I know many of you saw this earlier. I just couldn't get over how well my broccoli has done this year. I guess it was just the perfect weather. I picked it all before the heat wave hit. Fiesta is a really nice variety for me. The only issue is that all the heads had to be picked at the same time. They don't hold on the plant. When they need to be picked, they need to be picked right then. The heads averaged a pound and a half each which is better than any other variety I've had. The Windsor for previous weeks averaged about a pound.
I also picked all the Michihili cabbage before the heat hit. I took it apart outside because of all the bugs in it. I wanted to do the preliminary wash with the hose. I grew two since I loved them so much last year. This year the flavor isn't as fabulous. Still good, but not to die for. Even after trimming all the damage off, they produced nine pounds in just six square feet and in less than half our growing season. So I can't complain about production. Well except maybe too much production.
Wednesday morning was a busy time. I knew once the heat hit I wouldn't want to be in the garden. So I picked the peas and a few of the first carrots.
Then the strawberries. Sadly I'm finding I might have trouble eating strawberries too. Dang it. Gardeners shouldn't be plagued with food intolerances. Well I see my doctor today. So I guess I'll find out.
Friday I had a bit of excitement as I picked the first of the blueberries and gooseberries ever from the yard. Whoohoo! Subsequent blueberries were eaten out of hand. But I had to take a photo of them first.
More peas.
I planted too much chard. I planted too much chard. I planted too much chard. I swear I didn't plant any more than last year. But still way too much. It is so happy. I think it liked the heat too. I have all I need frozen. So I kept one pound for my use this week. I gave a pound to my townhouse mates. That left seven pounds to give away. My initial neighborhood mailing list gave me no takers. So I expanded to a couple other friends that I thought might want it. I finally got one. I hope she takes it all.
And as I thought, I went positive on Wednesday June 20th. The earliest year ever. It has just been a phenomenal greens year for me. I'm at 142 lbs of greens harvested already. That is just huge. And yes a lot has been given away or frozen for the future. There is no way I could eat that much.
And as I missed Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard, I'll post a couple of my meals here. This was lunch. It featured tuna salad with some pickled peas on a homemade bun. The coleslaw as made with my Chinese cabbage, carrots, Japanese turnips and the last of the radishes.
Last night's dinner was a saute of Chinese cabbage, carrots, onions, and Japanese turnips from the garden with scallops on top. The sides were my garden broccoli and some homemade rosemary and olive oil bread with rosemary and other herbs from the garden.
- Alliums 0.52 lbs
- Broccoli 7.95 lbs
- Carrot 0.66 lbs
- Greens 24.66 lbs
- Peas 3.39 lbs
- Turnips 0.48 lbs
- Weekly total 37.66 lbs
- Yearly total 191.62 lbs
- Tally 76.74
- Fruits
- Strawberries 0.8 lbs
- Blueberries 0.04 lbs
- Gooseberries 0.18 lbs
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.
Wow, you are having a good year so far! I have never had broccoli that big! I hope that your doctor's appointment goes well.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Love those strawberries!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks wonderful! I'm sorry you have to deal with these food intolerances; that certainly is tough for a gardener! Don't you just love friends who will take your excess produce?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about a possible new food intolerance. I know them well as I have one to dairy. I hope it turns out not be the case!
ReplyDeleteYour harvest is great as usual. It does seem to have been a great greens year despite the wacky weather.
Oh man...I really hope you can still eat strawberries...at least in moderation, if nothing else!!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on going positive already! So wonderful!!! I can't believe how many greens you've harvested this year! Absolutely amazing!!!
I am still waiting for my broccoli to form.
ReplyDeleteHope your doctor tells you there is no problem for you to eat strawberries.
I am going to replant my strawberries, what varieties are you growing?
My chard are doing exceptionally well this year also, must be the weather.
Those are some huge broccoli. This year wasn't a good broccoli year for me, too hot too early plus the bed they were in wasn't the best. Maybe next year. Love the berries, can't grow blueberries here and not too sure about the gooseberries.
ReplyDeleteHey, doesn't the scale say 0.7 oz for blueberries?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you have a wonderful harvest again. Makes me want a much bigger garden, much better soil, nicer climate etc. etc. lol.
Yes it does. That is 0.04 lbs. Better known as not very much. But still enough to put on my cereal for breakfast.
DeleteAt my last house I just used the soil that was there. It took years to get it good enough to grow things well. Constant applications of compost. It is nice to start with really good soil at the beginning. Sadly I can't do anything about the climate. I'd really love to not have these temperature swings.
Just found this link party. Cool idea!
ReplyDeleteOOoooo scallops.... Oh, wait that wasn't part of the harvest. LOL. Seriously though the peas and strawberries and broccoli. Everything looks fantastic. Sorry to hear you may be having more problems though. :-(
ReplyDeleteYour harvests are awesome. We're about to start picking our 2nd harvest of broccoli after we thought it was froze out. It came back and we have about 36 plants to pick in the next few weeks. Weather here has been cooperative except for 3 days in the 90's. Nights are cool. We live in central Pennsylvania.
ReplyDeleteThose broccoli are truly beautiful. I grew a variety last fall hat matured all at one time and unfortunately they did it while I was traveling and away for a week. Got back to them all being done. That Michihili cabbage is certainly a garden workhouse. It seems like it is really resistant to bolting too. Beautiful peas and strawberries this week too. I hope the verdict is good on the strawberrie intolerance concern.
ReplyDeleteSend me an email when you have a chance and tell me more about your food intolerance. Several fruits "get to me" and I am curious what bothers you and what your symptoms are and how, if at all, the doctor can diagnose it. Thanks:)
ReplyDeleteStrawberries look good, hope you are surviving the heat!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks so good. We just haven't had good weather for gardening. Have even had a hard time getting things planted but of course I could show pound upon pounds of harvested weeds. Looks like it may be done raining for the day so headed out to rescue one garden will I can still see the vegetable plants in it.
ReplyDeleteThe broccoli is beautiful and artfully arranged in your photo. Oh to have fresh broccoli now! Congratulations on turning positive. Susan
ReplyDeleteYou've a gorgeous array as we transition into this next part of the growing season. We've been told that Chinese cabbage takes up a lot of space and have resorted to experimenting with the fun jen. Still, the Michilhili is one of my favorites and none of the local farmers seems to be growing it... Hurrah for the blueberries, a handful is better than none!
ReplyDeleteLove the broccoli! This is the second year that I have had no luck growing it ... big plants but no heads. I'm going to try a fall planting and if that doesn't produce I think I'm going to give up on it ... :(
ReplyDeleteYour Broccoli is beautiful. I'll have to give that variety a try. We have been using Pack Man for a couple of years now and the heads end up being only around a 1/4 of a pound each. Your totals are amazing for this time of year!! I'm going to have a hard time catching up with you!
ReplyDeleteChard is the zucchini of the leafy green world - so easy to grow and so easy to overplant! I do hope that you aren't sensitive to strawberries, arrrgh, what a bummer that would be, especially since you are growing such beauties. Do you suppose it was the weird weather that made the cabbage less tasty this year?
ReplyDeleteThat broccoli is just obscene! Here I was proud of mine, which barely hit 8 ounces each, and you come up with heads three times that size. Well, pffffft....I have nice onions :-D
ReplyDeleteI'll send you my address. Send strawberries.
I have your address. But of course you aren't going to get any. The rest of the family will eat them up with no problem. My guess though is that the problem is just the acid in them. Or at least I'm hoping because it means I could get better and be able to eat them again.
DeleteThe broccoli is awesome. I will have to remember the variety. Wonder how it does with side shoots. I had my broccoli covered to keep off the cabbage moths and I didn't check them often enough and four heads bolted. So I am definitely envious of yours.
ReplyDeleteSupposedly it makes fabulously large side shoots. Sometimes as big as the main head. I'll believe it if I see it.
DeleteOh no, hope you're not allergic to strawberries also, not fun to grow something you can't eat.
ReplyDeleteCan't grow big broccoli heads here, maybe in the fall.
Love scallops, the dish looks delicious.
Positive for the year, already? How wonderful! I started counting, but I don't think I am going to be positive this year. I love the look of that lunch: coleslaw and pickled peas. Mmmm.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out that Fiesta broccoli. Windsor didn't do very well for me last year so I dropped it. Though it did well at the community garden. I grew Packman and Apollo this spring.
ReplyDeleteFood allergies are no fun. I was so allergic to molds I had to give up mushrooms, cured cheeses and yeast breads for several years. But shots helped me, and now molds are no problem. But I doubt shots work for most food allergies.
My goodness, I just want to dive into that lovely basket of snap peas and carrots. Or maybe the basket of strawberries. I sure hope you haven't developed an allergy to those too.
ReplyDeleteJealous of your berries - growing fruit is the thing I really, really miss about having a "real" garden. I know it's technically possible in containers, but it's a waste of space and money, IMO. And my lovely, generous work neighbour died last year, so no more cherries from her garden, either. :(
ReplyDeletegreat harvest and meals!
ReplyDeleteOh, what a wonderful harbest! I want to try growing broccoli! I am glad you showed how you use your Chinese Cabbage as I have never had it before. I hope you are not allergic to those strawberries. What a bummer if you are. How do you use your Gooseberrys? Congratulations on going positive!! Nancy
ReplyDeleteYour posts always make me hungry. The scallops and stir fry - mmmm. It's been a good year for brocolli here in the midwest too. Don't know why - the bok choi did not grow at all here and the cabbage is very slow to head. Gooseberry pie is one of the best.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much you produce- almost 200 lbs in June! I'm still trying to reach 100 lbs and I'm already on summer crops. Your broccoli is so wonderful. And I hope you don't have an intolerance to strawberries- that would be very sad.
ReplyDeleteJust, WOW! Your garden is producing so much this year! I think I'm going to order some of your cabbage. I've been making sauerkraut with ours, and we love it. I'm ready to try new varieties. Your strawberries look delicious, too.
ReplyDeleteHope your doctor has a solution for the food intolerance, and your broccoli definitely is impressive as are all your fruits and vegetables this week, very motivating to see your produce!
ReplyDeleteLovely broccoli, and wow - that is quite a haul of greens!
ReplyDeleteNice looking broccoli. I could use some of your Swiss Chard. For the first time ever, I've had germination failure/bug decimation of much of my early planted greens.
ReplyDeleteYou HAVE had such a phenomenal greens harvest this spring! Very inspirational. I need to diversify. Although your broccoli is also amazing along with your peas and berries.
ReplyDeleteNooo! Not the strawberries! That would be an intolerance too far! You of all people don't deserve that.
ReplyDeleteahhh, blueberries. So jealous! Beautiful harvest!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks fabulous! It's nice to be able to eat whats fresh, but it means you have to change your menu around when something gets ripe. What a shame ;)
ReplyDeleteYour garden is just producing like crazy!!! I would love to get half the harvest you do each week :)
ReplyDeleteI never heard of pickled peas, I should try to prepare them next year!
ReplyDeleteAwesome harvest Daphne! I hope your doctor's appointment went well.
ReplyDeleteWe've been having similar weather to you this year, but a few degrees warmer. My dill hasn't done well, either. Odd, as it's usually very productive.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the heads-up on the borer degree days. I just checked Cornell's site and it says the Bridgeport, CT area has already passed 1035 degree days...so my window of opportunity to cover the zucchini has passed. No borer damage yet...checking every day. (Have already gotten two baby zucchini and lots of blossoms. Delicious!)
Your broccoli looks great. I'm going to write that variety down. It sounds like a keeper!
ReplyDeleteJust joined your links. Have seen you over at Granny's and Mark's. You have so much! Wow is all I can say!
ReplyDelete