Monday, June 23, 2014

Harvest Monday 6/23/14

My garden and I survived an entire week separated.  I'm sure I had much more anxiety about it than the garden.  We went camping in New York and Vermont, which was beautiful and very nice to escape the 90 degree days down south.  When we arrived home the first thing I did was to check on the garden.  My worst fears about deer taking out the fence and having a feast were not materialized.  Everything was fine.  The weeds grew and the squash bugs and vine borers had arrived in my absence, but other than that all was fine.  Here's the veggies that awaited my return:


That over sized zucchini was stuffed with onion, quinoa, cheese and parsley:


I started digging up the potatoes and they are not very big.  I read that some people wait until the entire plant is dead and dried up before harvesting.  I'm going to leave the rest of the potatoes to die back and see if it makes a difference in the size.  I've never had a great potato harvest.  I was excited this year because it was the first time I had a potato plant flower.  I'm not sure what the problem is, perhaps it gets too hot for them.  I may try a fall crop if I have the room and I probably need to get them planted earlier in the spring.

As I harvested these small potatoes, J said that they would be great for salted potatoes.  I thought this was just boiled potatoes with some salt, but it turns out that it is an Upstate New York specialty (where he is from) that involves a ton of salt.  I found that the recipe started in Syracuse in the 1800s by salt mine workers.  Basically you boil small, whole potatoes in a brine with a ton of salt (1 1/2 cups for 4 lbs of potatoes)!  This is the recipe I used and J approved of it: Syracuse Salt Potatoes.  I'm not a huge fan of salty foods, but with the butter I have to say they were pretty tasty.


When I left the garden, the broccoli was forming heads and I was concerned that they would be flowering by the time we got back, but they were fine.  This is the first year I've grown broccoli under a row cover and now I don't have to meticulous clean them searching for cabbage worms, plus the plants did much better not getting munched on.  However, somehow a dove got inside my row cover!  I have no clue how it got in there and it was flapping about trying to get out.  It appears that my row covers have effectively kept out cabbage moths, but not doves!


My kale continues to survive the heat under the shade cloth.  The plants haven't gotten very large, but they have yet to bolt.  I've been getting cucumbers and hope to have enough to make the first batch of pickles this week.  I also harvested the first banana peppers.


Harvests for this week:

Onion 12.1oz
Herbs 1.4 oz
Kale         1.9 oz
Amaranth 0.3 oz
Turnips 5.8 oz
Potatoes 2.8 lbs
Chard 3 oz
Squash 4.9 lbs
Broccoli 1.5 lbs
Peppers 1.8 oz
Cucumber  6.1 lbs
Beans 13 oz
Carrots 0.7 oz (I pulled one carrot to see how big they were.  Definitely need to keep waiting on the carrots.)
Weekly total: 17.8 lbs
Yearly total: 41 lbs

That's all the harvests coming from my garden this week.  To see what others are harvesting check out Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions.

10 comments:

  1. What a wonderful homecoming! The stuffed zucchini looks absolutely scrumptious. That is so funny about the dove - must have been quite the sight when you went out to the garden!

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    1. I don't know who was more shocked.. me or the dove! I'm surprised it didn't rip a hole in the cover trying to get out.

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  2. You're harvesting broccoli and I'm getting ready to start seeds for a fall crop. Nice coming- home to presents though! I'll show my wife the Zucchini, she'll love that.

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    1. It's almost time for me to start fall broccoli seeds too. It's nice that we can get two broccoli harvests a year since it's one of my favorite veggies.

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  3. I can so identify with your qualms about leaving the garden. I always rush to check on ours too! Glad to hear yours did fine while you were away. I love seeing that white scalloped squash. I'm growing them again for the first time in years. Not too many people know about them, which is a shame.

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    1. I love the scalloped squash too. I'm not sure how I got introduced to it, but I like growing veggies that are unique and aren't found in the grocery store. Unfortunately the vine borers seem to love that squash too, so I usually don't get a big harvest.

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  4. Beautiful harvest! I'll be getting my first zucchini tomorrow...can't wait. I'm growing patty pan for the first time and am excited to taste it. Your potatoes look great as well.

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    1. I like to cut the patty pan into slices that look like flowers and grill it. It also makes a nice squash for stuffing. Enjoy your first zucchini!

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  5. Lovely harvests. Like you I get anxious at the garden when on vacation. Though most of my anxiety about it is before the vacation, not during.

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  6. I am so happy that all was well in your garden on your return from vacation. The bounty is incredible. I love the squash.

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