Tried overwintering my Asian greens last winter. Mostly everything died. What didn't die was obviously going to bolt almost immediately. The only thing I left under the row cover was some Fun Jen and some tatsoi. I didn't expect anything from them at all. They looked miserable. So I ignored them. Well I'd been ignoring them for a month when I took the covers off more to clean it up than to harvest anything.
But lo and behold what grew looked beautiful. The Fun Jen especially looked very nice. Yes both were bolting, but just because an Asian green is bolting does not mean it is inedible. The flower stalks can be rather tasty. I'd eaten both plants after bolting, but only from spring grown plants before.
I taste tested both plants. The tatsoi was still good - not as good as spring grown tatsoi, but still quite good. No heavy strong mustard taste so I used it in a stir fry for lunch that day along with my own stored garlic.
The Fun Jen is very strongly mustard flavored. A bit too much for my tastes. I could use it in small bits in something, but I think it will just see the compost pile. At least when I get a chance I can add 3.2oz of tatsoi to my tally.
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.
We also had bolting problems this week. It's nice when you're able to salvage at least something edible though :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so impressed that you manage to grow stuff all winter even with snow!
ReplyDeleteHooray for fresh greens!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and the stir fry is YUM! looking too. It's amazing how a plant if it can just be kept alive over the winter will indeed spring forth into edible growth with the return of sun strength and day length.
ReplyDeleteI did not get a picture of my one and only harvest this week - so I am skipping participating this week in the Monday harvest but enjoying everyone elses instead.
Even though you don't have a cold frame yet...you still had some nice fresh overwintered greens to enjoy!! Lunch looks yummy!!
ReplyDeleteLet's all be thankful for the warm weather that caused many things to bolt. Wonderful looking lunch!
ReplyDeleteNice harvest Daphne! The stir-fry looks yummy. Hopefully I'll be harvesting Bok Choy sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteThat stir fry looks sooo good!
ReplyDeleteLovely colorful stirfry!
ReplyDeleteNice stir fry....yummmmmmmmmm
ReplyDeleteI love stir fry, and yours looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteI might be joining you for harvest Monday next week. I could probably sneak enough baby lettuce and spinach for a salad or two now, but I think I'll give it a few more days. I have been using my chives, but my scale won't measure such minute amounts.
All of my overwintered brassicas have bolted now also. I've still got some spinach and chard left but the chard is full of nasty aphids, yuck. I've been expecting the spinach to bolt any day but so far it hasn't, that's been a nice surprise.
ReplyDeleteYour stir-fry look delicious! Suddenly I am hungry again.
ReplyDeleteFoodgardenkitchen, it was nice to finally have a little fresh produce.
ReplyDeleteFunkbunny, I hope next year to do better. The rock wall garden isn't the best of environments.
Emily, :>
Laura, I can't wait until all my just planted Asian greens and lettuce take off. It has been so nice these last couple of days. Now we just need a day of rain to water it all.
Robin, thanks
Veggie Pak, I am. I hope all my seed germinates in the warm weather.
Thomas, I hope so too.
Ali thyme2garden, Deb, thanks
Granny, I wish I had my chives really set in. Since they were planted in the fall, I'm just happy they have come up. The garlic chives barely came up. One little tiny sprout. I'm sure it will spread though.
Michelle, I don't think I've ever had aphids on my chard before. Or not an infestation at least. Lots of other things have gotten infestations over the years though.
Malay, thanks
Whoa, nice greens and stir fry, I love the flowers and mustardy taste of bolted Asian greens. Glad you're seeing greens again.
ReplyDeleteI managed to pick a bit of something every other day out of the garden this week...it was nice.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get photos or weights on everything...it's a learning curve I guess...I'll try harder this week.
Aphids in chard, bolting greens... all reminders of why I should be out in the garden today. Both of those problems plus stinkbugs are plaguing us too. Guess where I'll be this afternoon? Spraying soap suds all over those critters and harvesting greens for dinner! :)
ReplyDeleteNicely recovered. I find that my greens intially look good as the snow recedes then they look miserable as their tender growth is hit by frost and full sun etc... then some of them recover and look great again.
ReplyDeleteNice greens. It sounds like New Englanders have really suffered weather-wise this year and you need a break from the bad weather. That hard work will pay off soon.
ReplyDeleteHey- any harvest with no work is awesome. LOL. Well, clean up but we have to do that anyway! :-D
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got an over-wintered harvest. I would have probably just let it go to seed and collected the seeds for next year, but you're more adventureous than I. I bet that stir fry tasted yummy!
ReplyDeleteA nice surprise for a busy gardener. And the stir fry looks the yumm.
ReplyDelete~dianne
The stir fry looks delicious and healthy too. It is amazing how resilient the plant world is.
ReplyDeleteI've been harvesting Miner's lettuce recently, and really like it. It's extremely cold hardy and growing without any protection.
ReplyDeleteHarvested a leek and some chives for my first harvest of the spring and my first Harvest Monday.
ReplyDeleteBTW, your garden looks wonderful . . .
Just wanted to let you know i planted some Fun Jen this year for the first time. I'm pretty sure i read about it on your blog so Thank-you Daphne!! It's a winner ; )
ReplyDeleteMac, me too I was really missing them.
ReplyDeleteLynda, there is no need to do weights unless you really want to track your harvest. It's not for everyone. Photos on the other hand we really want to see. I live to drool over everyone's harvest photos.
Mary, oh I hate stinkbugs. We used to have them everywhere when I lived out west. Now I only see them occasionally in the garden. Usually in the tomatoes :<
Ottawa Gardener, I had lettuce look beautiful as the snow starts to melt and then as the ground unthaws it slowly dies. I always get so sad about it.
gardenvariety-hoosier, well we have been getting a nice break this week. I hope it rains a good inch on Wednesday though. We are supposed to get that and we need the rain.
Barbie, yeah I finally got around to cleaning them up yesterday.
Sinfonian, Well the Fun Jen is a hybrid I think. The tatsoi isn't but there were only two plants. The line would eventually die out without good genetic diversity (brassicas are like that). Two are not nearly enough to maintain genetic diversity. I really don't bother saving seed from brassicas. If I had acres I'd have plenty of space for it. Not to mention that is where my strawberries are being planted this spring.
Dianne, thanks
Tracy, it is amazing. Now I just have to learn to overwinter more.
Vegetable Garden Cook, what I'd like to try is mache. I've never successfully grown it before. But eventually I'll have to try more and more.
Really Rose, I wish I had chives. I usually do in the spring, but they were just planted last fall and I want to let them get settled before I start cutting them.
Julie, I'm glad you like it. I really do too. Sadly the slugs love the stuff. So some years it just becomes the sacrifice plant.
Your greens look great! Glad you were able to use them in dishes!
ReplyDeleteSuch a colorful meal- looks great!
ReplyDelete