The summer veggies may be making their last appearance. I harvested some of the remaining green beans. I've had a good green bean year and have plenty in the freezer.
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| Blue Coco and Garden of Eden Beans |
My giant okra plant that flopped over still produces. I find it much easier to harvest when it is sideways, especially when I'm only five feet tall!
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| Basket of okra from my sideways plant |
The tomatoes slowly ripen although many of them have been damaged by an assortment of insects. I've been harvesting them as soon as they are the tiniest bit red to get to them before the bugs do. There's still quite a few green tomatoes out there.
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| A mix of paste tomatoes |
The summer veggie I always miss the most are sweet bell peppers. I can't complain because this year has been a record pepper year for me, but I will still miss them.
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| How many peppers can I pile in a pail? |
I'm also harvesting eggplants and more Seminole pumpkins. I have quite a pumpkin pile growing on my kitchen counter. This winter I will need to explore some new pumpkin recipes.
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| Seminole Pumpkins and Eggplants |
I've also been working on shelling dried beans. I've yet to weigh them, but the black beans have been the most productive. I've also got pinto and kidney beans in there along with a few soybeans, which I'll be saving to replant next spring.
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| A bowl of dried beans |
On Sunday, two friends texted and asked what we were doing and I replied, digging up sweet potatoes. Well, they showed up with a shovel and with four people it only took about 30 minutes to dig up all the sweet potatoes! I've yet to weigh them, but there were some good sized potatoes. There's definitely less than last year, but I did plant less because last year was 175 lbs and that was just ridiculous. They need to cure for about two weeks at a warm temperature and high humidity. To attempt to get those conditions I put them on a heat mat and place a container of water inside while leaving the lid ajar.
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| Sweet Potato Bounty |
My harvested peanuts from last week should be dry by now. I'm sure the squirrels ate some, but there seems to be plenty left. I also had a suspiciously turned over wheelbarrow next to the fence where the peanuts were drying with some peanut shells scattered about.
Weekly Harvests (lbs):
Chard 0.81Peppers 4.62
Okra 1.04
Green beans 0.88
Tomatoes 5.99
Eggplant 1.83
Winter squash 5.28
Sweet potato greens 0.42
Yearly Harvests: 954.6 lbs
That's all the harvests coming from my garden this week. To see what others are harvesting, check out Harvest Monday on Our Happy Acres.
175lb of sweet potatoes is a lot for sure! Though at least you can eat on them for a long time. We have a frost coming here this weekend too, so I know what you mean about busy. And if you come up with more pumpkin uses I would like to hear about them. I have lots of uses for them in desserts, but about all I do with them for savory dishes is either soup or curries. I'm sorry I didn't ask you sooner about your Dickinson photo, but it was a last minute idea on my part. I was thinking a photo would be nice for the show, then I remembered you had taken some good ones. Next year I plan to grow it here, based on your results.
ReplyDeleteWe have had our first frosts and it shows. That is a great haul of sweet bell peppers we never manage to grow very many here as they have to be grown in the greenhouse. This year has been up all year for them for us anyway. Sweet potatoes are something we've never managed to grow either.
ReplyDeleteOh, the big scramble before that first frost...a distant memory for me already! Wow to those peppers and loving the beans as well. Those still look like a LOT of sweet potatoes - you won't be lacking this winter. I can't imagine how you got through 175 lbs of them - must have been on the menu several times a week!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm short too so I can relate :) I actually purchased a couple of those plastic step stools and during the summer keep them beside garden beds with plants that tend to get tall like beans and peas. Makes for much easier picking.
That Giant Okra must be really huge! I'm on the short side also so I keep a step ladder in the garden, it really helps to harvest the veggies growing on trellises. So many lovely vegetables left in your garden, the frost will make such a huge difference. I think my garden will be mostly cleared out of summer veggies by the time the frost arrives here.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing harvest. What are your secrets for growing many okras and sweet potatoes? Do share as I want to learn. They are two of my favorite veggeis.
ReplyDeleteCan you please put a follow by email button on your blog so that I can continue to read your words of wisdom? I will miss you when the forum finishes.
ReplyDeleteI think I've added the follow by email button on the right side now!
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