Havest Monday 4.8.13

April is turning out to be a good month for harvesting. It always is, but since i had next to nothing for several months it seems that this month has just exploded. Feast or famine I suppose. :-)

This weeks pictures:

Mulberries are at the top of the harvest list yet again. They tend to steal the show this time of year. Here is just under 6 cups of the the little juicy wonders... I'm only harvesting them twice a week now. Not because I couldn't harvest them every single day, but because I can't mentally deal with them. I don't have time to tend to 2-3 cups each day and there are a few issues starting with them. I'll discuss this later in the week. I still love them, and the kids love eating them, but as in years past we tend to quickly get sick of them. So after about 10 cups a week I quit.

Snap peas joined the harvest this week along with my regular shelling peas, jalapenos, blueberries, strawberries, lettuce 

 

and always present eggs. My kids made me stick the feather in the picture. Apparently my girls are tired of carrying around the same plumage for the past year. Only problem is that none of them are molting entirely either so we have this half molt stage going on where they all look rather scraggly but non of them are doing anything about it. Yet another post I need to get to. ;-)

So tally this week: 5oz shelling peas, 3oz snap peas, 5oz blueberries (forgot to weigh the lettuce we just had salad with it and the strawberries) 1oz jalapeno, 4lb mulberries.

 

Hope your harvesting, too! Don't forget to check in with Daphne to see what people are harvesting all over the world! Thanks Daphne for always being such a great hostess and reminding us to link up!

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 4.1.13

No April Fool's Jokes here. The only joke is the way I feel after a ton of work in the yard this weekend.

Not only did we get the new container filled up, but the playground got cleaned up and newly mulched, the hedges got trimmed, the lawn got mowed, the seeds got sowed, the chicken coop got cleaned... we spent the entire weekend outside. Except for the 3 hours Easter morning that we spent hunting eggs and doing the whole bunny thing.

 

Harvests this week? Peas, Jalapenos, mulberries, a head of lettuce, radishes and...

THE! FIRST! BLUEBERRIES!

Nom, Nom, Nom. Just for Easter morning. I didn't tell anyone. I didn't show anyone. I scarfed them. Most of the berries have been disappearing just before ripening. Much like my peaches. :-( But these I got to in time! Next year I'll net the bushes, but this year I just don't have enough on the poor bushes to make it worth my time and effort. I'll have to decide what to do with the bushes when they are done producing. Around here it's pretty common to see the big producers cut them hedge style at the end of picking in order to allow the new canes time to grow again before next season. I might do this as this is the second year these plants are int he ground. (They spent one yer in pots getting nursed back to health) They are now just barely large enough to sustain that treatment.

Of course we also harvest eggs. And, given the nature of the week and all, you probably figured out what I did with those eggs, right? Right. I boiled them suckers up and we played with them! The kids a blast this year. I don't think that they even really remember dying them last year. They remember seeing them dyed of course, but not the process and just how messy and fun it can be. I'm always on the look out for special things to do with our eggs, and since I'm just not willing to spend the money to go and buy WHITE eggs for this singular occasion we have to get creative to make them stand out. I think we did a pretty darn good job. If I do say so myself. :-)

 

As for the outside work? I don't have all the pictures, but the two boxes I have pictures of.

The newer box still needs the top finished in brick. They are there and waiting, but they were holding up the side bricks while they dried. LOL. The first box is fully planted now. I snapped a picture from the window of my living room. I don't know if you can really see or not, but it has lettuce, tomato, potato, leek, and strawberries. :-D

 

I'm really enjoying the height of the boxes. It makes it nice to have a seat and be able to garden without breaking my back. No aching knees and no itchy grass, either.

 

Sown this week: Early Sunglow? corn, Henderson bush Lima beans, Top Crop green beans, Burmese okra,  Sierra Gold & Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe, Sugar Baby Watermelon,  Kubocha Sunshine, Yard long cucumber, Cilantro, Genovese, Sweet & Giant basil

(BOX) Contender bush beans, Holstein beans, Sun Spot sunflowers, Eureka, & All Season cucumber, Ground cherries

 

I think that is everything. I may have missed something. I only sowed half the box. I'm still undecided on the other half. I may just wait 2 weeks and fill it in with green beans. Can't go wrong with them around here. :-)

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

 

 

Harvest Monday 3.11.13

It's HARVEST TIME!!!

Look at what I harvested this week!

I harvested me up some Young 'ens!

 

They sure do grow like weeds some times. LOL. We had a blast out at the Strawberry festival this week. We enjoyed playing games and riding rides, and emptying my wallet most of all. But we did NOT come home empty handed. Nope. We came home with sushi! Yup. We always seek out the game that wins you the 'free' goldfish. I figure we can refill the pond and at least we are paying to play something that will be putting fish back into the system. :-) So far 3 are still alive. So a day of fun and 3 fish for $80 bucks... Nah, not worth it in my book, but definitely worth it for their memory books!

 :-D

 

We made more memories when we got home and added our strawberries to the ones we picked at the farm. Then we made strawberry jam!

THIS is my favorite thing all year y'all! Seriously. Nothing compares in my mind to the crisp, cool flavor and the sweet smell of fresh homemade strawberry jam. MMMMmmm.... I look forward to this weekend and THIS is worth my $80. Hands down. Yes, for just a few measly little pints of jam. HA! You certainly can't get anything like it in a store. I'm hoping to make another batch tonight so I'll have enough to at least get me through spring, but I know better. The more I have the faster it goes! It's also not the same made with store bought berries. I don't know what it is, but it's different.

Anyway I really did harvest stuff. A few of those berries are mine, and I harvested 4 head of lettuce and a single jalapeno. Of course I also harvested mulberries as well. What is it with single peppers? I guess they are better than no peppers, but they are kind of hard to use. Mostly when I use hot peppers I need quite a few of them. So this single one just went right into a pickle jar. The lettuce?

One set for us and one set for my sister. I brought it to work for her. :-)

 

The peas are setting pods, just in time for us to run to Alabama. I'm hoping that the squirrels don't find them before we get back, but I know that is a pipe dream. Potatoes are planted, late for me, but planted. I get the feeling the entire garden is going to be on a late schedule this year because of the new planter. I don't know why it bothers me so much. It's not like it's the first time it will be late. Usually it's MY fault directly. LOL.

 

Did I mention how happy I am that I have strawberry jam again?  :-D

Trying not to brag too much and dying to make more...

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

 

Oh! I almost forgot! Linking into Daphne's Dandelions for Harvest Monday. Keep the ball rolling. Stop by her place to see what people are harvesting from all over the world!!!

 

 

 

 

Harvest Monday 2.25.13

The end of February - already? Wow time flies! It's nearly March already, hard to believe. But, I do have a harvest to report! Linking into Daphne's Dandelions. Make sure you stop by and check out what people are harvesting from all around the world! Thanks Daphne for hosting. It amazes me that you still host when you are off and running on vacation. LOL
This week brought the first mulberries!

The tree is loaded to the hilt with them. I thought surely I'd lose them in the freeze, but they were safe and sound!

Look at them all getting ripe and juicy just for me and my gang. Later in the year they'll be given to the chickens but the first crop of the year is ours to devour! :-D

Last years first ripe berries came on March 19th. So a full 3 weeks early this year...

Also on the harvest list is:

 

 

A decent leek. I'm hoping for potato and A leek soup. LOL... I only had one at harvest size. I tried to move the rest of the juveniles. I hope they hold up all right. I dug them nice and deep, moved the soil surrounding them. Hopefully they'll make a good transplant and still be good to harvest in a couple months. I figure after eating something in the allium family I'll need something to freshen our breath. Some MINT perhaps? :-D I needed to transplant the Mother plant so I harvested as much as I could, and transplanted the heart of the plant. This time to a POT! I also have a chocolate mint and I am temped to plant them together but I"m afraid I won't be able to tell them apart until it's too late. I don't want them to intertwine and I don't know how I would keep them FROM getting across to each other. What other herb could I plant in with the mint that wouldn't be completely strangled out by it? I don't do a lot of gardening in pots. I only grow a few trees that need frost care in pots, so call me clueless!

 

I also harvested a side salad. Not enough for all five of us mind you. Just one side salad. Mine, that is. ;-) 1 small tomato and a couple strawberries on top of it made it rather delicious if I say so myself.

 

OK- gotta get back to work now.

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

 

 

Harvest Monday 2.18.13

Harvest Monday. It's just after Valentine's Day and how fitting that this is the first week that I've been harvesting strawberries!

I don't have much for pictures this week. We took off to run up to North Florida on a little hunting trip... My boy took his first hog. We'll have a BBQ this weekend to celebrate and put half of it on the grill. I can't wait!

Most of my harvests looked exactly like this each day.

And, that reminds me I also harvested 3 small salad tomatoes a bunch of eggs and just enough lettuce to make a salad. Of course the days we were not there nothing was harvested, but - eh...It froze two nights in a row and now the rest of the week it's suppose to be in the 50's and 60's again. It means I'll ahve to restart the tomatoes and peppers that were already blooming and setting. That is a major setback, but one that is fairly normal. February is known to be cruel around here. I jsut wish I'd have been home to protect my plants. Oh, well. I have more seeds!

Joining in to Daphne's Dandelions for Harvest Monday.

See you soon! (With the picture of Troy's hog!)

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 3.26.12

Well, this post was started hours and hours ago but something interfered. What was that? Oh, yes- WORK. PHTHTHTHT> :-P

The harvest was another good one. I keep thinking they will slim down again soon and yet they march on!

The first for this week? The first green beans of the year.

The first BLUEBERRY that wasn't stolen by the blasted birds.

The strawberries are getting much smaller now, and not setting as frequently. It's about time to chose what plants to save for summer and they haven't even set forth the runners. Very odd!

A few more cucumbers. 4 this week, and some chard as well.

Broccoli side shoots, snap peas, and snow peas, a few english peas, loads of lettuce and spinach that wanted to bolt, a few onions, a whole colander of mulberries and yes even the sour cream was in my harvest this week, though not from the garden. It was a trade. :-) Freezer Jam for sour cream.

Oh bother. Work has been one massive distraction after another lately. I mean that is what it is after all, but I don't like when work interferes with my personal life on my personal time. Of course right now my personal time (lunch break) is on work time - but this is legit personal time after all. Between the Captain of the Port and the general Coast Guard visits things are really heating up down here getting ready for the AUGUST National Republican Convention. It's hard to believe that preparations are already underway, but they are. I must return back to the desk now. Sorry it took so long to post. I hope you are all having a wonderful day. It's beautiful outside!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 12.05.11

December's first Harvest Monday report!

Linking into Daphne's for the party over there. Make sure you stop by to say hi and tell her thanks for hosting!

Well- after I said that I checked the link and she hasn't posted yet so if she doesn't post still pop on by and wish her well. She normally posts before the sun rises and keeps us gardeners straight!
This weeks harvests looked like this most nights:

I don't have a lot to share as the garden clean up from my week long hiatus hasn't even been completed yet. The peppers suffered from both my absence and a brief dip into the upper thirties. The marigolds that had spread 4' tall and 5' wide are both history. Wow what a sorry sight they are! The purple beans are nearly all gone. What is left is a tangled mess with a couple of live vines intertwined. It breaks my heart to rip them all out because there are a few left that are producing of course and this time of year there is no hope of starting any new plants and harvesting anything from them. The bush beans are nearly all done as well so a tiny handful this week is my pitiful bounty for green beans... but this is December - so I'm NOT complaining!

The cucumber vines also all shriveled up from the cold, and the tomatillos as well... I have one that is still alive but with only one alive it is doubtful that it could set fruit again this year so I will see tonight what is left to mature and bring in anything promising to finish the harvest for the tomatillos for the year. Time to start next years plants indoors! :-D They don't get nearly as tall as tomatoes so I'm seriously thinking about doing this. Besides the purple ones are kinda pretty.

The 'english' peas are doing well and Richard and I enjoy eating them as a snack fresh without cooking them. We eat them rather the way most people eat popcorn- in front of the TV. :-D

Some more Daikons and greens came in - and the first of the lettuce provided a nice salad this week, but silly me got to eatin' before taking a picture.

The Holiday season has officially set in full force as the sitter is officially on the schedule for the remainder of the month and every single week is jam packed with activities and I am scrambling to figure out when to do my baking already! I suppose this is a good thing, but the tree is only up and somehow we need to find time to string lights, and garland and ornaments, and decorate outside and sheesh! I'm tired just THINKING about all that. *teehee* When, exactly did I get O~L~D?

'Till next time!
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~

Harvest Monday 4.18.11

Well, here we are again, it's Harvest Monday! Joining into Daphne's but  for the fun, I am not in my usual place due to unforeseen circumstances so I can't show you all the pictures I had hoped to, but I can show you one from this week that I happen to have on a card in my purse today. Lucky you! ;-)

This weeks harvests included 1pound 2ounces of broccoli, 6oz zucchini, 3oz of garden peas and 10oz of green beans, 3oz mulberries, 8oz strawberries, 8oz blueberries oh and salad greens - 1lb 4oz of lettuces. Not including of course anything eaten on the fly or grilled and eaten prior to weighing. Hey, it happens. Especially this week.

Things this week have been to say at the very least, interesting.

Oh, and I also 'harvested' seeds! From my mailbox! I like those kind the best. These came over from Garden G'imp I have some research to do -she sent a few things I'm not familiar with (the BEST kinds of things to get in my opinion) and I can't wait to find out more!

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow or Wednesday to fill you in on my oh so interesting week.

'Till next time!

Barbie~



Harvest Monday 4.4.11

Joiing in at Daphne's Dandelion's for Harvest Monday!!!It's Monday again, and I am sad to say that all the rain did do a few bad things. One bad thing was that it took away the opportunity to take pictures. It managed to ruin a few crops. I had strawberry mush puddles to clean up. Talk about a sorry sight!
 But, mostly I was dashing in and out of storms and cleaning up afterwards.
I only managed one skimpy picture with my cell phone.

A few small heads of cabbage the very end all be all. These are the small heads that were produced by the plants that were left simply as space savers - thanks to a suggestion to leave them that they might bear smaller heads. They did just that, and quite well, too! Had the main heads been taken earlier in the year, or our cool season been longer I think these heads would have been rather impressive. As it is I'm counting them impressive because they are my little bonuses! :-D 2.5pounds worth!

Also pictured a half pound of spinach, a few garden peas, a couple radish. Not pictured is 2 heads of black seeded simpson and a colander full of Green Ice lettuce. I was harvesting the salad greens in a hurry between downpours. They were being beaten to death so I was scrambling! I also harvested a handful of side shoots form the broccoli plants, some green onions, a couple key limes, and a few shoots from the beans for a stir fry. I couldn't help myself, and it was good. YUM>

With any luck the spinach and lettuces will come back, but it is getting into the mid 80's each day now and the humidity is creeping up. The poor plants are battered and bruised and ending their life cycles early may not be out of the question. I trimmed them all back to just the inside leaves, they look pathetic. I'll clean the fish tank this weekend and give them one last hopeful feeding. *sigh*

All else seems to have survived fairly well. The zucchini plants are slightly torn but overall super healthy still. Tomatoes dropped some of there many flowers, but the set back is more in the need for tying up earlier than normal. I'm unprepared as of yet, so a trip to the store tomorrow for me! The peppers did really well and are beginning to show their first buds. To tomatillo laid down and were buried, but are no upright again. They will need tied as well. Some corn is broken - but all and all we came through very well. I did realize something I wasn't quite prepared for though. The way the yard drains - is straight into the area of fence garden. I guess it's good it was delayed. If it had been planted everything in it may have washed away. Now I need to consider the need to have a wash for the water to run out. That or be prepared to lose the plants each late summer tropical storm....So I have to design a culvert of sorts. Only problem I see is there is a fence there, so how exactly is the water going to drain properly???? URGH.

Rambling again. Sorry.

Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 3.28.11

Happy Harvest Monday!
Linking in to Daphne's Dandelions for Harvest Monday. Macke sure to stop by her place to check out everyones info on what they are harvesting and how they are using their harvests! It's spring and things are really starting to perk up.
My harvests are starting to diversify. This is good news. Even better news is this -
IT's RAINING! It hasn't rained here in a month, and I am so glad to say that not only is it raining today -there is a chance of rain ALL WEEK! Whoot! Of course after jsut a few days of rain I will be ready for the sunshine again. But, for now I am celebrating the rain, and so are my plants.
This weeks harvests includes a bunch of green onions, strawberries, english peas, lettuce, spinach, radish, broccoli, carrot (not plural HA!) and I'm pretty sure I've forgotten something - but here are the pictures that I remembered to take...

I also harvested this: A bowl full of tabasco babies. These were just the ones that were in with the tomato plants. Not all through the garden. These little gems are being saved. OK well, not all thousand of them are. 21 are claimed already and 23 are potted in cups and slated for the Tampa Plant trade. :-)  I ran out of dixe cups believe it or not. But, never fear, ANYONE who wnats them is welcome to them. My garden seems to have plenty for all who want them.

Here are some of the things I am doing to use my harvests:

Pizza Fresca

Breakfast Quesadilla's and fresh Coleslaw

I am wondering where the rest of my pictures went, but meanwhile these are what I have. Not everything managed to make it into the pictures, and low and behold I forgot to weigh most of the harvests. I've got to start remembering now that things are ramping up again.

Check in tomorrw- 'cause I've got a (small) project to unveil and a few pictures to share of what is blossoming in my garden this week.

Did I mention it's raining!? WHOOHOOO!!!!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 3.21.11

SPRING! (Officially!) Linking in this first SPRING day to DAPHNE'S DANDELIONS for Harvest Monday

I don't have much in the way of pictures to show for my harvest. But, each day a handful of strawberries, and a handful of spinach for my Bgirl. I also took 2 clippings form the lettuce. It made salads for dinner for all 5 of us and that is nice. Plus, we had lettuce for our burgers yesterday as well. Radishes for the salad of course. Oh, the last large head of cabbage - 4 pounds. I forgot to take a picture of it until I had already cleaned it, and had it ready for the pot.

Apologies for the cell phone shots. Life gets busy and I lose my one memory card sometimes. I figure one day I'll have to go buy 10 of the suckers. But, then I'll lose track of all of those, too! Ha.

Oh, I made strawberry syrup we ate on our blueberry pecan pancakes with blueberries and pecans from the freezer stash. I have only 1 cup of pecans left. No one in the house is happy about that! The good news is that the blueberries are turning blue again outside and I promised my girls to go picking this year so we'll have them in the freezer again soon! I sure wish Strawberries froze as well as blueberries do. Bummer, Man.  The Boy child finally ate one of these beauties. He was skeptical because they are all shapes and sizes. Boy was he surprised! He is now fighting with the girls over who gets to eat these little treats. Problem with that is dangit! I want more of them for me. *POUT*

I gotta tell you. That strawberry syrup> Yeah that stuff over there------> Yum. I have got to find a way to keep it from fermenting. I don't use enough sugar in the recipe to keep it from fermenting if I canned it. I suppose I could freeze it. Maybe I should start looking into better freezer storage. It irks me to no end to pull something out of the freezer that I worked hard on only to find out that it isn't usable.

Ack, I'm rambling.

HAPPY SPRING!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 3.14.11

Once again joining in the fun over at Daphne's Dandelions for Harvest Monday!

This week I harvested nearly a pound of radishes, 4lb13oz head of cabbage, 3oz of broccoli, 2.5oz of lettuce, and 3 oz of spinach plus a few handfuls of strawberries...that never made it inside.

Small nod to the suddenly frantically prolific garden peas.
:-D the perfect blooms are making momma happy. The pods are popping out all over and I'm drooling just waiting for the peas to fill in the cases. MMMmmm like finding a jem!

Join on in on the fun. Link in to Harvest Monday's and show us what you are harvesting or how you are using your previous harvest!

Can you guess where the cabbage is heading? After all it's only 3 days until St. Patty's! Luck O' the Irish be with ya!



'Till next time!

Barbie~