Harvest Monday, August 19th, 2013

The beans finally started to come in this week. The hand watering really did the trick. So they joined the zucchini and cucumbers in the harvest baskets. And as you can see the melons joined them.

It was definitely the week of the melon. Sadly melons always come ripe at the same time. I need to get two varieties that are ripen at different times. Ambrosia would do that. It is a great melon, but it doesn't always have time to ripen here. The above melons are Halona which is a cantaloupe and the bottom one is Sensation. The biggest of the cantaloupes was over six pounds. So they were good size melons this year

It has been a good melon season. Often we get a big rainstorm in August that cracks my melons before they are truly ripe, but this year the rain has held off at the appropriate time. It also means the melons don't get watery which can be a problem here. OK I say a good melon season, but the reality is that it has been the best melon season in the three years I've been growing in this garden. I've been very happy.

Sadly it was the last of the peaches this week. I'll miss them.

And the first patch of corn was finished up. I'll be picking the next batch this week.

A massive batch of chard was picked - over 17 pounds. I really shouldn't let my chard patch get away from me. It is easier to pick it at least every other week and freeze it in small batches.

A few odds and ends were picked. Some broccoli and some celery.

And last but not least the first of the dried beans was ready to be weighed. These are Tigers Eye beans. Not only are they the prettiest bean I've ever seen, but they are also one of the tastiest. Well really it is the texture. They are the smoothest, creamiest bean that I have ever tasted. Sadly they aren't all that prolific. I have some unshelled still, but I won't get more than a pound of beans in the end. And that was from a 4'x 8' bed. Though to be fair the beans had rust in them very early on so they did struggle to produce.

I'm finally feeling like it is summer and I'm having trouble keeping up with the harvests. Before I was wondering where my harvests were. I'm still about 150 pounds below normal for this time of the year. Mainly that means I'm not sharing as much as usual. I've yet to share any beans, cukes, or zucchini with my townhouse mates. Usually those are the summer staples to share when they come in heavily. I will be giving away some cukes this coming week though. All I need to do is make two jars of bread and butter pickles, then my pickling days are over for the year.

• Alliums 2.27 lbs
• Beans 3.23 lbs
• Corn 8.96 lbs
• Cucumbers 7.03 lbs
• Greens 17.88 lbs
• Melons 24.04 lbs
• Squash 5.80 lbs
• Weekly Tally 69.70 lbs
• Yearly Tally 251.03 lbs, $392.44
• Fruit
• Peaches 3.87 lbs
• Apples 0.28 lbs
• Rhubarb 2.89 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.