Harvests are getting smaller as it gets colder and colder. We had a frost predicted for last night that didn't come to pass here. Even the basil is still alive. It isn't really edible. There are so many little black spots on it, but it is the most cold sensitive plant in the garden. I'm just shocked. I don't think in my decades of gardening in eastern Massachusetts that I've ever had a tomato plant alive and producing still in November. I know it is because of the dry summer we had. It kept all those fungal diseases at bay for a long time. But it is also because we haven't seen freezing yet. The next two nights will be interesting. We have some good lows projected for the Boston area. Will we get frost?
I've only been harvesting as I want to eat things. Which means I don't pick much and often photos don't get taken. What I ought to start doing is picking a quarter of the remaining plants in the next four weeks. That way they would have a better chance of getting used up before some really good freezes take them down.
I harvested some bok choy and tatsoi this week. It is very, very tasty. Maybe bringing more inside will get me to eat more of it. I have a weird lazy streak in me that doesn't have an issue with hauling tons of dirt all over the yard, but keeps me from going outside and picking at the last minute. That is why I usually harvest by picking a lot during one day and then using it up over time. I should get back into that as the harvests won't last long.
I also harvested two tiny little zucchini. The week before last was so cold I didn't get any, but last week warmed up a bit.
The GabrielleAnn put out a bit more than last week too. And I found a few more green tomatoes to pick and hope to ripen on the counter. If just half of my picked Cherokee Purples ripen I'll be happy. Heck if a quarter of them ripen I'll be happy.
- Alliums 0,38 lbs
- Cucurbits 0.38
- Greens 0.88 lbs
- Herbs 0.09
- Pepper 0.02 lbs
- Tomato 1.29 lbs
- Spent this week: $0
- Total harvested this week 3.03 lbs
- Total for the year 322.06 lbs
- 2010 Tally $948.14
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.
Your bok choy looks great. If your green tomatoes ripen at the rate mine did you may still have them into December!
ReplyDeleteDaphne, your picture-perfect bok choy is definitely inspiring. I really have to try the row cover method next year! Enjoy your last days before the first frost - we got ours late last week.
ReplyDeleteI tried to grow Bok Choy last year but the beatles, or whatever, had more of it that I did. Yours look fantastic. We had heavy frost last week in the UK! Diane
ReplyDeleteSo ready to try bok choy again. I should have tried it this fall, but got scared when the squirrels ate all of my lettuce.
ReplyDeleteWe were supposed to have frost for the past two nights. It didn't happen though. I am really envious of your fall bak choy. It is beautiful!! I didn't get around to planting a fall crop.
ReplyDeleteWe did get a frost, but not as bad as was promised. They're threatening a worse one for tonight, so I'm glad I picked the greenhouse fruit.
ReplyDeleteYour new garden is looking great!
You certainly had an amazing tomato year. Still getting them in November is pretty miraculous! I am also harvesting much more lightly now - basically only what I need for that evening's meal prep and many days we use storage items and not fresh harvests - so the harvest pics and totals are going down (as is normal this time of year).
ReplyDeleteI was just talking to my neighbors about the lack of killing frost this year. They still had peppers going despite some light frosts. Last night we got to 25 though. It's cold out there!
ReplyDeleteI want to grow bok choy! Yours looks soooo good! Where do you buy your asian greens seeds?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that you're lazy... I think that you're still recouping from putting all the dirt in those boxes!
Yep, I have a whole counter full of tomatoes I am hoping to ripen as well! Hope you get a bunch!
ReplyDeleteI am amazed you are still picking tomatoes... nice bok choy, too.
ReplyDeleteWith a small garden, I tend to harvest in small batches. I keep an eye on things and bring them in for use that night. Makes for poor harvest pictures, but it suits my single lifestyle nicely.
ReplyDeleteHasn't this been a wonderful year for gardens? I mean, it is November 1st.
Have been admiriing your progress with your new beds. You're going to have amazing harvests next year. What fun.
Hi. I can't quite remember where I wandered into here from, but I've really enjoyed reading all your posts.
ReplyDeleteYour new beds look good.
I'm still picking my greenhouse tomatoes and popping them on my kitchen windowsill to ripen up - I can feel a suace coming on for tonights tea!
Emily, it would be nice to have some tomatoes in December. I wonder if they will last.
ReplyDeleteThyme, the row cover works for everything but slugs. Slugs are usually such an issue around here, but with the dry weather there haven't been very man.
Food, Fun, Sometimes that happens with me too. But so far so good. Not too many things are nibbling it. A little here and there, but not a lot.
Ribbit, I wonder if they like cole crops or not. They may not like the mustard taste. I've had the squirrels eat some of my lettuce too, and the chard.
Tomatoes in November are nice! We've still got a few producing too, though they are calling for 32F here one night this week.
ReplyDeleteI hate to harvest at the last minute too. I try and do it in the morning, or at least before lunch. Which remind me, if I want turnips tonight I better go get some!
The winter sure is closing in and the harvest get smaller and smaller indeed. I'm so impressed of yout total tally Daphne it is amazing.
ReplyDeleteStill looking good, and those tomatoes may be green, but they look wonderful. If you don't like fried green tomatoes then I'm sure they will ripen up nicely for you!
ReplyDeleteYour new beds look amazing and I can see you creaming the rest of us in the spring harvest totals! ;-)
Robin, I thought I wouldn't because I didn't have a bed for them. But I pulled up enough tomatoes early enough to do it. No long maturing crops, but the baby choys are nice. And fast.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I've been watching the weather forecasts recently and some think it will be warmer here than last night and some colder. I always wonder if I should start a betting game on which forecaster will get it right this time. One says we will be in the 20s tonight. Others say in the mid 30s. I'm crossing my fingers.
Laura, I've been using my storage items too. Today was an experimental soup with my tomatillo salsa and Trail of Tears beans. So far so yummy. In a half hour it ought to be done.
The Mom, I keep hoping my peppers will last a bit longer. They have so many small ones on them. If they could get larger they would be pickable.
Toni, I got my seeds this year from Mac. She sent me a lot of Asian greens including the two bok choys I'm growing and the Chinese broccoli. It has been fun trying them all out.
Shawn Ann, I how we both do. They don't taste like summer tomatoes, but at least they are still good.
Ali, I'm so amazed at that too. Usually I have to pull my tomatoes down in September because they are all dying from disease.
tempusflits, my harvest photos were mostly in ones and twos. I neglected to photograph a couple of the little harvests as they were frequent and small. And yes it has been a great year for gardens here. Usually it is such a struggle to grow certain things and this year they just grew. I had to water constantly, but besides that it was great.
Nutty Gnome, Well I'm glad you wandered over. I used the last two ripe ones on my counter today for soup. I can't wait for it to be done.
ReplyDeletevillager, they were calling for 31 last night. We obviously didn't get it here. I'm wondering how long we can hold out. I'm really loving having the cherry tomatoes coming in dribs and drabs. I eat them every day in my scrambled eggs.
Tyra, Thanks. I owe the number to a really hot and dry summer. We don't get those often. In fact I don't remember one this hot and dry before. But it kept my tomatoes producing for a long long time. And they are half the harvest total.
Barbie, I've never been a fan of green tomatoes in any form. I might be able to chop one up and put it in a stew to make them palatable to me, but otherwise not. I do hope they get red.
No harvest for me this week. So glad I can read and see pictures of others harvests from here. Your bok choy looks very tasty. I am hoping mine recovers from the earlier slug damage to produce something edible.
ReplyDeleteZucchini, tomatoes, and basil still, I'm amazed too! My zucchini are looong gone, the basil just hit the compost pile, and the tomato plants are almost all pulled out also. All your fungal diseases migrated to coastal California for the summer... I do, however, still have some lovely peppers coming in, and Malaysian eggplant is still surprisingly happy. I meant to plant some Asian greens this fall but that fell by the wayside. Enjoy your mild fall while it lasts!
ReplyDeleteAnother pretty bok choy picture! I love it.
ReplyDeleteIf you plant your tomatoes next to your house, sometimes you can protect them from a freeze. I have a friend that removes the supports, lets the plant sprawl on the ground before it gets too late in the day that the ground has lost much of its heat and puts a blanket on them. Her tomatoes live through temperatures in the high 20s. Of course, they won't set any more fruit at low temps, but you could have a few more weeks to ripen what you've got on the vines.
Lovely bok choy. My bok choy are so small I don't know I'll get a harvest anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI love your new raised beds, they look so neat, waiting to see your spring veggie garden next year.
It's strange that we live so close yet I've already experienced a few frosts. My tomato plants are dead and the temperature got down to 28 last night.
ReplyDeleteYour beds are looking really good!
snap on the little baby zuke this week - I had one too - though at the other end of the season. Don't worry, when the cooler weather hits us Southern Hemisphere garden bloggers will keep the harvest hope alive. :)
ReplyDeleteIs that a leek or a green onion? If it's a green onion, that is one heck of a baby zucchini! So cute!
ReplyDeleteYour bok choy is fantastic. I can taste its minerally crunch just by looking at it!
This year we're trying the whole rip-up-the-whole-tomato-plant-and-hang-it-upside-down-thing. I hope your tomatoes ripen too. Mmmmmm.... cherokee purple.
ReplyDeleteGrafixMuse, In a month I'll be so glad for those that live down under and the southerners that can grow in the winter. That way I can still get my fix of harvests.
ReplyDeletemichelle, I might have picked my last zucchini yesterday, but I'll see. The poor plant had powdery mildew. It recovered. Now it has it bad again. And the temps are getting very low. I'll leave it in since I know if it survives it just might do something.
Mary, I cage my plants so I can't remove them from the supports without killing them. I love how everyone has their own way to extend the season though.
mac, well all those bok choy are from your seed. I'd share, but I don't think they would look as nice once they got to the other side of the country ;>
Thomas, I was shocked not to have had a frost that night. I'm happy though. I'm really hoping that I'm in zone 7 now, but I'm guessing not. Once we get snow, I think some of the help from all the blacktop will be canceled out.
prue, I hope so. I'm counting on you all to keep my veggie dreams alive all winter long. Last year it was really nice seeing the whole garden season really ramp up in Australia just as ours was winding down.
Christina, it is a green onion. The zucchini is probably only two ounces. Very small zuke. And a pretty big onion.
mckenzie, good luck with those ripped up tomatoes. I'd have no place to put such things anymore now that I don't have a garage. I put the onions and garlic in the dining room for a while and my husband complained about the mess. I don't think a dead tomato would go over well at all.
One advantage about being the last to post on Harvest Monday is that I get to read all the comments of others. The disadvantage, of course, is that no one other than you knows I made a post. I write my newspaper column on Monday, and it's hard to get my blog post done in time. This week I don't have anything to brag about, just 8.5 oz. of cucumbers and NO eggs. Boohoo.
ReplyDeletethe bok choy looks so healthy. I am jealous! lol rich picked. And the tomatoes, I adore it=)
ReplyDeleteLou, Well I always see your post. I wouldn't miss it.
ReplyDeletedaphne, thanks
I like the idea of Harvest Monday. It's a great way for everyone to remember to connect.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Veggie PAK