Today's harvest

[bethzaring]

First harvest of spinach, LOL. I made an asparagus quiche and it demanded some spinach.

 

[bethzaring]

lettuce and peas

 

[pepperhead212]

First ripe tomato!!! Not harvested today, but probably tomorrow. I was wondering if the Sunsugar would be first - usually that is about 55 days, and there are a bunch of full sized ones on them.
First ripe tomato! One of the 42 Day tomatoes, after 52 days, on 6-22-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Blueberries kicking in, along with currants. And my one and only cherry picked a few days early to beat the birds to the punch. tasted great. Hopefully next year will bring me more than 1. Strawberries winding down.

 

[HeyItsSara]

we got a few caterpillars and one cocooned already!

 

[Bitser]

The greenhouse tomatoes are marvelous. Here's a medium/large slicer, a Russian heirloom called Moskvich, grown from saved seed.

Here's a large cherry cluster type, a Japanese hybrid called Sakura.

This is a large black cherry.

I've been harvesting mixed lettuce, radishes, and arugula from the center bed.

Soon we'll have cucumbers and pole beans.

 

[dragnlaw]

Wow blissful! your cherries look amazing! I'm very jealous.

I tried a mixed cherry tree. Got nothing 1st year. Tons of flowers the 2nd year. Buds that dried up the 3rd year. Birds demolished small cherries the 4th year. Died the 5th year. Cut it down and gave to a friend for smoking the 6th year.

I'm missing my 2 blueberry plants I put in last year. Plus 2 grapes. Why did I move!!!

Picking handfuls of spinach almost daily. Radishes still look like toothpicks but think I spotted one looking a bit better.
Going to divide the purchased chive, leave one up on the patio close to the kitchen and the other I'll put in the lower beds to winter. Then divide again for the patio next year. (I hope)
Extremely late (crazy weather) with potatoes but they are coming up. So are sugar peas and green/yellow beans.

Bought 2 sweet red pepper and 1 jalapeno - all showing small fruit.
Also bought (just one ) Napa cabbage. Wanted to see how it would grow. Did nothing for a week or two, just sat there, then suddenly started moving! Not really looking like a cabbage yet but I can see it starting!

Kids had bought some asparagus and strawberry crowns last year but never got them in. I've planted them (late of course) but the asparagus has sprouted. I've seen no sign of the strawberries. But they might not show until next spring - if we are lucky.

Last year I bought a little fig tree. Kept it in the basement all winter, then it traveled with me for the move. Got 3 figs growing!
Mandeville survived the trip but the Bougainvillea did not. We suddenly had some cold nights and although I covered it - well...

 

[pepperhead212]

I dug up 4 Giant Montana, that definitely weren't giant, and 3 Metechi, which are the largest of the 7 that had browned almost entirely, except for the stalk. The rest of the metechi look good, and none of the Estonian Red or the Extra Hardy German Porcelain were early browners. A lot of the Giant Montanas are small, and didn't grow that well this year, which is disappointing, as they stored well from last year, like the metechi.
Garlic that is browned early, 6-27 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Another week or so, and I'll probably dig up the rest, though the metechi might go a little longer.

 

[Bitser]

Spent the morning on my knees. After two rainy days, it's cool and the soil is moist. Thinned a row of radishes, an assortment from Johnny's called Easter Egg. Crisp, nice bite.

 

[larry_stewart]

Harvested first tomato of the year. It was some form of grape - like tomato. I bought them 2 years back, they are sold as " Mini San Marzano" tomatoes. I personally call them " Finger Tomatoes" as they resemble the shape of a finger. Either way, they were really good, so I saved the seeds and grew them last year. They tasted great and produced hundreds per plant. Needless to say I grew them again the year, and it was the first to produce ( probably by at least a week or two, as no other varieties are showing any signs of color change yet).

Didnt get a picture of it, as I ate it right out of the garden ,and had no phone in hand.

In addition to the tomato, harvested Potatoes, a celery and a few carrots the other day. I usually but too many seed potatoes so I plant the extras in large 5 gallon pots. The potted potato plants didnt look great. They were withering and yellowing. Ive had great success in the past years with potatoes in pots, so I attributed it to some kind of disease, fungus or whatever, as the same varieties are going strong in the garden beds. Then it rained a lot, and some of the remaining plants perked up again, so I think I just wasn't watering them enough. Anyway, I got enough small potatoes to make a potato salad. ( In addition the the home grown potatoes, carrots and celery, I still had some frozen homegrown dill from earlier in the season that went into the potato salad too). In a few weeks, Ill do it all over again with home grown onions added to the mix ( Used store bought this time around, cause onions weren't ready yet)).

If I really wanted to, I could make Mayonnaise from my chickens eggs, but my wife is vegan, so had to go the vegan route.

Anyway, pics are of my carrots, celery and the potato salad.

And for those with a wandering eye, to the left is a jar of pickled cabbage ( garlic in there is from the garden, cabbage store bought). The Vodka bottles have lemon and orange peels and in the process of making lemon and orange extract. Already made vanilla extract which came out really good.

 

[taxlady]

Larry, is celery hard to grow? Have you ever grown celeriac?

 

[larry_stewart]

Ive tried celeriac with no luck.
Ive never had luck with celery until this year.
From what I read they need a lot of nitrogen and a decent amount of water.
I grew them in a window-box like container ( maybe 30 inches by 10 inches and a bout 10 inches deep. Normally I grow everything in the garden, but with crops I dont have luck with, I tend to grow them in containers as not to waste space on them, and also I have a little more control of their soil and other conditions. Seemed to work out the time around. Problem I had was the container was up on the counter just behind my grill, so I think the heat of the grill kinda dried out some of the leaves ( wasn't the brightest thing I've done). But anyway, things went good enough this year, that I'll do it again next year, and double the crop ( from 4 plants to 8, I have another matching container).,

What I do find is the variety that I find here ( I didnt start from seed, I got the plants from the nursery) are not a big, a more intense flavor and more fibrous.

I love celeriac , maybe ill try it again in a pot next year.

 

[pepperhead212]

I just got some celeriac seeds today! From Renee's, for half price, along with a few other things. Too late for this season, but I'll research it before next season.

 

[pepperhead212]

Dug up 94 heads of garlic today! The Montana Giant had more brown than I usually like, but the Extra Hardy German Porcelain had around 3 brown stems, with only 2 on a few. The Estonian Red was 2-3 each. But with possible heavy rain coming, with the end of this heat wave (still one more day), I wanted to get those out. Still 52 metechi in,as those are just starting to brown, though I did dig up another that was totally browned, and like the other 3 early ones, the size wasn't too bad, compared to usual for early browned stalks.

I got a head for all of the Estonian Reds and Montana Giants that I planted, and all but one of the Porcelains. Looks like 3 of the 60 Metechi didn't sprout, but that's still not a bad percentage.

Amazingly, when I went down to clean out my basement, to make room for curing the new harvest, all 6 of the Montana Giants still there were still good - not in perfect condition, but still useable! I had just used the end of the Metechis from last season - the smallest, as a rule, but longest lasting. And these Montana Giants are up there with them, for long storing hardnecks.
29 Montana Giants, which were actually the smallest! 6-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

28 Extra Hardy German Porcelain. 6-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

32 heads of Estonian Red, the largest, this season. 6-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Always a couple of sacrifices, when doing this, though they really won't be wasted!
A damaged Montana and Porcelain - to be used soon! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I have no problems with vampires in my house!!

 

[larry_stewart]

Friday or Saturday my garlic will come up. usually grow German white, Montana and music. they usually last about 10 months before they start to sprout. Im hoping this second bed is better than my first that I picked a few weeks ago due to drainage issues.

 

[pepperhead212]

Those 42 Day Tomatoes finally kicked in ripening! Only one or two here and there, until today, when I got at least 25 with at least a blush! Today was day 60, after transplants of most of my tomatoes. Another half dozen Sunsugars in the bowl (I eat most of these in the garden!), and one Cherry Brownie getting a blush on it.
Mostly 42 Day, a few Sunsugar, and the large one in the center, a Cherry Brownie - the first one with a blush. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Another unusual harvest today was squash vine tips, and tendrils - 4 oz of them, and could have had a lot more, but the heat was horrendous out there, and no breeze! Most of these were from the bottle gourds. The rest will wait until a cooler day. These taste similar to squash blossoms. I brought in a few from the bitter melons, to see if there was any bitterness in the tips and tendrils, and there wasn't, so next time I can trim those - they are all over!
Squash vine tips and tendrils - 6-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Another unusual harvest today was squash vine tips, and tendrils - 4 oz of them, and could have had a lot more, but the heat was horrendous out there, and no breeze! Most of these were from the bottle gourds. The rest will wait until a cooler day. These taste similar to squash blossoms. I brought in a few from the bitter melons, to see if there was any bitterness in the tips and tendrils, and there wasn't, so next time I can trim those - they are all over!
Squash vine tips and tendrils - 6-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Are there any squash vine tips that are inedible that you know of ? I remember a few year back being n NYC at a farmers market , and seeing/ purchasing Cucuzza Squash vine tips. That was the first time I'd seen them.

 

[pepperhead212]

Larry, I have never heard of a poisonous squash vine tip. And those bitter melon tips and tendrils tasted fine, when chopped up and sautéed some, like squash blossoms, and no bitterness at all.

Today I got my first two cukes - those WI 58 picklers. And a couple okra - I have to stick that pair of kitchen shears out there, to snip these off with.
First okra - Emerald. 7-1 The little lucy is not doing well this year - do not know why. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First two WS 58 picklers, just under 6 inches. 7-1 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I got quite a few more tomatoes today, the only new one being Honeycomb. Several more each of 42 days, cherry brownies, and kustengold, and a few sunsugars.

 

[larry_stewart]

You are so far ahead of me with cukes. Due to the wilt I had last year, I put all my eggs in one basket with the little leaf as my first cake rotation. The plants look healthy and all, but seem to be taking forever. I started the Wisconsin and country fair as my second round. Just got them Im the garden and they look healthy too. Hopefully they will make up for the lost time I have with the little leaf. On a happy note, I think my sun golds have produced their first tomato.

 

[pepperhead212]

Larry I planted another cuke - Garden Sweet Burbless, only because it was one hybrid on the 50% off Burpee rack. I planted it to test that Harpin Protein, to see if it will keep the plant from getting bacterial wilt. And those spotted lanternflies all over my cukes (unfortunately, Surround has no effect on these at all) would spread disease, like cucumber beetles. Every 2 weeks I mix up a solution of it and spray these plants, getting underneath the leaves, as well as possible. It's supposedly making the plants sort of immune to the diseases.