Produce update

The picking is good!

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Total produce count for the year:

53 strawberries

17 raspberries(golden variety)

1 blackberry

2 blueberries

1/32 lb sweet banana peppers

5/8 lb assorted (green)bean pods

1/16 lb cucumber

1 lb zucchini squash

1/4 lb yellow squash

1/4 lb kohlrabi

6.5 lbs carrot roots

5/8 lb beet roots

4 heads of garlic

4 garlic scapes

7.6 lb sweet/snap peas

15.2 lb assorted dark greens

7/8 lb baby radishes/greens

1/4 lb mature radish roots

46.5 lb assorted lettuce

5.1 lb spinach

1/2 lb New Zealand spinach

3 1/4 lb turnip roots

2.63 lb miner's lettuce

3/16 lb mache/corn salad

5/8 lb baby greens

1/3 lb arugula

3 asparagus spears

3 trays of wheat grass(inside)

3 trays micro  greens(grown inside)

A countless amount of:

  parsley, basil, peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, burnet, fennel, thyme, dill, green onions

Produce update

Today I harvested the last of the carrots. Next year I think Deb & I should thin the carrots out a bit more. I noticed the carrots that had some growing room did just that, and grew bigger roots. Today I picked another kohlrabi head, 2 young zucchinis, a few peas, and some green beans.

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Total produce count for the year:

51 strawberries

15 raspberries(golden variety)

1/2 lb assorted (green)bean pods

1/16 lb cucumber

1/4 lb zucchini squash

1/4 lb yellow squash

1/4 lb kohlrabi

5.0 lbs carrot roots

1/2 lb beet roots

4 heads of garlic

4 garlic scapes

7.6 lb sweet/snap peas

15.2 lb assorted dark greens

7/8 lb baby radishes/greens

1/4 lb mature radish roots

45.75 lb assorted lettuce

5.1 lb spinach

3.1 lb turnip roots

2.63 lb miner's lettuce

3/16 lb mache/corn salad

5/8 lb baby greens

1/3 lb arugula

3 asparagus spears

3 trays of wheat grass(inside)

3 trays micro  greens(grown inside)

A countless amount of:

  parsley, basil, peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, burnet, fennel, thyme, dill, green onions

Produce update

It's time for squash, beans, kohlrabi and tomatoes. Actually, the tomatoes are still a week or so away. The fruits that we have now are still green. The beans are getting fat, and the squash are finally getting to be worthy size. Peppers are not far behind. We've spotted several little bumps that appear to be pepper starts, and two sweet banana peppers about 1" long each.  We have lots of basil plants growing strong. We've been incorporating basil into meals on a regular basis lately. This morning I cooked a breakfast pizza with basil on top. I found that if you soak basil in water before putting it on something hot, the leaves are less likely to turn dark colored.  About an hour ago, I pulled the most gorgeous garlic bulb we have grown yet. It had a diameter over 2" wide, and the flavor was awesome! We immediately separated one of the cloves, and replanted it in the same hole left from the swollen bulb. We picked 4 beautiful beets from the home garden. One of them was almost fist sized. Canned beets are tasty, but can't compare to freshly steamed sweet beet roots.

Today, Deb & I enjoyed a kohlrabi head about 2 and a half inches wide. We decided a good way to describe the flavor of steamed kohlrabi would be called it a very mild cabbage taste. I actually went a step further and called it a mix of the taste of cabbage, and that of corn. Either way, it's good. The beautiful purple color cooks right out, leaving the head a pale green.

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Total produce count for the year:

51 strawberries

15 raspberries(golden variety)

1/4 lb assorted bean pods

1/16 lb cucumber

1/8 lb zucchini squash

1/4 lb yellow squash

1/8 lb kohlrabi

2.5 lbs carrot roots

1/2 lb beet roots

4 heads of garlic

4 garlic scapes

7.5 lb sweet/snap peas

15.2 lb assorted dark greens

7/8 lb baby radishes/greens

1/4 lb mature radish roots

45.75 lb assorted lettuce

5.1 lb spinach

3.1 lb turnip roots

2.63 lb miner's lettuce

3/16 lb mache/corn salad

5/8 lb baby greens

1/3 lb arugula

3 asparagus spears

3 trays of wheat grass(inside)

3 trays micro  greens(grown inside)

A countless amount of:

  parsley, basil, peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, burnet, fennel, thyme, dill, green onions

Produce update

Added 1.5 lbs lettuce, 1/3 lb spinach, 1.5 lbs snap peas, 1/3 lb turnips, 3 strawberries, and 1 head of garlic.

That was the last of the harvestable spinach for the season, the strawberry plants seem to be slowing down, some of the varieties of lettuce are all bolted, while some still remain ready to eat. The snap peas are going strong, but this week has some irregular 90+ degree days forecasted. I'm curious to know what effect that will have on all of the crops.

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Total produce count for the year:

51 strawberries

1.8 lbs carrot roots

3 heads of garlic

4 garlic scapes

6.25 lb sweet/snap peas

15.2 lb assorted dark greens

7/8 lb baby radishes/greens

1/4 lb mature radish roots

45.0 lb assorted lettuce

5.1 lb spinach

3.1 lb turnip roots

2.63 lb miner's lettuce

3/16 lb mache/corn salad

5/8 lb baby greens

1/3 lb arugula

3 asparagus spears

3 trays of wheat grass(inside)

3 trays micro  greens(grown inside)

A countless amount of:

  parsley, basil, peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, burnet, fennel, thyme, dill, green onions

Today's bounty

Today's harvest includes:
  1/3 lb carrot roots, 1 garlic scape, 1/3 lb turnip roots, 1/2 lb snap peas, 8 strawberries, and 3/4 lb lettuce.  About half of the lettuce varieties have gone to flower. Tomorrow is forecasted to be 89 degrees. This will probably be the last week of any harvestable lettuce. Deb & I may pick the last of it tomorrow morning (minus the plants we choose for seeding.)  All this lettuce flowering , and still no broccoli florets!!

An unrelated side note: Yesterday I prepared a bottle of water for work with a few branches of lemon balm. It gave the water a refreshing delicate lemon flavor.

A new variety of rose has bloomed. This first year bush has a two tone pink & white flower. What a nice surprise! I had actually forgotten what color it was supposed to be until this first bloom arrived.

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Total produce count for the year:

48 strawberries

1.8 lbs carrot roots

2 heads of garlic

4 garlic scapes

4.75 lb sweet/snap peas

15.2 lb assorted dark greens

7/8 lb baby radishes/greens

1/4 lb mature radish roots

43.5 lb assorted lettuce

4.75 lb spinach

2.8 lb turnip roots

2.63 lb miner's lettuce

3/16 lb mache/corn salad

5/8 lb baby greens

1/3 lb arugula

3 asparagus spears

3 trays of wheat grass(inside)

3 trays micro  greens(grown inside)

A countless amount of:

  parsley, basil, peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, burnet, fennel, thyme, dill, green onions

Spinach, strawberries, greens, peas

Today Deb & I picked a nice bounty from both gardens. We racked up another 4 strawberries, 1.25 lbs of the last of the unflowering spinach, 3/4 lb of snap peas and 1/2 lb of greens.

We hope to be be eating our very first homegrown blueberries, blackberries and raspberries within the next week or two.

I'm experimenting with propagation of woody cuttings of four plants: roses, blueberries, blackberries, and grape vine.  I picked a barely woody branch of each species, and cut them off at a 45 degree angle with a very sharp knife. I purchased a rooting hormone powder. After dipping each in the hormone, I inserted them into a hole in the dirt. The blackberry and the grape vine died within a few days.  The blueberry and rose cuttings have remained alive and healthy looking, going on a week now. I removed the limp blackberry and grape vine, and cut a more hardy branch from each. This time, in addition to the rooting hormone, I put a dab of (RAW) honey on each stem. Honey is said to have many of the sugars and minerals plants need to survive and encourage root growth, and it has anti-fungal properties as well.

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Total produce count for the year:

40 strawberries

1.5 lbs carrot roots

2 heads of garlic

2 garlic scapes

3.15 lb sweet/snap peas

15.2 lb assorted dark greens

7/8 lb baby radishes/greens

1/4 lb mature radish roots

42.75 lb assorted lettuce

4.75 lb spinach

2 1/2 lb turnip roots

2.63 lb miner's lettuce

3/16 lb mache/corn salad

5/8 lb baby greens

1/3 lb arugula

3 asparagus spears

3 trays of wheat grass(inside)

3 trays micro  greens(grown inside)

A countless amount of:

  parsley, basil, peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, burnet, fennel, thyme, dill, green onions

The curse of the ever bearing lettuce crop

Deb and I have harvested so much lettuce that we are becoming tired of looking at it. Today I picked another 5 lbs of lettuce(to give away to friends), added to 2 lbs more, a few days ago that we picked for ourselves for the week. Earlier in the week we harvested over a pound of greens, and I picked for friends 2 lbs today. We have almost a pound of spinach from the big garden chilling in the fridge. The spinach is nearly done for the Spring crop. We have plenty of spinach going to flower to collect seeds for our fall planting. I picked nearly a pound of snap peas today. I noticed a few pods going to maturity quickly. The production will be slowing/shutting down within a couple weeks, I think.

Today I picked 10 strawberries! This is the most we've been able to collect in one day. Almost all of our strawberry plants are producing ripe berries on a regular basis. I found a neat recipe for a strawberry fennel orange salad that I'll be making in just a few minutes. The fennel and lettuce came from our big garden, of course.

2 navel oranges
8 ounces strawberries (about 16), hulled and quartered or halved
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthwise, some fronds reserved for garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
8 Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves

We have been observing many beneficial organisms, doing their thing at both gardens.  Today I spotted many wasps looking for preys for their parasitic eggs. There are ladybugs still going to town on some aphids. There are several green lacewing flies joining the ladybugs on the quest for aphids. The spider population has exploded. I have seen a 3 foot green snake at the home/small garden, and a few small blue tailed skinks lizards. The bird bath is keeping the birds happy, so they spend plenty of time in the yard, looking for bugs. There have been plenty of butterflies visiting all of our flowering plants. The local bee population seems to be very plentiful. There certainly is no shortage of pollinators. 

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Total produce count for the year:

lots of  parsley, basil, peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, burnet, fennel, thyme, dill

36 strawberries

1.5 lbs carrot roots

2 heads of garlic

2 garlic scapes

2.4 lb sweet/snap peas

14.7 lb assorted dark greens

7/8 lb baby radishes/greens

1/4 lb mature radish roots

42.75 lb assorted lettuce

3 1/2 lb spinach

2 1/2 lb turnip roots

2.63 lb miner's lettuce

3/16 lb mache/corn salad

5/8 lb baby greens

1/3 lb arugula

3 asparagus spears

3 trays of wheat grass(inside)

3 trays micro  greens(grown inside)