Harvest Monday 1.16.12

This post was started Monday. It was even intended Monday, but my Fire was giving me a hassle for some reason when it came to typing in the appropriate space to post here. I have no idea what that is about so I'm going to have to play a little before I attempt to remote post again.

This weekend was a long weekend for a lot of people. Me included. That meant I actually had daylight hours above and beyond normal to get some gardening done. YIPEE! Unfortunately though my hubby was in bed most of the weekend and that meant I had the littles with me when I was in the yard so there are not any pictures to show you. At least not yet. Hopefully those will come this weekend, along with a whole lot more pictures!

More carrots were sown, and some more 'little gem' lettuce (Thanks Daphne!) the tatsoi was transplanted (8) and some of the spinach was moved around. It's doing worlds better now. We did harvest 6 carrots for a snack, a handful of snap peas, about 10 globe radish, 3 daikons, a turnip (accident he was in with the radish whoops!) a grapefruit, lemon, 2 limes and an orange and a few of the green tomatoes from last weeks frost had turned and were consumed with a smile. :-) Weights will have to be added tomorrow because I left the sheet on the counter on my way out the door this morning.

I do have these few pictures for you. We also harvested this oh so yummy jewel. I think KNOW this was every ones favorite harvest this week. I do remember the weight of this harvest. 9 ounces. It was quite a bit smaller than the Pomegranates from the grocery store but considering it's winter AND it's only the second one from the bush I think it's a success. It was wonderful... No pun intended! We are all anticipating the next fruit that will come, but the sill tree is in flower now and the second tree is dormant so I think we will have a long wait!

Here is the final haul of just pecan halves. The rest are 'pieces' and are not as valuable for cooking. (supposedly) I use pieces for things like pancakes and waffles, but these halves are what is needed for pies, cookies, candies, chocolates, dipping, and sugaring.

There is 21 pounds of pecan halves. Market value is $230.  YIKES! The pieces are already in the freezer and are an additional 15 pounds their value is another $120. We have already consumed 8 pounds!

Someone had asked about the packaging. I use the upright foodsaver like this one:

It has a few options the older foodsavers don't have that I simply can't live without. A wet or dry option, an option to seal without suction (the bottoms of the bags for instance) the option to seal containers, and a few other ditties, like holding the bag roll, and having a cutter and a slicer on board! LOVE this machine. HATED my first one. The upgrade was very  much worth the money. I still need to freeze the wet ingredients and things like green beans before trying to seal them from the best performance, but for the safety of the food that is what is best for it anyway.

This type of seal allows me to keep those pecans in my pantry for 18 months, or in my freezer for 2 years... not that we would be able to keep them that long, but if we needed to we could. Staples like rice that does normally last a year can last up to 5 years. It's amazing how  much it can extend the life of you food - not to mention that bugs simply can't find you food. That is a major bonus when you are talking about pantry staples. Being able to open only a pound or two or an item instead of being forced to open a larger container and letting some of the product going to waste is a great benefit as well.

OK- I'm off to get caught up at work. (And get caught up on my planting diagrams!)

'Till next time!

Barbie~