When I got back from my camping trip the broccoli side shoots had started up. One was a bit too gone and I tossed it, but the rest were delicious.
The first zucchini was a huge one. The first beets were given to my townhouse mates as I hate beets. I love how they look so I grow them anyway. It could be those are the last few trickles of peas. The heat has been so bad that the later planted peas have not produced even a second wave yet. And it was the first of the beans. These are the Masai beans. They look lovely. But normal beans just don't seem to impress me. I've yet to find a bush bean that I like.
The huge chard harvest happened again this week. I gave most of it away to a neighbor though I kept some for the week and gave some to my townhouse mates.
Earlier this week I showed you the first cuke harvest. Well the second one the next day was bigger. I'm growing two varities. Calypso has put out 18 cukes so far and Cross Country has put out 4. But Cross Country wins the taste test. Well taste is really a misnomer. Cucumbers are all about texture. I grow the pickling type to both pickle and eat fresh. Last year I grew Littleleaf and hated it intensely. The skins were tough. They pickled just fine, but weren't good for fresh eating. And even not that good for refrigerator pickles. Calypso is good for fresh eating, but Cross Country is great. The crispness is fabulous and the skin is totally unnoticeable. I'm hoping its production ramps up. It is an open pollinated variety so it would be nice since I could collect seed every year.
The other harvest in that basket is my beloved Kentucky Wonder beans. I love them with a passion. They don't taste like any other bean, but they appeal to my tastes. I made up a batch for dinner and made enough for two meals so I could have them cold the next day for lunch. I ended up eating the whole bowl. Now if I could just find a bush bean that had the same flavor, I'd be all set. I could grow a fall crop then. Maybe I'll try to put up a second planting of these. I've never done that before and don't really know the timing that I'd need.
I harvested two more zucchini. This time they were of a normal size. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them. I used to love to make zucchini lasagna where the zucchini is the noodle. But since I can't have tomatoes, I'll have to think of another way besides zucchini bread. I'm going to have to search for zucchini casseroles. Maybe with cheese. Or make up one myself.
- Alliums 0.43 lbs
- Beans 2.14 lbs
- Broccoli 0.74 lbs
- Cucurbit 9.38 lbs
- Greens 7.97 lbs
- Peas 1.53 lbs
- Beets 1.57 lbs
- Weekly total 23.77 lbs
- Yearly total 228.05 lbs
- Tally $177.23
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.
Oh man...I can't believe how many cukes you've already harvested! Ours are still just teasing us with flowers! I may have to try your varieties next year in addition to my favorite lemon cukes :-)
ReplyDeleteYour cucs are doing very well. I sure hope mine do better then last year.
ReplyDeleteIt will definitely be a challenge to find some no tomato zucchini recipes. I can't wait to see what you come up with!
Lovely harvest! You even have a few cool season things in there!
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting for my cukes to take off. I've gotten a couple, but they are lagging for sure this year. And the broccoli is toast in the heat. Your side shoots look great!
ReplyDeleteNice harvest. Our Kentucky Wonder beans should be read this week also. Yeh! They are hubby's favorites.
ReplyDeleteVery nice harvest of cucumbers, zuccs and beans!
ReplyDeleteI ended up without cukes this year; which is ok, maybe next year. Pretty beets, I love beets, especially home grown; they taste so different from canned ones. Too bad you couldn't have a couple chickens to help you eat that chard!
ReplyDeleteI like zucchini grilled on the bbq then dressed with salty, lemony, garlicky, olive oil.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had noticed your opinion of the Little Leaf cucumber before I planted this year as I have half of my cucumbers in Alibi (my old standby) and the other half in Little Leaf. I had tried to grow them the year before but they all ended up dieing. So I was determined to try them again this year, but had I known your opinion of the texture/quality, I would have passed on them and done another section of Alibi. Must have missed your overview on them.
ReplyDeleteYour harvest this week is quite abundant. Particularly the cucumbers and chard. I am jealous of your beans as ours are still several weeks away yet. Plants are growing strong and the earliest bush variety (Royal Burgundy) are starting to flower, but I still have a wait to go before I can enjoy them too.
Nice bunch of cukes. We like picklers, too, for fresh eating. This year I am trying Jackson Classic, an open pollinated variety with all female flowers. It has been more vigorous than the other cukes and flowering like crazy, but I'm still at least a week away from seeing a cucumber. For bush beans I really like Jade which produces long, slender, dark green pods with good taste.
ReplyDeleteI picked my first set of cucumbers this morning (not as many as you've got, though) and they're already pickled! Love this time of year...
ReplyDeleteLovely harvest. Have flowers on my beans but no pod in sight yet. Nice size broccoli shoots.
ReplyDeleteOh, I long for cucumbers! They look lovely, too. Still can't believe that you don't like beets... ;)
ReplyDeleteThe broccoli looks delicious! I've not been brave enough to try that yet. The cucumbers are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteLovely harvest. My pickling cukes never germinated so will only have slicers this year. Maybe if I hurry I could try again but it is getting real late to start anything here. Am still waiting for my bush beans to germinate.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the makings for a savory zucchini bread pudding. Thanks for the cucumber comparison — kind of like chickens, hard to find an all-purpose one!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great harvest! How many cucumber plants do you have? I was hoping to have enough for pickles but so far its a bust!
ReplyDeleteI have four around each tomato cage (so they each get a square foot of space). There should be 16 plants, but the reality is there are 15 since one never came up.
DeleteThis zucchini recipe on Skinny Taste looked good to me, I have a bunch of zucchini to use up, too. I'm going to try it soon. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/07/zucchini-casserole-25-pts.html
ReplyDeleteNO zucchini for me, my garden plot neighbors will have plenty to share should I desire any - I'm sure. I do have a bumper crop of carrots -- looking up carrot cake recipes now.
ReplyDeleteDon't you love broccoli side shoots? You get a big head and then side shoots. What a deal. Which variety produces the best side shoots for you? Susan
ReplyDeleteI haven't grown a lot of varieties. I didn't like Packman in past years. Windsor does better for me and is similar. Those are side shoots of Windosr. I also have Fiesta for the first time this year. It is a later variety and it just starting to produce those side shoots now.
DeleteAfter a good year last year with cucumbers this year not so much. Glad I still have pickles!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have any cukes this year. The Cross Country cukes sound great, will put them on the list for next year.
ReplyDeleteAs for your zucchini, you might be able to use a chard, goat cheese and garlic sauce like this one http://daisyinaction.com/blog/2010/08/29/garlic-and-goat-cheese-pasta/ I use it fresh over pasta, but it would probably bake well. With some added cheese on the top it would make a good casserole I think, or you could just steam the zucchini and add the sauce fresh. It would also help use up your chard harvest :).
We are still a week or two a way from our first cukes but I noticed 2 of 3 fruit are set and starting to grow! I never thought I'd say this but I'm jealous of your zucchini. Ours have some kind of wilt problem this year and I don't think the plants are going to make it. This will be the first year in 15 years of gardening that we won't have any Zucchini. :(
ReplyDeleteOh, do a web search for Michael Chiarello's zucchini saltimboca recipe, it's sooo good. And I just put a recipe for a savory zucchini tart on my recipe blog or search the web for Scarpaccia, there are a lot of versions out there. Both of these are good main course or appetizer zucchini recipes.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly had some great harvests this week. 9 pounds of cukes!
I'm tired of always being #31. I need to get up earlier on Mondays.
ReplyDeleteOh you make me laugh. You would have to get up before 5am your time.
DeleteI am so excited to be participating in my first Harvest Monday. Thanks for hosting this Daphne. Today was my biggest harvest of the year and I can't wait to see how everyone else did. I have met so many other great gardening bloggers from all around the world thanks to Harvest Mondays. Thanks again!!!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.growitathome.wordpress.com
Joelle
Oh, my cucumbers are smaller than my thumb still, so no harvest at all there Yet! Great to see all Your fantastic produce! Have a great week and thanks for hosting! :) Mia
ReplyDeleteInteresting discussion on cucumber flavor. I grew Country Fair(a pickler) a couple years ago because it has some resistance to bacterial wilt - a real problem at the community gardens. I hated it, thought it was hardly worth eating, but my friend who pickles loved it.
ReplyDeleteThis recipe is a favorite of my family: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/zucchini-appetizers/f60a354d-6e2e-46b9-bcc2-7fbd295821d6
I got it from my mother 40 years ago, but of course it is now on the net. I increase the zucchini from 3c. to 4c, and the onion to 1c., cut the salts in half and cut the oil to 1/3 c.
Finally, somebody else who grows beets but hates them! I actually grow them for my family who love them to death. Too bad I am not as good as you at growing them. :)
ReplyDeleteHi! Your harvest is so wonderful compared to my little skimpy one!! Nancy
ReplyDeleteLooking good! I love Kentucky Wonder beans, too!
ReplyDeleteand the broccoli looks good, too!
DeleteI just planted Kentucky Wonder yesterday, the package said 66 days, so I should be able to squeak in a harvest here in metro Detroit. I bet you could, too.
ReplyDeleteThose are nice-looking plump cukes. I've grown Divas for years and love the texture. This year I also grew a Picolino that I've been picking for a few weeks. It tastes great but just doesn't produce well. Kentucky Wonder is a great bean. I've never had a bush bean that is as good.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of cukes, nice harvest! I only have one Asian cucumber plant that was given to me, it must be a female plant, every flower sets fruit, so far I've gotten 15+ cucumbers from just one plant, wish I know the source of the seeds.
ReplyDelete*sigh* So jealous of your cucumbers, my balcony is too hot/dry for them. :(
ReplyDeleteFor the zucchini, what comes to mind is moussaka with zucchini instead of eggplants, because I always plan to make moussaka and then I'm always too lazy! My mother often made zucchini soup, which was one of my favourites as a kid, but I'd have to ask her how she makes it, I haven't managed to figure it out by myself
Thanks for your thoughts on cucumbers...love those calypos!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy zucchinis although admit they can be hard to think of options for them. Last summer I tried to vary what I did with them and found a great zucchini and dill fritters recipe and a great recipe for marinated zucchinis. They are on my recipe list on my blog if you wanted to try them.
I am jealous of your townhouse mates! Beets grown in the garden is so much sweeter than store bought ones. I just started cucumbers so I am nowhere near harvesting, but my community garden mate shared one of hers with me. It was fantastic. Can't wait for my cucumbers to grow!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful harvest. Looks like you will be making some pickles. I don't like beets either but grow them once and a while. I like the greens and can usually hide them in something so that we don't notice the flavor.
ReplyDeleteI love Kentucky Wonder beans and grow them every year. The vines usually keep producing until frost.
I had a vegetable lasagna with a bechamel or Alfredo type sauce once. No noodles, just alternating layers of vegetables such as zucchini, summer squash, and eggplant along with cheeses and the sauce. I think there was some spinach in there too. It was very good.
I swapped out my Kentucky Wonders for Lazy Wife this year and we had our first harvest the other night. They are so delicious and the best part is they have no strings! A friend gave me some Maribel Haricot bush beans that I planted just for the heck of it, and they are also really yummy.
ReplyDeleteIt all looks great. I don't know about how you keep up with so much. It feels as though my cucumbers and zucchini hide under the leaves, so I have enormous pickling cukes that aren't good fresh. At least the chickens love them. I hope your favorite gives you lots and lots.
ReplyDeletelovely harvests this week :)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how we like to grow things that we don't like to eat but just appeal to our senses. Good thing others can make use of those beets!
ReplyDelete