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Spinach and assorted lettuces were harvested today.
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My largest plastic container was filled with enough salad fixings to last about 3-4 days. Mr. Granny and I have each been consuming 3-4 ounces of salad greens at dinner every day, plus lettuce on sandwiches. I'm glad to see the fresh garden greens beginning to grow so well! We'll also be eating another of last year's butternut squash. They've lasted well all winter, and I still have 10 more left. The quality is beginning to deteriorate, so we'll have to eat them up quickly or cook them and find room in the freezer.
Lettuce: 11.9 ounces
Spinach: 4.4 ounces
Total this week: 16.3 ounces
Total to date: 1.37 pounds (just half of what I harvested by this date last year)
YIKES! The weather forecast for tonight has gone from 38 down to 32, and now to 29. Mother Nature hates me. Or the weatherman lies....that has certainly happened a lot this year.
Nice haul there. I am just about to transplant my seedlings with some trepidation. Is it too soon? Who knows!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious, how did you keep your squash for so long? I have a few butternut seedlings here, and when I grew them last it was like I needed to eat them quick before they went bad.
Jason, after I harvested them I scrubbed them with a soft brush and water, then gave them a dip into a sink filled with water and a small amount of bleach. Once they had air dried, they were all placed on the patio table, where they cured for a couple of weeks in the warmth. Then I moved them into the garage. It was still a bit warm in there, but it soon cooled down and stayed above freezing all winter. Like I said, they are beginning to deteriorate a bit now (I've only had to discard 2 due to spoilage), but it's only the seed cavities that are turning fibrous. The neck is still firm and tasty, so I don't have too much waste. They also freeze well once they have been cooked and mashed. Here's how I cook my butternut:
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I used the puree in a pumpkin pie, but it can also be frozen at that point.
I hope you don't lose anything tonight due to the low temperatures. You really harvest a lot of lettuce and spinach. I like my salad every night but we would not use all that in that amount of time probably. Good thing as I am not harvesting that much! Yours looks beautiful! Nancy
ReplyDeleteNancy, I covered what I could, and brought everything moveable into the house. My bathtub is full of peppers and my countertop is filled with tomatoes! I do wish I hadn't trusted that earlier weather report, the tomatoes and peppers I planted out could easily have waited another week.
DeleteWe each ate a huge salad tonight, and it was delicious! We made a pretty good dent in the harvest :-)
Lovely greens! Between the wind and the low temperatures your transplants are getting their fair share of challenges. I hope they are ok.
ReplyDeleteRachel, when I got up this morning, it was 39F. I don't think it froze at all last night. I'm really getting into shape hauling the moveables in and out! I put two big asparagus crates of peppers in the bathtub last night and gave them a shower. I hope I can lift them back out this morning :-)
DeleteI've got to get my butternuts cooked and frozen too. I only have about 5 left and 2 of another squash. They won't last long as the temps start to go up in the basement.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I have to do the same, and it should get done today in the colder weather. We're still looking at 80s later this week (lying weatherman...I don't trust him!) That will be at the top of my todo list!
Deletelooks like you have a lot of salad greens going on. I wish mine would speed it up a bit!
ReplyDeleteShawn Ann, I'm hoping I have enough planted to keep us in greens all season. I've been trying to do successive sowings, but I'm never quite sure how to time that correctly, LOL!
DeleteYou're already harvesting and I'm still just waiting and hoping! We finally had a few really nice days in the 70s and 80s, but now it's supposed to turn cold and back to the 40s for the next week again. I got one row of potatoes planted but the rest of the garden was still too wet to plant any more than that. Where's this global warming we're supposed to be experiencing?
ReplyDeleteI don't know, Langela. We were supposed to get temps in the 80/50 range over a week ago, now we're looking at 55/29! My frozen potatoes survived, so let's hope they don't get hit again.
DeleteLooks like your the only one with harvests these days. I started my lettuce way too late this year. I just planted a week ago, but tried to plant varieties that were quicker to harvest.
ReplyDeleteKris, have you tried shading your lettuce plants? We get 100F plus temps here in mid summer, but some years I'm successful in growing lettuce right through the heat. This worked well for me:
ReplyDeletehttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Di5FEUV8sqI/TD0eeO61tvI/AAAAAAAAF1A/N29E-jY8EUk/s400/2010-07-13+Lettuce+Beds+%2802%29.jpg
Another view:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Di5FEUV8sqI/TD0eefCWL0I/AAAAAAAAF1I/Wog9J84QWAo/s400/2010-07-13+Lettuce+Beds+%2801%29.jpg
I installed the lattice on the west side, so the bed only got filtered sunlight through the hottest part of the day.
Here's another way I installed lattice over the lettuce:
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ReplyDelete