Monday, July 9, 2012

Harvest Monday, July 2nd, 2012

The only real harvest I got last week was basil - 10.7 oz. It got either dried or frozen for next year. Mostly I was camping last week. I wanted to pick the beans before I left but it was raining so I elected to let them grow. It turns out they are a good size right now, so it wasn't a mistake. I really don't like being in the bean bed when it is wet.

I did have one other harvest, but it doesn't get weighed until it is all dried and cleaned up and that is a couple week process. The leaves were beginning to die down on the garlic. Usually I let them go a bit more, but with vacation on the horizon, I was afraid they would lose too many leaves while I was gone and I wouldn't have garlic that would store well. So better to pick early. The leaves that are alive are the leaves that are the wrappers on the garlic, so the more the merrier for storage. This variety is German Extra Hardy and it will keep until the next harvest is ready in July. I still have garlic from last year that hasn't started sprouting and isn't rotting. I've grown others but I finally got rid of them and just grow this one. I love the size of the cloves for cooking. They are just huge.

I let them dry outside for a day. Usually I don't. I don't like to let the garlic see so much light. Usually I just keep them out for a couple of hours to let the dirt dry off, but life kept me from that. After I brush the dirt off a bit, I group them into 10s and hang them from the beam of the bike shed with string. The dirt doesn't really matter at this point, but I don't want the bikes to get too dirty. In a couple of weeks from when they were hung, I'll take them down and clean them off and cut the tops off. When I had softnecks I'd braid them, but this variety is a hardneck so I'll leave long necks (less chance of rot) and put them in a mesh bag in the basement.

Now I have space to put something else into the garden. The plan has kale going here. I'll probably start some indoors and plant out toward the end of July.

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.

55 comments:

  1. That basil looks great! I too pulled my garlic and need to plant more... The possibilities seem endless at times!

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  2. You are amazingly efficient with your garden space. The garlic looks especially nice.

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  3. The garlic looks fabulous. I'm not sure about kale for that bed, the adjoining bed looks like its about to take it over, are they beans?

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    1. Yes they are bush beans. I'll keep them in their own bed. Well in the bed and on the path. Right now it is hard to walk down that path, but I really don't need to much. Most of the beans are dried beans so I can ignore them until harvest time.

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  4. Garlic harvests are so exciting! Yours looks wonderful.

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  5. Basil and garlic....a great combination :)

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  6. Garlic is always exciting to harvest and it looks as though you've gotten quite a haul! Good stuff :-)

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  7. I wish I could decide on only one garlic to grow. There are so many varieties and I want to grow them all. I've been following one of my garlic beds with kale, and that seems to work well. Though I'm guessing I will have to baby the kale this year, with the dry and hot weather.

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  8. Great garlic harvest!

    I think the title of your post is off by a week :)

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  9. I thought I was experiencing "Ground Hog Day" ;-) We just composted 20 bulbs of German Extra Hardy stored from last year to make room for this year's harvest -- the name's well-deserved!

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  10. First time here, thanks for hosting!

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  11. Wow that's a lot of garlic! Very nice! I harvested my garlic a week or so ago, and I was so thrilled! But I didn't have that much!

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  12. Hi, Daphne! Now i will start my harvest season (a bit late but lots of work has been in the way before). You have some real fine basil there! My garlic will soon be pickable too, otherwise You are so long before me 'over there'! Hope You have a nice week with a lot of harvest before You! :) Mia

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  13. Awesome garlic and basil! How do you freeze your basil? I have a good batch and am trying to decide how to preserve it.

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    1. This batch I just tossed the leaves into a plastic bag and put it in the freezer. The flavor holds, but when the leaves are defrosted they turn black. So good for some things and not others. Later I'll also freeze with a pureed basil in oil. That holds its color a bit better. Not perfect, but not bad.

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  14. Love basil! Mine is really just starti g to grow. I'm planning to freeze it once I can start picing more than a leaf or two.

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  15. I love basil, too. My basil didn't produce as much harvest this year as last, and I have been worried that I might have to buy some dried basil to have enough for the year. I still have one plant in the garden, and I am hoping it grows big.

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  16. Your garlic is impressive--and planted so close together. My small patch was overtaken by the sweet peas on the trellis. Now I've lost my starts for next year. Any secrets? Susan

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    1. Find a variety of garlic that is good for your area. Typically softnecks do well in warmer areas. But I had two garlics that did well at my last house. But here one of those varieties rotted out too much. Half the bulbs were bad. Luckily the other thrives here. And make sure that it always gets full sun and keep it well weeded. I plant mine 6" apart. I make sure the bed is fertilized when planted with a lot of K and P and just a little N. Then when they start to grow in the spring I give them a good dose of N (slow release organic). Raised beds help with garlic. And I mulch with compost.

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  17. Love the garlic. Do you save some of your harvest to plant this fall? I have never had good luck with garlic but want to try it again this fall. Where did you get the original?

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    1. I forget where I bought the original. I am drying the garlic. When it is dry it will be good for about a year. Which means I'll have lots of cloves to plant in the fall. About a fifth of my harvest gets replanted as they make about five cloves each (for this variety). The cloves are very large.

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  18. The Garlic looks great!! Ours is coming out this week!

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  19. So that's what rust-free garlic looks like?! Beautiful.

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  20. Mmm, basil and garlic, I can smell if from here! Yum. My basil is just starting to take off and I have no garlic this year (boo hoo). Who's that cutie pie helping you with the garlic harvest? I don't remember seeing him/her in your photos before.

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    1. He is Kronos, my daughter's dog. He lives in Canada mostly, but my daughter came down for a couple of months. I wasn't going to train him to the garden, but I finally gave in. Turns out he took no time to learn to keep off the beds. He is a pretty smart dog and really wants to please. Though for the garlic harvest I had him tied in because I was going to be there so long.

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  21. That garlic looks great! Nice to have a garden buddy.

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  22. Oh wow, what a fantastic harvest. It puts my bowl of broad beans for three to shame.Well done.

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  23. Wow look at that basil and all the garlic!! Two of my all time favorites!
    I am linking up today my first HM post of 2012!!
    Thank you for doing this it is just soo much fun!

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  24. Hope you had a fun camping trip! Looks like you had a nice garlic and basil harvest. I've never frozen basil except as pesto, might have to try that sometime. Oh and your garden helper is very adorable!

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  25. Nice garlic harvest. I'm going to try garlic this fall. I will have to look for German Hardy, I think Fedco carries them. For my bush beans, I use the little folding wire fences you can buy anywhere. I insert them around the sides of the raised bed and they serve to keep the beans from flopping into the paths. I pull them out in the fall and just hang them in the shed.

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  26. I cleaned out both freezers today, and I'm wondering where I'll put this year's harvest. Especially since I'm planning on a fall garden, and I don't even have room to store all the stuff from the spring/summer garden! My kids need to eat more squash and beans.

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  27. A great havest of garlic! That and the basil will make for some yummy cooking. Love your little blonde helper too! Nancy

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  28. Yum to the basil and the garlic both. :)

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  29. The basil and the garlic both look great.

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  30. Wow garlic and basil, they look so nice and healthy.

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  31. I'll be attempting garlic this year. I hope it turns out half as nice as yours.

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  32. Lovely basil. I need to trim mine back and freeze it up for winter. On the to do list.

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  33. Great crop of basil and wonderful harvest of garlic, hope it all stores well for you.........
    Brought a new cookery book yesterday and there was a great recipe for fresh garlic and potato soup..........will have to wait 5 more months to try !

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  34. I can almost smell the basil. I'm amazed at how fragrant basil is every time I walk by some basil in the garden.

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  35. I'm a bit late getting started this week, but I'm here! Love the garlic and basil! I have just got to grow some garlic this fall, I'm soooo jealous of everyone's great looking garlic harvests.

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  36. Great garlic harvest. Will look for your variety if I make it to the garlic festival in the fall.

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  37. I was wondering why you will start the kale inside, instead of seeding directly in the bed?

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    1. Because it is too hot outside. I've found in the summer it is better to start them outdoors. In the cooler weather it is easy to start things from seed outside. Also if I don't have many seeds I always start indoors because the success rate is higher.

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  38. The basket of basil looks lovely and nIce garlic harvest as well. My garlic will be ready to pull in a week or so. I am waiting for one more leaf to begin to brown. I don't know what I will plant in its place. Usually I try to follow with a fall batch of carrots. Your beans in the next bed look like they want to take over the world.

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  39. Holly cow that's alot of garlic! I'll have to borrow a page from your gardening book and plant more next year. :)

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  40. Nice garlic, I picked mine today as well. I see you have a dog now too!

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  41. I am growing a garden this year after many years of not gardening. I saw a link on another blog. I look forward to seeing and reading more. Great harvest of garlic. I harvested mine about a month ago. Just harvested all my potatoes.

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  42. Daphne- Finally I get to link with your Monday post! I too harvested some garlic. This is my first year, so I am a little unsure as I go. It looks like I harvested mine at the exact stage you did. What a fun crop!

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  43. Your basil is beautiful and your garlic looks yummy. My family loves camping!! BTW I know I live in Mississippi now but I guess I had my home state of Louisiana on my mind when I put up my link. :-)

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  44. I love visually seeing how much space a years worth of garlic looks like! You take great pictures!

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  45. You are an amazing gardener. I'd love to have you map out my beds... I'm wasting a lot of space and doing things wrong. Our season is only 3 months so I don't get 2nd plantings. I have 408 sf of outside beds (could be more) and (I think) 248 sf in the greenhouse (I'm winging the measurements, but it's close). I can't seem to wrap my head around decision making like you do. You have a plan!! I'm thinking I planted my garlic too far apart and could have gotten a lot more bang for my buck.

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  46. I stumbled across your blog via The Edible Garden. I was intrigued by your Monday Blog Hop. Not sure I completely understand what it is. Can you help me with that? I was impressed with your garlic. When did you plant the garlic to be harvested now? I was going to plant this fall for a spring crop. Have you done that before? I really like your blog. I am looking forward to reading more.

    http://www.growitathome.wordpress.com

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    1. I planted my garlic in October. I'm much farther north than you so our planting and harvesting times are probably different. It is also variety dependent.

      Harvest Monday is eye candy and inspiration. Everyone links their harvest posts in Mr Linky. The idea is that everyone can see what is being harvested all over the world. To me it is mostly eye candy. I love looking at all of them. But I've also drawn inspiration from some. I've planted things I haven't even through about growing here. This is the first year I've grown sweet potatoes. It isn't an easy crop up here in the north, but with the heat this year I might get a good one.

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  47. gorgeous basil! Mine is being consumed by Japanese beetles =(

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