July 2, 2012 - Harvest Monday

A small Gonzales Cabbage, a larger Pixie cabbage and a giant Spacemaster cucumber that was hiding from me.  Mr. Granny said the cucumber was still sweet and crisp.

Raspberries and sweet onions.

  

The first beans of the season, but certainly not the last!

This broccoli was just part of a large head.  I broke just enough of them off of the main head for our dinner, and they weighed 5.3 ounces.

More French Filet beans.

I dug up some Russet potatoes for dinner.  Some were really tiny, and some were terribly scabby.  They weren't nearly as perfect as the Dark red Norland and the Yukon Gold, but they sure did make good mashed potatoes.

Some, like this one, were really fine.  At 12-1/2 ounces it is perfect for baking or French fries.

I see more zucchini bread and raspberry shortcakes in our future!

The first batch of onions that have been drying in the shed were trimmed and weighed in at nearly 14 pounds.

Here they are all spread out on the patio table.

A productive trip out to the garden brought in a 2-pound Pixie cabbage, a 1-pound head of broccoli, and nearly 3 pounds of mixed green and purple beans.

Cleaned and weighed.

This day's picking stuffed a one-gallon bag, with some left over.

The next morning, a bowl of mixed beans, ready to blanch and freeze, and a few purple Velour beans for our dinner.

 Blanched, cooled, drained and spread on wax paper lined pans for freezing before they are vacuum bagged.

Two 1-pound and one 10.4 oz. bags for the freezer.

The remaining onions from the drying line in the shed, another 5-plus pounds.

 At 11.5 ounces, this is quite a bit smaller than last year's largest onion......

(Last year's photo) The largest onion of 2011, at 1 pound 4 ounces (20 ounces), in Mr. Granny's large hand.  There are still some large ones in the garden though, so one may match this in weight yet.

Basil and lettuce.  This bunch of lettuce had quite a bit of earwig damage, but I still ended up with a large bowl full of inner leaves.

 The final harvest of the week included rhubarb (probably the last I'll pick for a while, the plant is looking a bit puny), a Pixie cabbage that weighed over two pounds and was beginning to split, a few small carrots, baby crookneck squash and Minigold tomatoes.

 A large bunch of parsley and a few strawberries.

Lots of beans and enough raspberries for Mr. Granny's evening snack.

I have come to the conclusion that I love to plan my garden, and I love to plant my garden, and I love to tend my garden, and I love to watch my garden grow.   I don't mind the cleaning process on them, or the cooking, or the freezing, and I love to eat them.  But I hate to pick bush beans. I even took a little stool to sit on, because it usually hurts my back to bend over that long.  Had a heck of a time getting up off the stool!  When it comes to knees and backs, the "Golden Years" aren't always so golden.

I'm letting the dogs go in the garden with me now.  There isn't much they can hurt, although Annie managed to walk through a bed of carrot seedlings last night.  Otto spent most of his garden time trying to dig up a root, right in the middle of the pathway.  They really love being in the garden with me, as they are closer to the back fence and the squirrels that traverse there, and closer to my face, when I'm sitting down picking beans, to give me quick, slobbery kisses.  There was a whole lot of picking, barking, digging and kissing going on in the garden last night!

Harvest for the week of 6/25 through 7/1 (in ounces) 

Beans, bush - 102.1
Broccoli - 15.8
Cabbage - 122.1
Carrots - 4.5
Cucumbers - 15.8
Herbs - 6.5
Lettuce - 14.1
Onions - 328 (20.5 pounds)
Potatoes - 60.3
Raspberries - 30.2
Rhubarb - 17.2
Squash, summer - 33.1
Strawberries - 4.6
Tomatoes - 24.8

Total for week:  48.69 pounds
Total for year:  140.29 pounds


Daphne's Dandelions is the host for Harvest Monday, where everyone can share links to their harvest for the week. Please visit her blog and leave a link, so we can enjoy your harvest photos!