September 17, 2012 - Harvest Monday

This week the garden passed the 800 pound mark.  That's still just slightly (about 20 pounds) behind my 2009 garden, but well ahead of the 2010 garden and nearly doubling the 2011 garden total for mid September.

 I'm finally getting a few larger tomatoes.  Although the cherry and small salad sized tomatoes have been quite prolific, the regular/large ones have been very slow to ripen.  I found one last small cantaloupe, hiding under the ladder.  It had harvested itself,  I don't know how I missed it earlier.

 The broccoli side shoots just keep on coming.  I don't know how many bags I have in the freezer by now, but certainly enough to last us most of the winter.  The Fortex beans are beginning to produce again, the yellow crookneck has never stopped producing.  The squash went to my son, as we are quite tired of them, and I have enough in the freezer for our future needs.  Peppers are still slow to turn color, but there are lots of green ones in the garden.

 Beans, beans and more beans.  I thought the zucchini had given up and quit producing, but now it has several small fruits forming.  The first of the four large cantaloupe was finally ready to pick.  It was beautiful, and perfectly ripe, but lacked the sweetness of the smaller melons.  I wonder if it was because of our much cooler nights.  We actually had near freezing temperatures for two nights in a row, which broke the record low for September.

 What it lacked in flavor, it made up for in size.  At nearly 6 pounds, it was the biggest one I've ever grown.  Here it is, sitting on a Good Housekeeping magazine for size comparison.

 It wasn't long before two more large melons were ready to pick.  They went to daughter Amy on Sunday, so I haven't yet heard whether they were flavorful or not.  Another large picking of beans gave me two gallons for the freezer this week.  More broccoli, and it looks as though I'll be getting lots more.  More crookneck squash, but at least there was only one.  Five acorn squash, one was served for dinner and it was very good.  Butternuts are still my favorites, but the acorns are a close second.

On Sunday, the last of the melons was brought in.  I may have nudged the stem a little too hard, it probably could have stayed on the vine for another day or two.  Son Scott has asked for this one, and I'm such a pushover, he'll probably get it.  Total melon weight for the week was nearly 20 pounds, and nearly 53 pounds were harvested in total this year!  Yes, that's one lone tomato from the volunteer unknown plant, and one lone zucchini which is just plenty for Mr. Granny's next meal of fried zucchini.

Harvest for the Week of  9/10 - 9/16

Beans, bush - 30.3 ounces  (1.89 pounds)

Beans, pole - 53.5 ounces  (3.34 pounds)

Broccoli - 25.9 ounces  (1.62 pounds)

Cucumbers - 13 ounces

Melons - 307.6 ounces  (19.23 pounds)

Peppers, sweet - 14.7 ounces

Squash, summer - 54.9 ounces  (3.43 pounds)

Squash, winter - 108.8 ounces  (6.8 pounds)

Tomatoes - 245.9 ounces  (15.37 pounds)

Week's total - 69.6 pounds

Year to date - 819.48 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!