Preserving

Monday, August 16, 2010

Harvest Monday

I thought that this week my harvest poundage would be way down. I was wrong! This week I harvested almost 49 pounds! The eggplant are coming in at a steady pace. There were 2 Rosa Bianca, 2 Black Beauty and 1 Lunga Violetta Di Firenze harvested. I took the last bunch of celery out of one of the back beds on Saturday. It was smaller then the other bunches and was starting to turn yellow.

The cucumbers were still coming in like mad. I harvested almost six pounds this past week. The vines were turning yellow and frankly I really don't won't to see another cucumber! We have all of the pickles and relish needed to supply a small army this year! Saturday, I ripped the vines out the and added some compost to the bed. I was planning to plant the snow peas in that bed yesterday. However, it rained all day (yeah!!) and we had company over for a fresh crab cookout.

The purple pole beans are starting to produce at a steadier rate. I harvested almost 1 pound this week. I really had anticipated quite a bit more. Hopefully they will become a lot more productive. We ate the first of four cantaloupe that were picked this week. It was nice and sweet and juicy!


A couple of eggplant, beans and a lot of hot peppers!

My messy kitchen island.
The basil needed a good trimming. That kept me busy drying for part of a day.
The bowl on the right is full of winter storage tomatoes. This is my first year planting them. They are supposed to be stored and turn red as they get older.


Harvest Total: 48 lbs. 13.5 oz.

Basil - 8 oz.
Beans - 15.5 oz.
Cantaloupe - 13 lbs. 14 oz.
Celery - 1 lb.
Cucumbers - 5 lbs. 15 oz.
Eggplant - 3 lbs. 9.5 oz.
Peppers:
   Bell - 15 oz.
   Hot - 1 lb. 4 oz.
Strawberries - 6 oz.
Tomatoes - 20 lbs. 6.5 oz.


Stop by Daphne's Dandelions the host of Harvest Monday to see more harvests.

18 comments:

  1. This is the first time I am reading about winter storage tomatoes. I didn't know that a variety like that exists. I am very interested to see how long will they store.
    I am jealous of all the cucumbers you have, I harvested 3 small ones during all week.

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  2. I tried to order seeds for those special tomatoes this year, but it was late and they were sold out. Now in the midst of tomato season I am not sure I want them anymore, lol. You must let us know how they taste!

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  3. I store tomatoes that have just broken color but not ripened at end of season - and I usually get a fair amount of them to ripen nicely. These look at about the stage of color that they will handily ripen if stored in a warm location.

    Beautiful harvest this week!

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  4. I've never heard of storage tomatoes before. I can't wait to hear about how they taste.

    Great harvest Robin! I have to rip out a few of my cukes as well. They are looking dreadful these days.

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  5. 49 lbs. is a huge harvest for the week. I bet that melon was good!

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  6. I have also never heard of storage tomatoes, I'll have to check them out. They eggplants and melon look wonderful. Enjoy!

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  7. I love how varied your harvest is!

    Do the different varieties of eggplant have extremely different tastes/textures?

    I am thinking about growing them next year, but really I'm not sure why since I have never even tried eggplant. Maybe they're so alluring because they look so pretty?

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  8. Wow, you have so much eggplant! I am so jealous! Our plants have been growing so slowly!

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  9. 49 lbs!!!! And I was so excited to finally reach 10 lbs in a week!!

    WAY TO GO!!

    I finally was getting small zucchini and squash and the SVB have killed them all and now I am afraid they found the pumpkins!! What can you do? Do you need to do something to the ground before planting anything else??

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  10. What a wonderful harvest. I'd love to know how those tomatoes taste too.

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  11. WOW!! What a harvest. I've never heard of those tomatoes either. It will be interesting to see how they turn out. Keep us informed, ok??
    ~~Lori

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  12. Beautiful harvest Robin! Those eggplant look delicious!!

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  13. How cool is it that you're growing those winter storage tomatoes that no one's ever heard of? I've also never heard of them, but there's lots about home grown veggies that I've never heard of.

    Your purple beans and eggplants are beautiful. Did The Italian whip up something with them?

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  14. 20 lbs of tomatoes!? Trust me, a lot of coastal California gardeners will be very jealous this summer! Even our cherry tomatoes are behind this year.

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  15. Robin, I just read your comment to Granny about MWC seeds. If you have extra seeds for trading, I would love to be put on your list for next year!

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  16. Are you expecting cold weather soon? I have always been under the impression that winter storage tomatoes are varieties that store well for the winter if they need to be picked early due to frost, but that can also be vine ripened normally. Is yours a variety that is best picked green and ripened indoors regardless of weather?

    In Catalonia, where I am originally from, the whole plant is pulled off the ground and then hanged from the rafters until the tomatoes are ripe. I mean, if you happen to have a barn with rafters, else, a bowl on the counter just like yours is the way to go.

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  17. What kind of winter storage tomatoes did you plant? I've growth Mystery Keeper for a while. They aren't bad but I'm not convinced yet.

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  18. The winter storage tomatoes are interesting. I have read about them but have not tried them. Keep me posted on them!

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