Monday, August 6, 2012

Harvest Monday, August 6th, 2012

Corn is by far the queen of the garden right now. I pick the ears as they become ripe. I had a lot of germination issues and had to resow multiple times, so they have been ripening slowly over time. That is a good thing for timing, but bad overall as there are gaps in the bed. The corn is queen not for its production, but for its taste. My husband won't eat most of the things that come out of my garden, but last night he asked why we didn't have corn. We probably should have as now the rest is starting to ripen all at once.

The basil got two harvests. It was starting to bloom. When it does I cut it back by half. This time I could use it as I dehydrated and froze it for the winter. There was so much though that my townhouse mates got enough to make pesto also.

The cukes are half dead from wilt, but somehow they keep putting out cukes. So far I've only had to toss one from bitterness. But the worst of the deformed cukes don't see the scale. They get tossed right away. And as you can see I'm still harvesting broccoli. When the weather heats up it occasionally gets brown patches in the middle of the "head" that I have to cut out. I say head, but really these are side shoots. They may not be the prettiest, but they sure are productive. I have a lot more coming too. Fiesta is a very productive broccoli. And I can live without pretty heads. I'm not a market gardener. I eat the stuff myself. I don't care how it looks as long as it tastes good.

I picked more dried beans this week. I think they are Yellow Eye. But I'll find out when I shell them as I watch the Olympics. I need to harvest more, but it was too wet this morning to get into the beans. Picking bush beans is tedious, so I'll do it in patches. Normally I'd just rip the whole plant up by the roots and harvest that way which is much faster, but it looks like the plants might put out another set of blossoms. So for now they live.

Though the beans in their shells won't get weighed until they are shelled and completely harvested, I found I had a bag of unshelled beans from last year. I must have totally overlooked them. But these were shelled and weighed. They are some mixed runner beans, Apache Red, and Trail of Tears.

The two Cherokee Purple tomatoes don't look pretty, do they? I'm sure my townhouse mates appreciated them though. Since neither my husband or I eat them, next year I won't grow them. I find the foliage hard to avoid even tucked away in the back. Tomatoes have a tendency to take over. (For those that are new, I'm sensitive to all the nightshade crops. I can't eat them and even touching them can cause reactions.)
  • Beans 1.57 lbs
  • Broccoli 1.73 lbs
  • Corn 4.06
  • Cucurbit 10.63 lbs
  • Herbs 1.96 lbs
  • Tomato 1.48 lbs
  • Weekly total 21.41 lbs
  • Yearly total 319.87 lbs
  • Tally $460.45
  • Fruit:
  • Raspberries 0.08 lbs
  • Yearly total 25.93 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.

52 comments:

  1. Beautiful looking corn! I have never tried to grow it. I also have Fiesta broccoli and two other varieties and this is the first year I've gotten enough to freeze as well as eat fresh. You're right, if it isn't for market, just cut out the bad looking parts, it still tastes wonderful! Your dry beans look wonderful too, something else I've never tried but would like to one day!

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  2. I love your garden. The beans are beautiful, and the corn is amazing looking. I am sure it tastes great. I am with you... I don't care how my food crops look as long as they taste great.

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  3. Your corn is beautiful! So happy that it tastes as good as it looks too. Your basil looks nice and healthy. Mine is beginning to look ragged. I hear you on harvesting bush beans. Stooping and looking for the beans is difficult. I can't wait until the pole beans start producing.

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  4. Your corn looks fabulous and the beans are just beautiful.

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  5. I've bought all the corn I've eaten this year from local growers. It's not quite as good as what you grow yourself, but not bad. Your ears look great, with nice tender kernels.

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  6. Nice corn. Mine is coming in too! We love it! My daughter keeps asking everyday if we can pick more!

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  7. Ah, looks like the corn was worth all of the attention and replanting! Well done!

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  8. Like the commenters above, I too love your corns, they are perfect. I should try growing fiesta broccoli next year.

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  9. The corn is picture perfect and I would love a cucumber right now.

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  10. That corn photo up top just stopped me in my tracks (mentally) - how GORGEOUS! I gave up on growing corn a long time ago as I just can't count on the weather giving me enough sunny warmth. On another note, while it's a good thing that your tomatoes can be appreciated by others, I was surprised to learn that you can't eat anything from the nightshade family and of anyone being intolerant to all of those related crops. Learn something new every day...

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  11. I'm enjoying the market miracle tomatoes, the seeds which came from you. What a producer! Cherokee purples are okay but not as heavy producing and I find the skins split so easily.

    So sorry you're still off all nightshades. Is that a permanent thing you think?

    Oh, I forgot to mention what lovely corn. Picking it and immediately cooking and eating is the best way. No room for corn in my garden. Maybe next year.

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    1. Sadly yes I think it is permanent. Since I've gotten it out of my system (took about 7 months) I've noticed symptoms that I've had all my life that have gone away. I've probably always been sensitive to them, but never had enough before last year to make it acute enough to figure out what it was.

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  12. That is really beautiful corn. I am worried about adequate pollination in my patch this year. We only just had a few warm days and I am not sure if it was too late to ensure a good pollen release. Keeping my fingers crossed because some sweet corn is sounding good at the moment. You really are getting quite a bit of cucumbers from a patch that apparently is suffering from wilt.

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  13. Daphne, you are brave for growing thing that you cannot eat! I'm sure your townhouse mates appreciate it! The corn looks fantastic! I can only imagine how delicious they are:)

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  14. Your corn looks very healthy, right to the tip! Nice job. Our cucumbers were a bust this year. We'll miss them. You have great yields this week. Nice job!

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  15. Such beautiful corn! And the cucumbers seem to be doing very nicely as well!

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  16. That corn really looks tasty with both white and yellow corns in it! What variety is it? Feels so sorry for You with the tomatoes and other relatives, I myself is a bit sensitive with the strong tomatopollen (and sunflowers, though they are not related), but thankfully I can still eat tomatoes and chillies! I really understand if You don´t want to grow them anymore! Good Job pealing bens when watching the Olympics! We cheer for Your basketball team every game, since ours didn't make it there! Hope You have a great week ahead of You! :) Mia

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    1. The corn is Ambrosia. Bicolor corn is popular in our area of the US.

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  17. your corn is really beautiful. I think mine is about done. I never got around to planting the last set I was going to and now it's probably too late. Which is ok, carrots are so much more productive. Such a shame about you and the nightshades, they are such a big part of our garden products. But I suppose that just makes you that much more creative in gardening & cooking!

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  18. Oh I'm with you on the corn but I quit growing it. It just doesn't like something here on the mountain. I grew great corn at my other house but didn't get an ear last year.

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  19. Beautiful harvest and I love that corn and fresh basil!

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  20. Your corn looks beautiful, and I'm guessing its equally as delicious. The last two years ours have been full of nothing buy worms - what do you do to prevent them?

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    1. Nothing. So far I haven't had any worms in the corn. No one seems to grow them around here. At my last house I just let them come. They ate the tips but nothing else. I cut them out when I harvested.

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  21. I definitely have to try growing corn next year! They look so wonderful! My hard bean plants also decided to flower again after picking some pods. I'm always amazed of the plants' will to produce.

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  22. The corn looks fantastic. I haven't made room for it in my garden, I get it from the farmer's market. Anyway, since you won't be growing tomatoes next year, you'll have more room for corn!

    Wow, over 300 pounds of produce so far! I haven't even broken 100.

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  23. I'm always a smidge jealous of those who can grow great corn. We have never had luck with our corn. Darn it. Yours look fantastic & yummy!

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  24. A beautiful harvest again this week. I'm jealous of your corn. We decided this year that we really just didn't have the room for corn so our only source will be the farmers market this year!!

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  25. I had some pollination issues this year. My local organic guru said that blooming basil (especially African blue) pulls more pollinators into her garden than anything else. Of course, I'd been keeping mine cut back so that it wouldn't bloom! Next year you might try mixing basil through your garden that is allowed to bloom. She said by putting it in the midst of your other plants, it confuses the pollinators and they'll end up pollinating everything in sight once they get there.

    Your corn is making my mouth water!

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  26. I am getting a harvest, but the drought and the bunnies took a substantial toll. I'm replanting for a late fall harvest. It is too early to give up. More yellow squash for supper. No tomatoes yet on my hill.

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  27. wow that corn looks just perfect!! Lovely harvests this week!

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  28. From an Indiana boy who grew up eating lots of sweet corn - those bicolor ears are a thing of beauty. Too bad about the wilt. My cukes got it last year and it's a slow death, every day they got a little worse.

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  29. So jealous of your corn, i bought seed for it this year but didn't get the area cleared to plant it. Guess I'll try again next year.

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  30. Oh, your corn is just beautiful! I am envious! The rest of your harvest is wonderful too. I am sure your neighbors appreciate your tomatoes! Sorry you can't enjoy them! Nancy

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  31. I am loving your corn and basil. They both are making me hungry right now. Your dried beans look so pretty in the jars.

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  32. Nice corn. I am excited to try some next year. After reading all the blogs and seeing everyones success, I just have to try it. I think I will have to try that broccoli too. Like you, we eat what we grow, so look isn't as important as taste.

    I find it funny that your husband is like mine. He won't eat much out of the garden either. This year he is helping and getting a bit more excited but still not eating much. However he will eat what I can. So I do a lot of preserving.

    Great harvest!!!

    http://www.growitathome.wordpress.com
    Joelle

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  33. Oh, what beautiful dry beans! It was going to be my first year to try them, but unfortunately with the crazy hot heat my plants didn't set any pods.

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  34. We grew the purple tomatoes too - they look just about the same as yours. Your beans look lovely.

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  35. Oh your corn looks so divine! I'm still cursing those squirrels. I have one bed of July planted corn, but for some reason my late planted corn never gets big and makes little ears. Although I definitely will not complain about any corn this year!

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  36. I can only grow Indian Corn (because the raccoons eat all my sweet corn), do you think I can eat it?

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    1. I would guess that it is just a dried corn variety. Which means you could grind it and use it for corn meal.

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  37. Beautiful corn and cukes. I never got an ear as nice as yours so I don't grow it anymore. So far wilt hasn't been a big problem with my cukes.

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  38. Beautiful harvest Daphne!! Love the corn!!

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  39. A sad note that you won't grow any tomatoes next year, but your lovely royal highness corn will fill the void. Those ears of yours sure look tasty!

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  40. that corn is stunning! especially after seeing all the sad little ears that farmers are getting this season due to the drought.

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  41. Beautiful corn! I don't have the space to grown them, maybe someday I will if the market is flooded with gmo corns.

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  42. That is a nice series of harvests Daphne. I wish my broccoli was still good. The side shoots are growing well but they taste really bad. Maybe they need a good cut back to force new growth?

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  43. Another spectacular haul. Your cobs look beautiful and well fertilised. I wish I had your success with corn.

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  44. Your corn looks perfect. I had low germination with mine also. Resowing didn't help. There were 4 or 5 stalks (maybe), last time I checked. Not likely to produce.

    Great haul. I wasn't aware about your nightshade sensitivity. (How did I miss that ? Will have to backtrack and see. Oops, don't see your 'search this blog' or label cloud ?). So tomatillos and peppers too ?

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    1. Yes and eggplants and potatoes. Anything in the nightshade family. So I also have to be careful around nightshade weeds and petunias. Not that I eat those, but touching can be an issue if I don't wash it off right away.

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  45. That way which is much faster, but it looks like the plants might put out another set of blossoms. So for now they live.

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