Today's harvest

EmilWix said:

By the way, what type of garlic do you grow? Garlic has different soil requirements depending on the variety. That's why I only grow one type. I've forgotten its name because I replant the same bulbs every year

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There's quite a crowd of people here that grow different kinds of garlic.

I grow a hardneck russian red and live in Wisconsin, we have cold winters.

Today, 1220 raspberries-maybe that rain yesterday made them ripen more today.

I got the first ripening of several tomatoes today, the Pruden's Purple sort of surprised me. The Genuwine hybrid was the largest, so far; only 8.2, so nothing huge, but nice. The first ripening Superfantastik, and a few of those Negro Aztekas ripened, with no more BER, which I had quite a few with, at first. The flavor of that Negro Azteka is really good - stronger than that other black cherry this year - Ron's Carbon Copy - which is a little milder, even after ripening a few days longer.
About 1 1/2 qts cherries and other small tomatoes, the darker black ones are the first Negro Aztekas to ripen. 7-3 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Genuwine, Pruden's Purple, Oaxacan Jewel, and a Superfantastic. 7-3 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

All of the tomatoes I harvested from that ROSELLA plant, that I pulled, due to a severe blight. Many are ripening. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I picked the second bottle gourd, almost double the weight of the first, just 2" longer. 27.2 oz, vs. 14.7 oz. And the first Matrosik picked - the only non-Asian variety for me. Only 14.95 oz - I know some others that have gotten this variety to 24 oz, so now I know what it looks like.
1st Matrosik EP, and 2nd bottle gourd, with another Asian Delight EP, 7-3 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

As far as garlic goes, I grow German white because I've had the most consistent success with this variety and a garlic farm about 30 miles north grows the same variety with success. I figure let me stick to what the local pros use. That being said, I'll often toss a row of a new variety in just to see how it does or for curiosity. My German whites store for about 10 months before starting two sprout.

Kirbies and cukes kicking in. Made my first few jars or pickles and another jar of cucumber salad. ***My kirbies seem to significantly more Male flowers than female. Im a little concerned about this***

Cabbages have come and gone, with enough sauerkraut for the year made.

Garlic still curing, II will likely tie them up and hang them in the garage today. Most were good sized. The smaller ones I just use for pickling.

First planting of string beans has already peaked. Blanched and froze over a gallon of beans, which will last me the year. The second and third planting we will just cook with and eat as they come. If we have too many, we'll just freeze more.

Eggplants looking healthy. Only grew the Ichiban variety this year, as I have the most luck with them. May be my best eggplant year yet, with only 2 plants.

Peppers also looking good. Last year, I made the mistake of not pulling out a cucumber and spaghetti squash that were in the wrong spot in the garden ( likely self planted from the compost). They shaded out the peppers and climbed up the pepper cages. I thought they would be ok, but I thought wrong. Worst pepper year I ever had ( and I usually consider peppers a slam / dunk crop). Well, learned from last year, and back to what looks like a successful pepper year.

Tomatoes looking good, bust still green. Probably a few weeks away . Grape tomatoes ( 2 diff varieties ) seem to have less fruit than the past.

Okra, the plants that are doing well, are dong well, but only about 1/2 are thriving. I did start more seeds in cells about a week ago, hoping there is enough time for them to mature . I grow a dwarf variety, so they dont need as much time to develop.

Slugs did a number on my potato leaves. I'll have to do something about that next year. Haven't dug them up yet, but I hope it didnt affect what's going on under the ground. Ill find out in a few weeks .

@pepperhead212 @larry_stewart you guys are so far ahead of our gardens! Awesome.

Today we counted 32 little bunches of grapes. (planted 4 and 3 years ago)
Raspberries today 470. (also planted 4 and 3 years ago)

I need some sun to get some good pictures of the gardens and the garlic hanging.

I use Pepper as my " what to expect in the next week or two" gauge". It's amazing how much of a difference there is in being 100 miles more south. Picked my first cherry/ grape tomato today. ( I ate it and didnt tell my wife, . I have a feeling Im going to have issues with the birds this year. We have a family/ flock of Bluejays in my yard that have been spending a lot of time in and around the garden. The one tomato did have , what looked like , a peck mark on it ( that broke the skin). Could have just been my clumsiness of picking it ( maybe Im due for a manicure). Anyway, only time will tell.

Tied up the garlic's today too let them hang in the garage, in bunches of 6. Overall, have 155 heads of garlic.2/3 in perfect condition, the other 1/3 not bad, but all use them up first as their shelf life probably isn't as good/ long.

Digging up my strawberries and donating them to a public garden that grows stuff to give to a local food pantry.

blissful said:

Today we counted 32 little bunches of grapes. (planted 4 and 3 years ago)
Raspberries today 470. (also planted 4 and 3 years ago)

I need some sun to get some good pictures of the gardens and the garlic hanging.

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Looking forward to seeing the pics!

I picked 7 eggplants today, that Asian Delight the two plants the most from, so far, with a bunch more, all different sizes, and more flowers on them. Not quite as many on the Ichibans, which was a little later than normal, but they don't seem to bothered by the heat, like they usually are. I'm thinking that maybe it is an OP version of Ichiban, instead of hybrid (which I was also thinking, when I got the pack of 50 or more seeds, for just $2.99). Usually, once it gets into the mid 90s, they stop flowering (as do a lot of others I've tried), but they are so early, and productive, it was a minor consolation, and it would start up again, once the heat was gone. None of these have been slowed by the heat this year...yet.
Cucumbers and eggplants - 3 Ichibans, 3 Asian Delights, and 1 Long Purple. 7-5. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I didn't pick as many tomatoes today, but I got the largest one, so far - the first Mountain Rouge, with a blush on it. Haven't noticed any blossoms dropping from any tomatoes, and it seems there are blossoms at the tops of all of them.
Tomatoes on 7-5, the largest, a 10.5 oz Mountain Rouge, first one of the season. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I cleaned up the area in the basement to hang the new garlic on, and tagged with a yellow stickum, each cluster I labeled for fall planting, and counted the cloves. I got a total of 225 cloves to plant - this year I planted 216 in that 4x10' raised bed, so that's a few more. I didn't count the ones I'll be eating! I have 59 Music (vs. 48 this year), 45 Georgian Fire (vs. 41), 52 Estonian Red (vs. 44), and 69 Bogotyr (vs. 72). I'll have to wait and see how well the Bogotyr stores, as well as how it tastes, before I see if I'll plant less of that, or more or less of those ones that don't store well. I always thought it was strange that those largest ones - Estonian Red and Georgian Fire - didn't store as well as the the smaller ones - Music and Metechi. I'll see how Bogotyr fits in; though it's supposed to store well, only time will tell.

I planted my basil in a pot this year, and I keep it on the patio so I can easily water it a couple times a day on the 100F-plus days. I can also move it inside to the kitchen window when I need to go out of town for a few days. The pot drains well, so the soil stays moist, but not soaking wet. The basil seems to be very happy with that arrangement.



CD

caseydog said:

I planted my basil in a pot this year, and I keep it on the patio so I can easily water it a couple times a day on the 100F-plus days. I can also move it inside to the kitchen window when I need to go out of town for a few days. The pot drains well, so the soil stays moist, but not soaking wet. The basil seems to be very happy with that arrangement.


CD

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Your basil looks nice and healthy ( especially considering the heat you're getting down there). My base l is also potted. and doing well, but I'm waiting for the tomatoes to catch up to it. I've been using the basil sparingly hear and there, but I'll have to prune the basil to keep it from flowering and under control. Other than grape tomatoes, I'm still a few weeks out from the tomatoes being in full gear.

Picked my first fig of the year Variety is " Little Miss Figgy" which is supposed to be more of a dwarf tree, but it's one of my biggest. This fig was from the Breba crop ( which is the first crop on old wood). Not all fig trees have a Breba crop, and only produce on the new growth, and some produce on both old and new wood.






Also, about 4 + quarts of red currants. These things are great producers, birds dont either like them, or know where they are ( or what they are, but they sure know about my blueberries), but a PIA to pick. I'm out there for awhile picking, just to look down and see I got about a cup.

larry_stewart said:

Your basil looks nice and healthy ( especially considering the heat you're getting down there). My base l is also potted. and doing well, but I'm waiting for the tomatoes to catch up to it. I've been using the basil sparingly hear and there, but I'll have to prune the basil to keep it from flowering and under control.

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My basil has not started to flower, yet. I clip the flowers off as soon as I see them, so the plant doesn't go to seed. My oregano and thyme has started to flower, and I've been clipping the flowers off as they show up. It is not as important with the oregano as with the basil.

CD

larry_stewart said:

Your basil looks nice and healthy ( especially considering the heat you're getting down there). My base l is also potted. and doing well, but I'm waiting for the tomatoes to catch up to it. I've been using the basil sparingly hear and there, but I'll have to prune the basil to keep it from flowering and under control. Other than grape tomatoes, I'm still a few weeks out from the tomatoes being in full gear.

Picked my first fig of the year Variety is " Little Miss Figgy" which is supposed to be more of a dwarf tree, but it's one of my biggest. This fig was from the Breba crop ( which is the first crop on old wood). Not all fig trees have a Breba crop, and only produce on the new growth, and some produce on both old and new wood.




View attachment 69850View attachment 69852

Also, about 4 + quarts of red currants. These things are great producers, birds dont either like them, or know where they are ( or what they are, but they sure know about my blueberries), but a PIA to pick. I'm out there for awhile picking, just to look down and see I got about a cup.


View attachment 69851

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I know what you mean about picking them. My late mother in law made red currant jelly for me a few years. She had a couple of quite productive bushes and no particular use for them. I have a couple of Danish recipes that call for red currant jelly. But, understandably, she got tired of foofing with those berries, so she gave me a bunch of them, on the little branches. I didn't know it at the time, but I found out that people cook the berries on the stems and then sieve out the juice. That's probably why Danes use a lot of the jelly, but I have never heard of Danes making jam or preserves out of red currants.

What do you do with red currants?

When any herbs I happen to be growing start to flower, I cut off the flowers and use them in the next salad I make.

taxlady said:

I know what you mean about picking them. My late mother in law made red currant jelly for me a few years. She had a couple of quite productive bushes and no particular use for them. I have a couple of Danish recipes that call for red currant jelly. But, understandably, she got tired of foofing with those berries, so she gave me a bunch of them, on the little branches. I didn't know it at the time, but I found out that people cook the berries on the stems and then sieve out the juice. That's probably why Danes use a lot of the jelly, but I have never heard of Danes making jam or preserves out of red currants.

What do you do with red currants?

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As far as cooking goes, I do the same, I make jellies.
Initially, I used to pick each berry and tried to avoid picking the stems, but it's way too tedious . And as you mentioned, if making jellies, you run everything through a sieve anyway.

What I like about the red currants, is they have a natural pectin, so when making the jelly, it's basically 2 ingredients , currants and an equal weight of currants 1:1 ratio. You can cut back on the sugar a bit, but Im not sure where the actually line is oof cutting back too much, that may affect the consistency.

Another thing I do , when making jelly, is use currants as the base, but maybe use 2/3 currants and 1/3 another kind of berry ( like raspberry or blueberries). That raspberries work really nice, cause their flavor hijacks the currant flavor, and it basically becomes raspberry jelly. The blueberries get more overpowered by the currants though, but they give the jelly a nice dark color.

I've seen people garnish with currants, or toss them in grain-like salads ( taboule) and even cows cous dishes,

What surprises me the most is just how productive these plants are. I can, and have spend an hour picking the currants and then take a step back, and it looks like I didn't even make a dent.

caseydog said:

My basil has not started to flower, yet. I clip the flowers off as soon as I see them, so the plant doesn't go to seed. My oregano and thyme has started to flower, and I've been clipping the flowers off as they show up. It is not as important with the oregano as with the basil.

CD

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My basil is just starting to flower, cause I really haven't used much. Ill probably give them a good pruning, and make some pesto, while waiting for the tomatoes to kick in.

larry_stewart said:

As far as cooking goes, I do the same, I make jellies.
Initially, I used to pick each berry and tried to avoid picking the stems, but it's way too tedious . And as you mentioned, if making jellies, you run everything through a sieve anyway.

What I like about the red currants, is they have a natural pectin, so when making the jelly, it's basically 2 ingredients , currants and an equal weight of currants 1:1 ratio. You can cut back on the sugar a bit, but Im not sure where the actually line is oof cutting back too much, that may affect the consistency.

Another thing I do , when making jelly, is use currants as the base, but maybe use 2/3 currants and 1/3 another kind of berry ( like raspberry or blueberries). That raspberries work really nice, cause their flavor hijacks the currant flavor, and it basically becomes raspberry jelly. The blueberries get more overpowered by the currants though, but they give the jelly a nice dark color.

I've seen people garnish with currants, or toss them in grain-like salads ( taboule) and even cows cous dishes,

What surprises me the most is just how productive these plants are. I can, and have spend an hour picking the currants and then take a step back, and it looks like I didn't even make a dent.

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When I was living in the country and making lots of jams, I used a recipe that a friend used. It's two parts fruit to one part sugar by volume. That worked for everything I tried it with. If there is less pectin, then you just have to cook it longer before it will pass a jelly or jam test.

taxlady said:

When I was living in the country and making lots of jams, I used a recipe that a friend used. It's two parts fruit to one part sugar by volume. That worked for everything I tried it with. If there is less pectin, then you just have to cook it longer before it will pass a jelly or jam test.

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Ill give it a shot, I have more than enough currants to play with ( and dont need all that sugar).

I only picked one tomato today, since it was so hot out, but there was one I had to pick the first ripe Green Brandy. Looks a lot like a large Green Zebra, but not as much "gel" when I cut it open. Very good when I sampled it, and since the Bronze Torch hybrid has been my favorite of the ones I've sampled, I tried them next to each other. The GB was very good, but not as strong, or sweet in flavor, so the BT is still the best tasting. However, it does have a very thick skin - crunchy almost, as I chew halves of it. The GB is not quite as strong in flavor as the Zebra was, when I grew it years ago, when that tested on top a few years, when I would test them. The BT is sort of like those Green Tigers that I grew before, though I can't test them side by side, either.
First ripe Green Brandy, 4.75 oz., on 7-6. Another starting to ripen on the second plant, but no stripes on that. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Green Brandy cut up. Looked like a large Green Zebra on the outside, but not as much gel inside. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

pepperhead212 said:

First ripe Green Brandy, 4.75 oz., on 7-6. Another starting to ripen on the second plant, but no stripes on that. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Green Brandy cut up. Looked like a large Green Zebra on the outside, but not as much gel inside. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

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Meaty inside without a bunch of juice/goop is good for fried green tomatoes.

CD

Yes, CD, but usually those "meaty" tomatoes have less flavor, some almost no flavor! This was very good, for a meaty one, and the first Pruden's Purple I ate this season reminded me that they were one of those - very good, and meaty.

I picked a few more blushing larger tomatoes earlier, along with a generous 2 qts of the smaller ones. I went out around 7:15 pm, and there were at least a dozen more blushing! A couple were deep in some, so I could have missed them, but others were right in plain sight! Amazing how fast these things are, when they get going.
A couple cukes, 3 Asian Delights, and 2 Ichiban EPs. Tomatoes: 2 Genuwine, 1 Green Brandy, and 1 Superfantastic. 7-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Smaller tomatoes today, 7-7. Larger one in the middle is the first Atomic Fusion. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I cut open that first Atomic Fusion, to sample it, and that was delicious, like the other green/striped varieties. And that was one with more ripening, when I went out later!
Atomic Fusion, cut up, and sampled. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

That first Genuwine that I picked 4 days ago, just starting to ripen, was completely ripened, and I tried it. It was definitely one of the best of the season, and early, considering the type of tomato - about 67 days. It is a cross of Brandywine and Costoluto Genovese, and the flavor lives up to that! When I cut it open, I didn't have to cut out much of the stem, like with some, and there wasn't much of the blossom end I had to cut off, either. It's a meaty tomato, with a small amount of juice, so it had great flavor, for such a small amount, like Pruden's Purple, in that respect. Definitely a keeper, baring any disease problems, or anything like that.
1st Genuwine ripened completely, and cut up to sample. Not real juicy, but delicious flavor. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I cut up all of the eggplants I had - 17 - and got almost 5 full shelves for the dehydrator. I like to fill it, but that's all I had for it. However, I have some vacuum bags of various peppers in the freezer, so I could get some of those out, and dry those. I often do this with the Thai peppers, which dry well, after freezing.
Almost 5 sheets of eggplant cubes for the dehydrator, from 17 eggplants. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First Matrosik eggplant, cut in half. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I ate something today that made me think of that Bronze torch - some quick pickles, that I put a pinch of crispit in, and the skin is actually crunchy, and that's what I get in those tomatoes! Not quite as crunchy, but I don't remember tomatoes like that.

Largest tomato harvest of the season today - about 3 qts of smaller ones, and 7 of the larger ones - the largest one, another of the Superfantastik. And most of those smaller, black ones on top are the Negro Azteka - starting to produce a lot more, and no more with BER. And I went out about 2½ hours later, and there were a bunch more ripening, besides that row that was in the sun, and I just waited to pick.
About 3 quarts of smaller tomatoes, and 7 of the larger ones ripening, 7-9 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

3 more eggplants, and another bottle gourd, about 2 lbs. A bunch more eggplants on all of them.
A 2 lb bottle gourd, and 3 eggplants, about 8-10 ozs each. 7-9 by pepperhead212, on Flickr