Harvest Monday 6/23/14

Welcome back to Harvest Monday!

I am unfortunately still dealing with thievery and nastiness in my garden. I am ready to turn it all under and wait until fall to start again. That is a sad day, indeed. All of my harvests this week were wild ones...

Blackberry season is upon us. The blackberries at home? GONE. The berries are all gone and one of the plants was chewed through. I'm not happy with that, but I was thrilled to gather a few handfuls like this for desserts. No cooking or prep needed, just pop 'em and go!

This harvest however, well it needed quite a bit of prep work. My son is learning how to filet and how to prep pan fish. This guy was too large for a pan fry, and needed to be filleted. But he was part of a stringer that ended up being a wonderful dinner for 5. :-)

Ah, yes this also took a lot of prep work. all the meat on the right was from a regular rack of ribs, the meat on the left is all wild pig. YUM... this was all smoked on Saturday and what you see here is after 9 of us were finished. My fridge is full of leftovers now and that makes for easy meal prep this week. :-)

Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to go by Daphne's Dandelions. She's got the scoop on what's happening in gardens around the globe.

See you soon!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 9.9.13

Oh what a Monday it is!

 

This is definitely the top of my harvest weeks. What I am harvesting today is pure, sheer, genuineness. OK. Maybe not but I sure do wish I had a way to keep what I am harvesting today. BECAUSE today I am harvesting....

 

Look deep into my foliage....

 

BEES!!!!

 

That's right! Thursday evening or Friday morning a swarm of bees showed up. Today they are still here and they can't be left here. This is at my work and there are far too many people here. People who like bug spray. I'm currently waiting for the Beekeeper to show up. Like I said - I just wish I had a way to keep them for myself. It would be so nice to have these wonderful workers at my house!

 

I harvested a handful of blackberries while I was working outside this weekend. The other thing I harvested this week was a rogue pomegranate. It was growing on the wrong side of the fence. I didn't even know it existed until I went out front to do some cleaning up in the hibiscus bushes. :-)

I <3 surprises!

 

 

I really do, and this weekend I got 2 great ones!

 

Now, if the corn I sowed would just show up.... WAHHHHH....

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

Tuesday Harvest? 9.3.13

You know when a Holiday falls on a Monday it throws me all kinds of out of whack!

 

It's like Monday just doesn't exist or something. Don't get me wrong. I'm OK with this fact. It means I've had one less day sitting behind my desk at work. ;-)

 

This past weeks harvest is kind of important though so I wanted to tell you about it. Not in so much as what I harvested but what I didn't harvest.

 

My blackberry bushes are forming berries again. The second crop is always much smaller than the first. I'm pretty good with this as it's usually sweeter as well. The larger berries are better for juice/jelly and such but these berries are better for fresh eating.

To wit - this is the only berry I managed to remember to take a picture of. This time of year the stalks are longer and weep closer or even all the way to the ground so it's a fight with the chickens over these if I forget to tie them up before I let the hens out for the afternoon over the weekends.

Not to mention I have to fight with the kids and myself over not just popping them in our mouths and eating them. Actually getting them inside for a picture is a feat in itself. This one got mangled on the way in. Then no one wanted to eat it because it wasn't as pretty. Well - boo hoo to them. It still tasted just as good!

 

 

 

It being September means the sweet potatoes have been in the ground for seven months now and I like to pull them up sometime between September and October. So I rooted around and found a few potatoes. What I found wasn't very encouraging. So I stripped the plants of any formed potatoes. My hope is that if I give the plants another 6 weeks I might have a last round of sweet potatoes to carry me through. What I got out form under the plants? 10 pounds of extremely split sweet potatoes and about 2 and a half pounds of usable ones. I also got a rogue carrot, and a snake skin. LOL. Never know what you'll find in such dense vegetation 'round here!

Split potato in front (vast majority were this way) only usuable ones in back. Snake skin and carrot on table, too. The kids thought it was funny that the little carrot formed. It wasn't bad considering it was a summer carrot. The shade from the heavy foliage must have helped the carrot but it was still rather bitter. Snake looks like a rat snake or garter. Both are very common here.

 

Last but certainly not least the eggs. This is what my eggs looked like this past week on Friday...

 

I had been getting 3 every day. Just like usual with a skip by the large bird about once a week, sometimes twice. She's not meant to lay 7 days a week so that's just not a shock there.

 

Friday, Saturday and Sunday I got 2 eggs a day and this is what the nest looked like:

 

Oh, my. I guess we know what is going on here. It's just that time of year after all. Thankfully for my birds they are going to be getting naked while it's still quite warm out. I feel bad for the birds up north that get naked when it's so cool at night, and even in the SNOW! BRRRRr..... Yesterday, on Monday? Only one egg. So it looks like egg production is down, feather production is up and my birdies will be looking rather disheveled for a while. I'm hoping it won't take too long. I'm also hoping it will set little Miss red on her rear! She's been pecking on Dusty when she's in the nest box and has managed to pick all of her neck feathers out. It would be good if this helped to change her temperament a little bit. *crossing fingers* If not I'll be buying two chicks in the spring to replace her and while my soup pot will be fat the hen house will get skinny. LOL. Just don't tell the kids. I don't mind them knowing where our food comes from, but these hens are their pets. After all they watch us quarter the hogs and deer. Meat and butchering is not a surprise to them.

 

Ah, so that was my Labor Day weekend. We enjoyed ourselves, puttered around the garden. Replanted the corn that didn't come up...(Oh, yes that is another post)  This week I'll tear out the squash that just up and died on me. *pout* and the circle of garden life continues on.

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

 

 

Harvest Monday 7.1.13

July! July? JULY!!!!!!



 

I'm SO excited! It's J~U~L~Y!

 

Know what that means?

 

 

Sweat. LOTS of it. But, it also means. Ice tea, lemonade, grilling, broken air conditioners (in Alabama FUN!) Lots of work outside, and lots of cooling of in the shade.

 

This week the work was clearing out the rest of the broken corn. I got a few more ears of corn, but a lot of it hadn't matured right. It simply wasn't able to fertilize being mashed down.

 

Some of the corn did better than others.

 It seems that even the ears that got fertilized was stunted in other ways. Some of it had rows missing, and other ears were stunted in length.

But, all in all it only took another 3 weeks out of that part of the garden it's the time of year that I can't grown much anyway so I don't feel that I've lost anything by trying. We actually had enough corn to throw on the grill for all of us with some left over and we each ate an ear or two of the decrepit corn with only a few kernels while we were plundering through the garden. There is just nothing like fresh veggies in the world and this is one of my favorites. All told we had 4 pounds of edible corn. More went to the hens that was demolished by the caterpillars. Because the corn was laying down it was hard to keep it treated with BT and soap. I don't normally treat with anything else so I did lose a bit to that. Luckily those ears were also quite small.

 

Also in the mix this week a couple of choice blackberries and some tomatoes.

The tomatoes are a bit sun burnt I was trying to keep the dang stink bugs off of them, but apparently that didn't work out so well. I can see the little points of color change on the skins where the bugs damaged them. I was thinking sun burnt might be better than stink bugged, and I didn't see any signs of the bugs when I went out tot he garden.  However, apparently not having the leaves cover the tomatoes must have simply given the stupid bugs a better lookout and not so much less of a place to hide. :-( It just didn't work. Bad thing is the bugs aren't even that bad this year - yet.

 

Ah- so that is my report for Harvest Monday. I'm hoping the blackberries will be strong in Alabama. I'll report back next week! I'd like some black berry syrup and some blackberry jam and just black berries! Wish me luck!

Oh, and don't forget to check out Daphne's for more Harvest reports from all over the world.

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

 



Garden Bloom overview (partial/May)

 

I splurged on one plant to see what it was all about this spring. I'm glad I did. It was a "super Roma" tomato plant, and so far, it's been SUPER! It's taken our extreme temperatures and my lack of care and spat back loads of tomatoes.

Zucchini is still going strong for now...and the potatoes are still taking turns flowering. This is the last of the taters to flower. In the back you can see the single radish I've let go to seed. This bed hasn't been productive in a year, except for radishes so I figured why not?

The apple tree is blossoming. The first blossomed failed. I wonder how the trees are doing in Alabama?

I'm so curious, and my hubby is going on a quick trip in 2 weeks. It should be early blackberry season there, too. Wondering if I can talk him into bringing back some and taking pictures of my trees...

Pomegranates are doing well this season. I can't wait for them. It takes SOOO long for them to ripen. It nearly hurts to wait so long!

I've got grapes on the vine, too! Not as many as last year, but that is my fault, and it's OK. I knew better with my choice of plants but I just had to have the Concord grapes because I love them so much. They are worth it. Delectable little jewels that they are. 

There is so much more just since the 10 days that I took these pictures. The mulberries are blooming again... Joy? The cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers, string beans, Lima beans, all going like gang busters right now. 

The weather is changing daily again. I know that everyone has been talking about how weird the weather is, but well and truly I've never in my lifetime seen 50's in the middle of May, and yet this morning that is what I awoke to. Absolutely amazing.  

Oh, did I mention I fixed a sprinkler head that my hubby tried to fix for the last year? He even replaced the entire head and that didn't work. It was the pipe that was stripped causing the sprinkler head to sit wrong. It just took a little finesse and a lot of muscle and determination to get it right. I do get the feeling at some point in the future we'll have to re-do the entire line section there, but for now it's working again, and I'm rubbing it in that a woman fixed what the man could not.

:-)

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 5.6.13

Monday - Already? You've got to be kidding me! This weekend went SO fast!

I worked on a project for the chickens. I forgot to take pictures while I was working because i was by myself, but now that it is almost finished I have to go back and take photos. It's worth it. I turned the door around to their pen. I always hated the door leading to their run. I still do, but I hate it a little less now. LOL.At least I can OPEN the door now. See, it used to open in, and the little chooks always seemed to toss all the shavings wood chips and anything else they could find right in the path of the door. I fixed that! It did impede on their space a little, but there is only 3 of them and they do have a good sized run for just a couple of them. I have a few other things up my sleeve for them this summer, too. Just a couple things to help in the way of boredom and keeping them occupied during our seasonal rains. :-)

Ah, but that isn't why you are here is it? It's not just Monday... it's HARVEST MONDAY! Of course! This weeks harvests included the first potatoes and zucchini of the year. I threw those on the grill with some pork chops Friday night. I love it when a meal comes almost entirely from the garden, and ALL local. :-)

Also harvested more carrots, another cauliflower. This one topped out at a decent 2lbs 9oz. a few strawberries a pound of blueberries (not all pictured) and ... well... Oh yeah! One H.O.T. radish. I'm guessing that the weather is just getting too warm for them now.

The zucchini are full bore now. I've got a good 6 on the 2 bushes/vines? Hmm... Anyway We'll be swimming in them the next couple weeks which is good. They tend to only last a few weeks now as we get into May and June so we will be sure to take advantage while we can!

The potatoes I pulled up are the ones that are planted around the blueberry bushes. I didn't like the idea of leaving them to grow to full size under the blueberries and damaging the bushes roots. I knew the longer I let them grow the more likely I'd have a hard time digging them out and end up hurting the bushes. Since they flowered almost 3 weeks ago I've been keeping a close eye on them. Turned out to be the perfect time to pull this little bush we each got a small potato perfectly proportioned for us!

I would love to show off to you my first blackberries of the season as well, but my lovely daughter decided that she wanted to pick me a bouquet of flowers... (Can you see where this is going?) Just so you know when you cut a blackberry flower it only last a few hours in a vase. Also, just so you know it's REALLY hard not to cry when you realize just  WHAT the flowers are that your well intending child handed you with a smile on her face. 'Happy Mother's Day' she says. Happy Mother's Day, indeed. What a gem she is. Every. Single. Bud. And from the thornless canes no less. LMBO.

Ah, well. I suppose it wouldn't be gardening without trials and tribulations, now would it?

 

OH! Guess what else weird just happened? My blueberries REbloomed! Check it!

How Weird it this? I talked to a local blueberry farmer about it and more than half of his crop re-bloomed as well. He thinks it is because of the really late weird frost/freeze we had a few weeks ago. We had another weird cool spell just Saturday night - it actually got down to 59*. For us in May... that is just freaky. The blooms this time aren't as pretty and I'll assume they won't be as large of fruit, but so far on the bushes that have re-bloomed I have about half again as much fruit. That is good because I didn't get as much fruit this year because we didn't get but about 40 chill hours total. The bush in the picture is only a second year cutting so the fruit wont be kept. It's too small to support it yet. Next spring I'll allow it a small crop.

I'm rambling now. Off to work.

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~ 

 

 

Harvest Monday 5.2.11

Happy Monday! Harvest Monday, of course. Joining in at Daphne's once again to see what the world is harvesting, and sometimes how they are using their harvests. Break out your Maypoles people the harvests have begun to diversify. It's time to string the ribbons and celebrate!
This week was the most productive by far this year. Lettuce, berries, beans, CARROTS (each day a few as I needed them!)

 

 

 

 

*Onions (small bulbs, but oh so good) 6lb total      *Green beans total of 5lb 6oz      *Zucchini I forgot to measure it all but 4lb 7oz       *Carrots for a whopping 3pounds, my largest EVER harvest of them       *Strawberries 9oz     *blueberries 15oz      *lettuce 8oz      *peas 4.5oz      *peaches 2lb 3ozs!   Blackberries  4oz  *broccoli 1lb 6oz

The broccoli is nearly final, and the lettuce is final - I am still undecided if I will allow the remaining plants to try to give me side shoots. The second succession of beans are starting, just as I'm almost ready to pull the first set out so perfect timing there. The most productive zucchini has PM so it's a matter of time now... and that's all right I'll have it again in a few months in the fall. I'm sure I'll get a few more weeks out of it, until the steady afternoon rains come. Now I will have to keep an eye on my winter squash I suppose. Ho hum.

'Till next time!

Barbie~

The newest update.

In pictures of course. Because I'm hot or cold with them. Either all or nothing, and today you get 'em all! Well, gardening ones anyway.

I came home the other day with this lovely basket. All for the sake of sharing a little knowledge, and a lot of wind (talk, not toots!)  with a friend of mine. I sent him home to his wife with a grab bag full of seeds all labeled with when to plant and what would tolerate the frosts and what wouldn't, etc. I certainly didn't expect this, and now turn abouts fair play - if anyone is looking for the best AFLAC agent in Florida just let me know and I'll be glad to send you his info. :-) His wife C. made this basket by hand. Talk about talent. OK she didn't hand weave the thing, but she put it all together and made such a wonderful presentation. I can't wait to find the perfect place to put a few of these things, and the Burt's Bees already managed to find a place, my purse! :-D

Now, for the garden side. It's the end of April now so the cooler season crops have all dwindled down. I expect that the very last peas will be brought in on Saturday. All what, three, five? of them that are left. In their place I'll need to decide quickly if I will plant the limas or the black beans, or the cow peas, or.... *sigh* such cramped spaces is bad this time of year. In the winter it's good because I don't do a lot of cole crops but in the spring and through fall it is pure torture.

Believe it or not my corn is tasseling! It's a mere 3.5 - 4 foot tall! I am certainly not complaining. Early corn is all good by me. I'm just concerned because something inevitably happens to my corn. I typically harvest only 1/5 of what is planted. Oh, and I have a few silks peeking out, too so at least the plants aren't insane, they are doing what they are supposed to do, just early it seems.

The tomatillos - well they are insane still - both bushes but as of yet none of the fallen flowers have filled in well enough to tell for sure that we have set fruit. It seems we have, but no guarantees yet. I'm wondering how the 'papers' will do in our humidity, but so far the plants are certainly thriving on absolutely no attention whatsoever. I've decided next year to plant them behind the pool pump and let them grow wild, like weeds. We had a lantern grow there last year for only 2 months and it was willing to dominate the entire pumpyard. I'm thinking these plants look identical and act identical and would do very well there, completely ignored.

There are monsters in my garden lurking! This behemoth weighed in at over 2 and a half pounds! And it DID NOT BULB! Hello!? Can you imagine if it had? Yikes!
It has siblings i left in the ground, but curiosity got the best of me and after playing tug of war for a few minutes, I finally got this one out to give it the once over. Hopefully the others will see the massacre and get scared into bulbing. Hey, cound happen. Never know! Meanwhile it is perfectly usable, just not for storage. Soup, here it comes!

 

Every tomato plant I have it setting fruit now. Not as much fruit as I have seen in years past, thanks to a very hot start to our spring, but a faster start then previous years so it is a trade off. Even the smallest plants at only 4" are setting fruits! The one in the screen enclosure is as well and it is small, too. It's a everglades currant if anyone in Florida wants to know. I'll be planting more of those. Tom says they will set through the summer. I'm yet to see a tomato that truly sets in Florida summers, but he lives not far from me, so we shall see. I'm certainly excited to try, and Tom is someone I definitely trust, so I'm very excited indeed! (even if it is a tee tiny tomato something is better than nothing!)

The beans are still producing well, spilling into the lawn.
The first to produce (harvester) are finished with their duty and ready to be pulled and replaced with a summer staple. Hard to do that when the plant itself is so darn healthy. But it would be another 4 weeks before it would bloom again and then it would be too hot to set. Of course the decision of which plant will replace it is yet to come.

 

Sunflower, Winter squash Lakota and Pomegranates ready for pollination.

 
Pesky cuke finally took after weeks of getting after it with a paint brush. Just look! It's already over grown the 4' lattice. sheesh! I'm so happy to see this little fella hanging on!

The blackberries are uh- brambling. The grapes are setting....

 The peaches are ripening and as of yesterday fully half of them were stolen and our back gate was open. Grrr...

I've decided I'm going to fertilize this guy, grown him big and get him a collar. Then I will sick him on anyone who walks back there unannounced! Bad news is we had just showed off our garden to a neighbor. We don't think she did it, but we think she may have talked it up with her neighbors and word spreads. I just hope it was someones kids who did it and not an adult. I will seriously hurt someone if I find them stealing my food. (adult) Ask, and I will gladly share, but do NOT steal! Grrr...

I think that is it. The rest of the pictures are for Harvest Monday so come on back y'all. I have them uploaded already so at least you'll have the first half of the week waiting for ya! This week the garden harvesting is going gangbusters -relatively speaking for a 100 square foot garden- as the cool season stuff is on it's way out and needs harvested before it bolts. Get this- I FINALLY (successfully) grew carrots! Sweet success. Only problem is that the kids are eating them straight out of the garden (after rinsing them with the garden hose) and not many are making it inside! I guess that is a good sign that they at least taste good. GO ME! *snicker*

'Till next time!

Barbie~