I already blogged about these first three harvests of the week here ....
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10/9 Tuesday
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10/10 Wednesday
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10/11 Thursday
The next photos are from Sunday's harvest.....
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The larger tomatoes, in the white bowl, came from the box of green tomatoes in the closet. They are ripening a little faster than I'd hoped. The carrots were the last of that particular planting. The strawberries are looking pretty good! The butternuts aren't completely ripe, but I've found they are perfectly fine for making "pumpkin" pies.
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I haven't been weighing the herbs, as I didn't grow and/or cut a lot this summer, but I couldn't resist bringing in a bouquet of parsley. There are only two plants of it in the garden, but they are huge and really healthy looking.
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As huge as the bouquet was, after it was all trimmed I only ended up with 6 1/2 ounces of parsley, bagged and ready to be dried tomorrow.
I did a bit of garden cleanup today, as it was warm and sunny, and I planted some garlic. I didn't put in a lot, as the spot where I wanted it to grow was just a narrow strip behind the future lettuce bed. The bird proof enclosure for the lettuce was put into place, all ready to be amended with some good compost before spring planting time. Both the lettuce bed and the garlic are behind the shed, where zucchini and yellow squash grew this year. While I was cleaning up the area, I clipped off some seed heads from the dwarf cosmos, as I'd like to grow them again next year. I'll save the seeds, as well as let the ones that are blooming go to seed where they are, and (hopefully) volunteer next year.
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The garlic is planted and mulched with straw, the lettuce bed is in place, and just in time for a nice evening rain.
I rewarded myself for a hard day's work with a nice slice of pumpkin (butternut squash) pie. After the fit Mr. Granny threw over squash pie last year, I swore I'd never bake another one. I gave in though, and he has decided it tastes exactly like pumpkin pie. This is the second one I've baked in two weeks, and he has definitely eaten his share!
Harvest for the Week of 10/08 - 10/14
Beans, pole - 9.3 ounces
Cabbage - 3.2 ounces
Carrots - 68.1 ounces (4.26 pounds)
Celery - 5.7 ounces
Herbs - 6.5 ounces
Lettuce - 1.3 ounces
Peppers, sweet - 5.4 ounces
Squash, winter - 162.7 ounces (10.17 pounds)
Strawberries - 20.2 ounces (1.26 pounds)
Tomatoes - 68.9 ounces (4.31 pounds)
Total for the week - 21.96 pounds
Total for the year - 997 pounds
Hi AG! Wow-1000 pounds-that is impressive. It's a shame everyone couldn't garden like that-it would sure put an end to food shortages.
ReplyDeleteLove the bouquet of parsley. I've never dehydrated it before--I'd like to try that at some point. I freeze mine for soups--but it's an ugly mushy mess to pick out. If I'm mad at Don, I leave it in his bowl--LOL--just kidding.
It's been raining since we got home--and I've got to get that garden cleaned up. I even spotted some broccoli out there. I'm not a duck, though, so I'm hoping for a break in the downpours to get out and cut that.
End of novel. Have a great week!
Sue, that's maybe 1/4 of the parsley that should be cut, but I really don't need any more for drying. I'll probably bring in a smaller bouquet to leave on the counter for using fresh. I dry mine in the microwave, so it's a really fast and easy process. I should have left some of my broccoli to cut this fall. I have one in full bloom that I left for the bees, and I noticed one lovely side shoot on it. The ones I pulled out would have still been loaded. This is our first rain in months! I think we've only had a fraction of an inch since spring.
DeleteBeautiful harvests. And butternuts ought to taste more like pumpkin pie than a pie pumpkin. Those cans of pumpkin puree that people buy are much more closely related to butternuts as they are a C. moschata not a C. pepo. I've always thought of growing a Dickinson's Select Pumpkin (the variety Libby's uses) since it might actually grow in my garden. The C. pepos always get taken down by borers, but the C. moschatas can survive them. I'm such a gardening nerd aren't I? I'm glad your husband will eat your yummy pie now. I've made my pies from butternuts for years now. No one ever thinks they are anything but "pumpkins".
ReplyDeleteDaphne, there is no difference in taste, only what he perceived as a difference from what he saw. A butternut didn't look like a pumpkin, therefor it did not taste like a pumpkin. Actually, I think the butternut makes a richer tasting pie than the pumpkin does.
DeleteNice harvest, as always! Have you posted your recipe for the butternut squash pie somewhere? Just curious...
ReplyDeleteAlso, what type of strawberries do you grow that you get such consistent yields from them? I swore that I planted an everbearing variety at home, but never got more than the first big May/June harvest.
Megan, I just use the Libby's recipe from the pumpkin can, but I make mine with canned skim milk to help keep the calories down just a wee bit. Sometimes I use brown sugar in place of white.
Deletehttp://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-5-2009-its-pumpkin-day-in-august.html
My strawberries are Tristar, a day neutral variety. I wasn't really happy with the low production this year, but it is nice to be picking berries clear through October.
I should not be reading your blog while I'm hungry! That pie looks soooooo good! Great harvest and so excited for you that you're going to make that 1000 pounds plus!
ReplyDeleteNutmeg, I'll go have a piece of pie for breakfast, just for you! Really, if I keep making a pie (or cake) every week, it will be Granny who comes in at 1000 pounds! I made our favorite apricot spice cake last week, and we ate the entire thing in three days :-( Yes, it was that good!
DeleteI am always amazed at your garden production. Did you really have to tell Mr. Granny the pie was not true pumpkin? ;)I bet it was delicious! Mmmm!
ReplyDeleteShawn Ann, Mr. Granny is hanging over my shoulder 24/7. Has been, since he retired 20 years ago. I can't even burp without him knowing about it! LOL
DeleteLOL
DeleteYou are INSANE! Insanely amazing, that is! Congrats on a fantastic year :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Erin....the family thinks I'm crazy, but amazing hasn't entered into it.
DeleteJust amazing week after week of beautiful harvests! That pie looks sooooo good! I think I'm going get on that sometime this week, although mine will have to be made with canned pumpkin.... Thanks for showing how you preserve parsley. I have dried them, but I have never frozen them like that. I'm going to try to over winter some of my parsley in the hoop house, but there is no guarantee that they will survive.
ReplyDeleteTS, I don't freeze my parsley, I dry it in the microwave. I just trimmed, bagged and refrigerated it last night to get it ready, it was too late to start the drying process. I don't think I have a square inch of space left in my freezer, after all the green beans I have put in there this year! Parsley should overwinter just fine, even without a hoop house. Unfortunately, it's biennial and just goes straight to seed in the second year. It will develop a heavy flower stalk, flower then die. Of course, you could be using it through the winter, until it flowers.
DeleteHa! I somehow skipped the whole line of what you said about the parsley under the picture!!! I don't have much space in the freezer either... maybe just enough for a deer that my husband is planning on getting in a few weeks... Good to know that the parsley is so hardy!
DeleteOh, if only I could harvest for the year half of what you do!! I plan to weigh my produce next year. Am going to ask for a digital scale for my birthday or Christmas. Would you have a certain brand you could recommend for my little garden? Nancy
ReplyDeleteNancy, I'm not an authority on digital scales, having just bought one this spring and getting the cheapest one they had on the shelf at Walmart! That being said, I do like it (it's a Taylor scale, I think their Weight Watchers model) except for two things. The weight screen only stays lit up for a couple of seconds, not enough time for me to focus the camera and get a picture of the weight. The other thing is also about the weight screen. It's too close to the weighing platform, so anything larger than that small area obscures the weight readout. If I bought another one, I'd make sure the readout window was pointed toward the front (toward me) not up on top, pointing at the ceiling. You can see what I mean in the picture of the bag of parsley. Imagine if that were a dinner plate or harvest basket/bucket. You wouldn't be able to see the weight numbers. Also, make sure your scale weighs in large enough amounts...say 10-12 pounds. You'd be surprised at how heavy some of the produce can be.
DeleteThanks for all the heads up things to watch for. At least I feel I will not be going into it completely blind! I can learn from your experience! Nancy
DeleteI have just found your blog! What an amazing harvest! if i just get half that i would be so so so very happy! Hopefully the Australian summer this year is a good one! Last year it was very wet! Looking forward to reading more of your blog! Happy gardening!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nathalie. Good luck with your garden. It always seems odd that your season is just beginning as mine ends.
DeleteAlmost there! I bet you end up going over 1,000 by some order of magnitude as it sounds like you have lots more to come in yet. I really must (MUST!) get my act together this weekend and plant garlic. I was busy all this past weekend and it rained and blew when I was home - so no garden work or planting of garlic got done. Here's hoping I can get it done this coming weekend.
ReplyDeleteKitsap, I feel your pain.....I'll be spending my day cleaning up after our last big wind storm. We've had more mess from those trees this year than ever before. It makes me wonder about the health of the trees, that they are losing so many small branches.
DeleteThose carrots just keep coming! Nice harvest Granny!
ReplyDeleteDavid, I don't think I could ever grow too many carrots for us!
DeleteThat's a whole lotta squash! And I'm not sure that I'd be cooking for anyone who still threw fits. As far as the scale, the OXO company will replace anything, anytime, for any reason. I'm going to keep buying their products after they replaced a scale no questions asked.
ReplyDeleteStefaneener, his squash pie fits have ended. In fact, had to fight him for the last piece last night (we ended up sharing it). I had made enough pastry for two pies, so I'm thawing the other half for a fresh pie to be baked today. He has seen the light :-D
DeleteHello, i am insterested in a quick description of how you dry your herbs, if you have the time.
ReplyDeleteThat's a whole lots of parsley!
Thanks,
whit
Whit, I'm not much on growing or drying many herbs, mainly parsley and basil. I just take small bouquets of basil, wrap a rubber band around the stems, then hang them in the garden shed until they are dry. I like my parsley to stay bright green, so I dry it in the microwave. I snip off the stems and pile the leaves on a double layer of paper towels, and zap them for 1 minute. Transfer them to another layer of dry towel and zap a second minute. More dry towel and zap a third minute. No more than 3 total minutes, I have had them catch on fire! It's usually quite dried after the three minutes, but if it's not real crispy I put it in a barely warm oven for 30-60 minutes to finish it off. The microwaving does give me lovely bright green parsley.
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