Preserving

Monday, March 28, 2011

Harvest Monday.........3/28/2011

Spring may be taking it's good old time settling in this year....but it sure looks like it has sprung in the cold frames! The lettuce is growing nicely and there is plenty out there for some nice salads this week. The rainbow chard is absolutely beautiful! This is my first time growing it and am very anxious to try it. The collards and kale look very happy as well.

This week I harvested about 6 oz of Arugula from the cold frames and the last of the overwinter leeks from the garden.

We used the Arugula in a pasta dish with chicken, sundried cherry tomatoes, white wine & garlic. It was absolutely wonderful! I got the recipe idea from reading a post of Villager's last week.

There's quite a bit arugula in the cold frames ready to harvest. I will give those plants a good haircut this morning as soon as it warms up a bit. The temperature outside is a nice balmy 25 F at the moment!

The last of the overwintered leeks were harvested. They weighed in at about 6 oz after they were trimmed. I made leek and potato soup using a little wine in the recipe this time as suggested by Sue. It was a great dinner with some nice crusty bread!

Stop by Daphne's Dandelions, our host of Harvest Monday to see what's going on in gardens around the globe!

21 comments:

  1. Brrrr, still cold here, too - frost on the ground! I bet my broccoli seedlings are saying "what the heck"?!

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  2. Looks good. I am trying leeks for the first time this year. They don't seem to germinate all that well. I would love to see a post on how you overwintered them. I was just going to store them in the fruit cellar, but if I can keep them outside, even better.

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  3. Erin, It will warm up around noon and I will be heading over to the plots. I think that a lot of the plants are saying "What the Heck"??
    That was my grandson's favorite saying for about a week!!

    Jane, Leeks do seem to take forever to get going and grow. Last year I transplanted them outside at the end of April and just left them there. The first leeks were not harvested until the end of October.

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  4. Glad you enjoyed that arugula dish. I'm going to make it again soon.

    I'm glad we have our cold frames. They are surely helping things grow faster in this changeable weather we're having!

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  5. The arugula and the leeks look very tasty! The rainbow chards are my favorite. I don't even grow other varieties anymore - they provide a visually appealing plant plus the taste is a bit milder than the green chards which I find more to our tastes.

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  6. I really need to get some cold frames so I can grow over a longer season. Or at least some tunnels. I'm working on it but not there yet. Spring really is being slow this year. Last year it came early. This year it is being late.

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  7. We had a late spring and very short summer this year. I am also growing rainbow chard for the first time this year;).

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  8. The bread looks good. Did you make both loaves yourself?

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  9. Tis all looks so good. I am still in my winter hermit phase with 25° this morning. I will come out soon

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  10. Villager, Your dish from last week definitely inspired me. I just hope that I can replicate what I made last week. I'm so happy that we have the cold frames too!

    Laura, The rainbow chard is just so beautiful...I'm happy to hear that you think it's the best tasting too!

    Daphne, Although we would like to, you can't do everything at once. I'm sure that you will get some cold frames built this summer. I am planning to leave at least one of the cold frames in place over the summer and cover it with shade cloth.

    Malay girl, I hope that you have good luck with yours...it's just so beautiful!

    Perdita, I made the round rustic bread to have with the soup and "The Italian" made the regular bread in the bread machine.

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  11. johanna, it has definitely been one long winter!!

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  12. Robin,

    Let me know how you cook the Chard. I chop it up (including the red stalks) and saute in garlic and oil. the kids actually like it alot.

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  13. It's been lovely here today but I think we are due for some rain over the next two days - never tried argula - what does it taste like?

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  14. We had our first harvest from our cold frame today too.

    http://groceriesgardenanddinner.blogspot.com

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  15. Robin: I had leek failure last season...I'm so jealous of yours! I haven't given up...will try again. Your bread looks delicious!

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  16. Great harvest this week!! I have to remember to plant arugula. I love the peppery taste. Your leeks look wonderful!

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  17. Vic, It will be awhile before the chard is ready. I think that the way you cook it sounds perfect!

    Sue, Arugula is supposed to have a pepper taste. This is the first time that I have grown it or used it. I thought it tasted a little like spinach but not as strong. It was good.

    ali, Congrats on your first harvest from your cold frames. I'm going to stop by you blog.

    Lynda, Leeks take forever to grow....but we just love them. Don't give up!

    Thanks Holly, this was the first time that I have grown or eaten Arugula. I will have to cook it by itself since I really didn't taste the peppery taste.

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  18. Those leeks look great. Although I don't know what overwintered means. Does it mean you stored them over winter, or were they growing in the cold frame? We would like a few this year. Are we too late?

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  19. Hi Jody, Leeks take forever to grow. I start my seeds inside Feb/March then plant them outside around the end of April. The earliest ones weren't ready to harvest until late October last year. Then I just left them in the ground in a regular bed and harvested them during the fall and winter. They do not need to be protected in a cold frame. If you get some seeds and start them now it won't be too late for this year...good luck!

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  20. It looks like you have the same type of temperature challenges that I do except mine are from the heat! Your beds look great in your photos - it's wonderful that you can harvest from your cold frames until the temps finally warm up.

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  21. The leeks look so good, I started some seeds and hopefully they are big enough to transplant by April.

    Love that rustic bread!

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