asian greens?
ReplyDeleteSuch great looking greens there Daphne!
ReplyDeleteI've got some Fun Jen almost ready. I don't think it holds up well to cooking either. I was thinking maybe of stuffing it or using it as a wrapper for some spring roll type dish. I do like it in salads though.
ReplyDeleteWe got pretty much the same heat you did. It's been in the upper 80s for a week. The warm season crops are loving it even if I'm not!
Nice sized harvest Daphne. You have a nice assortment of lettuce there.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Fun Jen before. Does it taste mustardy?
Great harvest. I admire how you can remember all your lettuce varieties. Once I sow it, I forget what variety was it. If it’s any good, I will save seeds.
ReplyDeleteDill is looking great!
Lovely greens harvest and the salad looks positiviely yummy! Can you send me a just a bit of your sunshine and warmth?! We have been abnormally cool and extra wet of late and the garden is pouting about it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great looking harvest! I'm also curious about the flavor of the Fun Jen. The salad looks delicious, I love nuts or seeds in my salads also, I use toasted sliced almonds or roasted salted sunflower seeds a lot.
ReplyDeleteWe finally have some warm weather, it almost hit 80 yesterday and it's supposed to stay warm for a few days. Maybe my beans will finally start to grow.
You still haven't sent me any of that warm weather :-( It's still March in the Northwest, ya know. Oh well, it does make for great lettuce harvests.
ReplyDeleteI've never grown Fung Jen (?)/ Fun Jen? anyhow, that last one before but I love salad asian brassicas. We had a rash of warm weather last week in the 40s with the humidex. Very unusual for this time of year. Seems to be an early summer to go along with the early spring.
ReplyDeleteGreat harvest, love green salad with nuts.
ReplyDeleteThe dill looks really nice, I can't keep up with the names of all the lettuces such as Fun Jen is another variety of bok choy.
Great harvest, Daphne, and what a beautiful salad!
ReplyDeleteI am also curious about Fun Jen, how does it taste, how much heat does it tolerate?
You have lots coming in now! Bok Choy looks good. Most of mine was picked just as it started bolting. I direct seeded some and it looks to not bolt as easily, at least I am hoping! Its still been pretty much as hot here as well. Storms tonight though and then cooling to the low 70's by thursday, can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say to everyone that I currently don't have my computer (all packed up). I should have it back by Thursday if not sometime Wednesday. Hopefully the internet installation goes smoothly on Tuesday. But I'll be mostly offline and will get to everyones questions and links at some point this week, but can't promise anytime soon. Luckily tomorrow's post is all done already.
ReplyDeleteI will say since so many asked that Fun Jen is a wonderful Asian Green that I bought from Pinetree. It tastes a little mustardy but is very mild. I like it or Chinese cabbage in salads because they are a little sweet and mild. But Fun Jen is ready very quickly and Chinese cabbage takes a long time to mature.
The bok choy looks great! I have some in my garden, although it is not as far along. Also, it is being eaten by something - argh!
ReplyDeleteI am a day late, as usual, but this meant I could sneak in the chard I harvested this morning. Not a ton, but some. :)
ReplyDeleteRibbit, I usually have cashews on hand as I love them, but they are disappearing quickly with my daughter home.
ReplyDeleteRobin, GrafixMuse, Emily, thanks
Henbogle, I've never tried bok choy on the grill. Maybe someday. I get my Asian greens from a few places. Mac gave me quite a few and I bought some from Pinetree and Fedco.
prue, thanks
Villager, sadly I think the heat is doing in some of my lettuce already. Usually it doesn't bolt until much later (like late June or July).
Thomas, yes it does taste a bit mustardy, but not very strongly.
vrtlarica, I hope to remember what varieties they all are since I'm trialing some romaines this year.
kitsapFG, well i want my sunshine but the extra warmth you can have, but since things are starting to bolt I should probably keep it and just have really good summer veggies this year.
michelle, fun jen is a nice mild Asian green with a slight mustardy flavor. It never seems to get too strong even when it is bolting.
ReplyDeleteGranny, I tried to send it to you, but like a spoiled child it just wouldn't listen. So now some of my lettuce is bolting, which is just unheard of for me at the beginning of june.
Ottawa Gardener, it is strange summer weather in the spring. I really hope it doesn't continue to be 15-20F above normal as I'd just die this summer.
Mac, I used to call my Fun Jen my frilly bok choy. I love how it looks.
Angela, I can grow it usually in the summers around here. I just pick it when it starts to bolt during the summer. It still tastes very mild when it is bolting. I've even stir fried up the flower stalks.
Dan, I hope those storms we had yesterday (with rain :> ) brought in the cool air. I could use some nice normal 70Fs weather.
2 Green Acres, those Asian greens get eaten by so many things. They can be a pain to grow.
lisa ann, I have to pick my chard soon. I can't wait for the first harvest as I just love chard.
Bok choy looks excellent! I think I might be adding some to fall plantings..
ReplyDeleteThe salad looks AMAZING!!! Sorry for the late additional to harvest monday...it's been an extremely hectic week.
ReplyDelete