October 4, 2010; Harvest Monday


The Week of September 27-October 3


The hot peppers were all picked. It was a disappointing year for them, as they were just beginning to blossom when I made the salsa this summer, so I had to use hot pepper flakes instead of jalapenos. We did have a meal of what I thought were Hungarian Wax peppers. I did a sausage/cream cheese/Mexican blend cheese stuffing in them, but Mr. Granny did not like them at all! There was no heat to the peppers, so I'm not sure they are Hungarian Wax. Maybe banana peppers?

This year's total yield of hot peppers was a mere 2.4 lb. compared to last year's 10.2 pounds, from the same number of plants.


The last two heads of cabbage were cut. The tiny one is a Gonzales that was direct seeded mid-summer, the large red cabbage was transplanted to the garden early last spring, but took forever to finally form a head. The other red cabbages, from the same planting, were cut long ago. I'm still getting a few green pole beans, but they are being consumed by morning glory vines, so kind of hard to find and pick. I've been very satisfied with my two container plantings of cucumbers, which have given us more than we can eat and lots of pickles. I'll definitely plant the Double Yield cucumbers again (seeds from Dan).


This is the last of the lettuce, it has now all bolted to seed. I'll probably not get many more radishes, as they seem to be mostly tops with skinny roots. The few I did pull were really good.


Enough pickling cucumbers were harvested through the week to nearly fill a gallon container. Being out of jars, I resorted to using a large plastic container and making refrigerator dills. These were taken to my dill pickle fanatic daughter, who happened to have some of my emptied quart jars. The pickles were transferred to the jars and are now living in her refrigerator. I won't be making any more pickles this year, as I'm now out of jars and out of vinegar. Since we'll be leaving for Arizona in 12 days, I don't want to be buying more vinegar right now. All that kind of stuff will have to be purchased when we arrive at our winter home, so there's no sense in buying it here and having to transport it.


The last harvest of September.

And the first harvest of October.

The Brandywines continue to be the star of the tomato garden, but some of them are beginning to look rather odd, with yellow streaks and blotches. The flavor of the odd ones is not good at all, and they are mealy textured rather than sweet and juicy like the earlier tomatoes. I don't think our mid-forties nights are doing anything for the flavor.


Cool weather makes me feel like cooking comfort food.

I used my regular recipe for cinnamon roll dough, but followed a different recipe for the filling and frosting. These babies are sooooo sweet! Way too sweet for my liking. I liked the frosting, which is flavored with coffee and maple extract, but the amount of sugar in the filling needs to be cut by half, and maybe just a wee bit less frosting would be nice, too. That's a pot of beef stew simmering on the stove. It sure tasted good on a cool evening.

18 oz, hot peppers (final)
408 oz. tomatoes
53 oz. cabbage (final)
62 oz. cucumbers
41 oz. sweet peppers
5 oz. pole beans
3 oz. carrots
4 oz. strawberries
12 oz. lettuce
4 oz. radishes


Total for week: 610 ounces - 38 pounds
Year to date: 871 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!

25 comments:

  1. Boy Granny, you certainly had a good harvest this week! I'm sure that you have a lot to do to get ready to migrate to Arizona for the winter.

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  2. Can I pop over for a helping of that stew, I can smell it from here :-) Diane

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  3. Your comment about the tomatoes not liking the overnight 40's makes me sad! I have mine still out there and we are suppose to get some 40's this week...uhg! I was hoping to get something more this season! The ones on the vines look better than all the others I have had this season! :( Guess we'll see!

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  4. Great harvest! Yes, it is definitely time for comfort food.

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  5. OH YUM! I'm not sure what looks better, the veggies or that ROLL! I always cut the sweetness with a little salted butter melted on top. They look delightful. I'm with you on the baking. I had all the windows open and the oven on all day Sunday!

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  6. Robin, with 12 days left and nothing done...I need to get busy!

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    Diane, you'd better hurry, because I'm eating the leftovers right now! It's even better on day two.

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    Shawn Ann, I'm just at the point where I'm happy if I have to throw away a tomato. Right now the little cherry tomatoes are giving me my fill, and I'm getting tired of having a pot full of sauce on the stove all the time. I think I'll make ketchup today, or a reasonable facsimile ;-)

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    Nartaya, it's time for me to get out the crockpot and use it. I just love hot soups and stew and chili when the weather cools off.

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    Barbie, just a LITTLE butter? I slather it on! The more the better. Butter is one of the finer things in life.

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  7. I've had a few years of sweet jalepeno peppers. If you want them hot you've got to leave them on the vine longer. There isn't any way to know if they're ripe yet without tasting them, unfortunately.

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  8. 12 days!? Already? Makes me sad to see you go again, but I can't wait for the stories.

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  9. Amy Manning, lack of heat is usually from soil that is too rich and water that is too abundant. My potted jalapenos are always hot, but those planted in the main garden are not. As soon as the peppers show corking, they should be hot enough to pick. This year they were hot, just late to blossom and fruit. Many things in the garden were late this year. In fact, our region is known for wine grapes, and growers are fussing that the grapes are 1-2 months behind schedule for ripening this year.

    The peppers that were not hot this year were from saved seed from a pepper I was given last year. I assumed it was a Hungarian Wax, but evidently it wasn't, although there was a bit of heat in the seeds.

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  10. Beautiful harvests. Do you take all those lovely canned goods to Arizona with you? What a shame if you had to leave them home.

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  11. my jalapenos were hotter than last year if that's possible, but in the beginning they tasted just like bell peppers! I actually labeled the "heat" on the freezer bags so I don't get surprised :)

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  12. Did you use The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll icing recipe? I tried that few months ago and wasn't all that thrilled with them. I've heard they are "the best" but not so much for me.

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  13. The Mom, we just don't have enough room in the little Ranger for very many home canned goodies. There's the two dogs and the rabbit (with cage), and a big cooler full of their foods, another cooler full of frozen meats, clothing, all the miscellaneous stuff I need to take...like the bread machine ;-) By the time we get through packing everything, the poor little pickup is just about dragging its rear end on the ground!

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    Erin, my jalapenos were finally hot enough this year, just too late to use as I wanted them to be used.

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    Hannah, in a word...yes. I think the butter and sugar could be cut quite a bit, and maybe a half recipe of the icing, just enough for a light glaze. I never measure my butter and sugar, I just spread and sprinkle. It looked like an awful lot to me, but I gave it a whirl. Same with the icing. I usually make a vanilla glaze, and only a cup or so to drizzle over a pan full of rolls.

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  14. The odd weather did in my container gardening except my birdhouse gourds. Your harvest is wonderful and stew and those rolls! Now I'm hungry.

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  15. Toodie, the harvest doesn't look too bad...until I look back at what I harvested this time last October! Last year I was getting beautiful carrots and spinach and pumpkins and green onions....just lots more than this year. My containers aren't looking so great either, except for the cucumbers and a couple of the tomato plants. The best blooming morning glories are also in a container.

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  16. I know you said they were too sweet - but OMG those sweet rolls look divine! I am a huge sucker for cinnmon rolls with icing/glazing. I never make them because I just cannot stay away from them.

    The first and last tomatoes always seem to have less taste and that mealy texture. I am convinced it is a funciton of the cool night time temps. They truly are a heat loving plant.

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  17. Kitsap, I always get mealy early tomatoes, but our night temps usually stay up in the 50s right up until we get a surprise killing frost, so my fall tomatoes are usually flavorful and juicy. Not this year. I think I might as well pick them and let them ripen inside, at least they can stay warm. I was looking back at my blog just a year ago, and cannot believe the difference! Oh, for a 2009 fall harvest year again.

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  18. Oh Granny, I am salivating over those cinnamon rolls. Delicious.

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  19. Meems, I'd go eat one for you, but I can't hardly get my jeans on now. Too many cinnamon rolls eaten this summer :-(

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  20. Gee Granny, I'll save you from those cinnamon rolls. I'm sure my hubby would help too. We love them so much. Which I think is the reason I don't make them anymore.

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  21. yumm!!!

    im so proud.. on sunday morning i had pretty much decided that i couldnt germinate tomatoes.. using my little peat pots, paper pots and now toilet roll pots.. and that maybe i need to resort to seedings from the nursery.. then visited my mum, came back home and found a bit of mildew onthe tops of a couple of pots.. i went to scrape it off and low and behold there was a little germinating seed 1/2 millimetre.

    then... by night 2! and you can imaging my crazy habit of retuning to seedlings with a magnifiying glass to see little green bits popping out.

    well now, its thursday and i have so many Brany Wines (motivated by your success Annie) , Tigeralla, Black Krim, Hungarian Heart, Big Rain and Periforme to choose from

    and... even more exciting.. its October (equivalent of your April) and i have a 6 foot tomato full of fruit, maybe 12 bunches -not sure what variety as its an accidental that started early winter plus another 7 accidentals im nurturing.. so im a happy little vegemite with the tomato growing bug well and truly in train.

    i think i need to create a blog! i actually got a domain name for it so i might just do it.

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  22. SydneyGardener, good job on the tomatoes! When mine develop that mold on top I spray them with some cool chamomile tea.

    Do start a blog! It's fun, and a good way to make a lot of friends in the gardening community!

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  23. omg, i'm lusting over your buns. lol Buns of the cinnamon variety I mean.

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  24. Kalena Michele, I haven't had my buns lusted after in years! Oh....THOSE buns. Gotcha.

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  25. thanks for the tip re chamomile tea to get rid of the pesky mildew

    managed to grow a tiny fungi/mushroom too.. inall the sydney dampness at the moment.

    Annie!

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