The harvesting and varieties of harvests are definitely picking up around here. I pulled the rest of the gigantic Baby Choi. There were 14 plants total. Five were given to family and friends, some was frozen and the rest is being used in some great Asian dishes prepared by "The Italian".
Baby Choi - 89 oz. harvested this week
I planted three varieties of cauliflower this spring at the plots. The first variety to form heads is the "Silver Cup".
The first head of "Silver Cup" was very small and flowering immediately with pink and green flowers. "The Italian" used it in a stir fry.
I'm still harvesting scapes from the garlic here at the house. I made some "Scape Pesto Base" and froze it for use over the winter. I made it with just the scapes and oil olive. That way we could add pine nuts, cheese or what ever we felt like when we use it.
The strawberries are producing at a steady pace. We have been eating them every day. I made an Angel Food Cake this week. We just add some fresh strawberries on top and a little vanilla ice cream on the side to make a wonderful dessert! I really don't think that I will have any strawberries to freeze this year since it is the first year for the plants.
The "Little Marvel" shelling peas are just starting to be harvested. We had one serving of them so far this past week. The beautiful Spring Blush Snap Peas are slowing down a bit. I have managed to freeze a couple of portions. I think that I am going to plant them again in the fall. They are just so darn good! I also started to harvest some Snow Peas here at the house and at the plots.
Saturday I looked at the lettuce and realized that some had to be harvested immediately. I ended up with two pounds consisting of eight different varieties! Of course I gave some to my neighbor and he brought me over a bottle of wine! I wonder how much wine I will get for some wonderful tomatoes????
Harvest total for the week - 11.875 lbs.
Baby Choi - 5.5625 lbs.
Cauliflower - 8 oz.
Lettuce - 2.0625 lbs.
Shelling Peas - 10 oz.
Snow Peas - 4 oz.
Spring Blush Snap Peas - 11 oz.
Spring Onions - 4 oz.
Scapes - 5 oz.
Strawberries - 1.625 lbs.
Stop by Daphne's Dandelions our Harvest Monday hostess with the mostest to see what is going on in veggie gardens around the globe!!
I love cauliflower, but it is fussy. Have you tried Cheddar or Graffiti? They are expensive, but seem to be a bit less fussy. I also really like Violet Queen, which looks more like a sprouting broccoli, but is delicious.
ReplyDeleteThos strawberries are beautiful. I don't grow them, but seeing those photos makes me drool.... I have a big grower just a few miles from my place where we pick a lot every year, but I'm thinking about starting some everbearing strawberries because I love them so... and you make it look so tempting!
Ali, No, I have never grown cheddar or graffiti cauliflower.I really hope that the cooler weather will help the other cauliflower plants produce enough for freezing since I don't want to have to plant a fall crop of cauliflower too. I already purchased some different seed varieties for fall broccoli. I think that I better get them started.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have some fresh strawberries in the garden for eating. I'm going to a u-pick it farm tomorrow morning to get some for jam and freezing. I hope it's not too late!
That pesto base will be so nice to have this winter! That's a whole lotta lettuce! The baby choi looks perfect.
ReplyDeleteThose Starwberries look wonderful! I wish my Cauliflower was ready to pick like yours :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a large and colorful pile of lettuce! I never grow cauliflower because all of us in my family think it is a "ho hum" tasting veggie and because it is such a fussy plant to grow - it just is not worth my time or the garden space it uses. I admire those of you who do grow it and can manage to get some decent looking heads out of your plants.
ReplyDeleteWOW! What a bounty you have there girl, I should get me a boat and be black beard and haul some of those goodies to NC :o)...I planted some Boc choy this week , I hope it comes up half as well as yours :o) Nice Harvest any day.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful variety of harvest! Your strawberry desert sounds very delicious. I wish our cauliflower will grow much faster now:).
ReplyDeleteErin, The baby choi totally surprised me. I'm going to have to plant more in the cold frame beds for the fall and winter. I thought it was better to just make a pesto base and then we could do whatever we want to with it.
ReplyDeleteAllison, The strawberries have been very good. I'm just hoping that the other cauliflower will do better.
Laura, That lettuce was a lot more then I thought! We just love cauliflower here. We make most of it into mashed cauliflower during the winter months. I add adobo, cheese, scallions or what suits my fancy and it just wonderful and less fattening then mashed potatoes!
Thanks Ginny, you can bring your boat up here any time...then we could sit and relax and have "The Italian" cooks us a wonderful meal!
Malay girl, We have definitely been enjoying our strawberry desserts around here. I think that the cauliflower does much better when it grows slower....so hopefully you'll have a good harvest!
Your counter shot looks great! You'll have a whole salad soon. :-D
ReplyDeleteYes, as a fellow 6B gardener I concur that this extremely hot weather has caused a lot of bolting.
ReplyDeletenellie
That lettuce is incredible. I have always been afraid to grow head lettuce and this makes it look so tempting, easy and rewarding. Maybe I'll try for the fall. Waiting for my peas - they are just beginning to flower.
ReplyDeleteYou mean some people actually eat something besides lettuce? LOL, I'd kill for your strawberries about now.
ReplyDeleteThe bok choy looks perfect. So pretty. But I'm like Granny. I'd kill for the strawberries.
ReplyDeleteBarbie, You're funny....I don't know about that!!
ReplyDeleteNellie, Hi and thanks for stopping by fellow 6B!
johanna, I grow both head and leaf lettuce. More then half of what is in that picture is leaf lettuce! I can't believe that you have squash and no peas!!
Granny, Yes some of us do eat something besides lettuce :) Wait until you see what I'm getting tomorrow!!!
Daphne, I think that maybe you need to put a strawberry bed in!!
gigantic Baby Choi, is that an oxymoron? :-) It's so wonderful to see your garden producing so much homegrown goodies for you! Lettuce for wine, I think you have the perfect neighborhood hookup. Of course, your neighbor probably thinks he got the better deal by having access to perfect organic locally grown lettuce!
ReplyDeleteMinji, I can't wait for the tomatoes to start. I know that they go to a local organic farmer's market and pay 2-3 dollars for a single heirloom tomato! Do you think I should put my order in for a case of good Chianti???
ReplyDeleteThat cauliflower is so pretty, even though it is bolting! I am very jealous how good your strawberries look! Mine have been tiny and not so pretty! But they have tasted good!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, your harvest is colorful, diverse, tasty and delightful. We would love to try "the Italian's" cooking!
ReplyDeleteShawn Ann, I think it's the taste that counts when it comes to strawberries!!
ReplyDeleteJody, We will definitely have to get together some time this season!
What a great harvest! I've never tried growing cauliflower but plant on giving it a go in fall.
ReplyDeleteThose cauliflowers are unusual - we grow coloured headed ones but no multi coloured headed. Never heard of freezing pak choi
ReplyDeleteThanks Holly, I hope that your cauliflower will be a success!
ReplyDeleteSue, The cauliflower is not supposed to be multi colored. It is supposed to be white. It was so strange that the first head had the colors that it did. I thought it was kind of pretty.
Your harvest looks really nice. There's nothing baby about those choi.
ReplyDeleteWhen did you start those cauliflowers? I tried growing them once, but it was a total fail. I'm still trying to get the timing of my brassicas right.
Great harvest!! I am still in love with those peas you're growing.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about freezing pac choi -- can you elaborate? I've always thought it couldn't be done so I only grow a small quantity and just eat fresh and in season.
Sherry, I agree, the Baby Choi was huge and tasty! I started my cauliflower toward the end of March. You are supposed to start them about 4 weeks before planting them out.
ReplyDeleteLynn, We are so loving those peas too! I'm going to plant more for the fall. This is the first time that I froze pac choi. We had so much of it that I thought I would give it a try. I did a search and it said that it could be frozen. I chopped it up and then blanced the stems for about 45 seconds then added the greens and blanched a little longer. We will see how it works out.
I just love the header photo--strawberries at their very best!
ReplyDeleteSorry about the cauliflower-it's so fussy about weather and will flower at the first sign of hot weather. I'm glad you were able to get some good eating out of it though. I guess gardens challenge us, right down to the kitchen!
:)
Sue, the cauliflower I have harvested since Monday is twice the size of the first five I harvested....and much nicer too. I'm hoping that they will get bigger and better since the weather has been much much cooler!
ReplyDeleteYour gardening is inspiring!! I inadvertantly purchased 3 cauliflower now growing in my cabbage bed. One has a harvestable sized head, so I guess we'll be eating it this weekend. I was recently given a heavy--I think it's "Guardian Service"--pressure canner. Have you ever canned cabbage? I've been hot-water-bath canning for about 7 years, so I'm ready to buy new seals and make the jump. Write me, please. thanks! <3
ReplyDeleteducks4you, Hi there, thanks for stopping by and following my blog! I am very glad that you find my gardening inspiring! The only cabbage that I have canned is in the form of sauerkraut. All of my canning to date has been hot-water-bath method. I have never used a pressure canner before and I'm not sure that I really need one with what I can. That thought may change though.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful harvest, can't wait to see your summer veggies.
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