Harvest Monday 2/27/12

Monday again!

This Harvest Monday is a whopper. I missed last week, but I'll only put in the weights for this week. I will however cheat and put in the picture from last week as well. 'Cause I can and stuff. :-D
Linking into Daphne's Dandelions for the party. Don't forget to stop by her place and check out what people are harvesting all over the world, and how they are using their harvest - fresh and stored.

This week's harvest features those OH so wonderful PEAS! Lettuce, Tatsoi, turnips, strawberries, spinach, and carrots, too...

Oh, and don't forget the broccoli as well.

This weeks weights are: 2lb 14oz turnip, 2lb 9oz greens, 3lb 2oz carrots, 14oz lettuce, 4.5oz tatsoi, 18oz strawberries (The ones that made it inside anyway), 3lb 6oz snow peas, 6oz broccoli

The turnips are destined to be turned into Pioneer Woman's Au Gratin from her Thanksgiving menu. It's another first for me.I'll have to report back what I think. Hopefully I'll get the guts up soon. LOL.

Strawberry festival this weekend - and a report on yet another renovation to another bed that the HOA is having a fit about. Stay tuned! :-D It's a doozie!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Missed it again! (Harvest Monday)

Busy week- I forgot to post, and for good reason....

Furry reasons....

and look- I also have PEAS!!!!

This was the first peas to make it into the house

And now they are coming in by the colander full. It makes my heart sing. It only happens for a few weeks a year here so I celebrate for sure. I had a few weeks without peas and I wasn't sure if they would produce again or not -but they are. And it looks like I'll have another 7-10 days of production before the temps head up again. :-D Yippee!!! I may even get a quart into the freezer. Maybe. I've eaten about a gallon this week. These suckers are HUGE, too. The biggest snow peas I've ever grown or eaten. They are almost as big as the new pup.

The garden peas are blooming again, too - so there is hope we'll get a few shelling peas yet this year as well. The snaps haven't come back really yet but there is still enough to throw on our salads and that is really what we like doing with them best- eating fresh the others freeze better.

The green beans are starting to push up and I've buried the potatoes for the first time - so things are certainly on their way - OH! And blueberries, we have the first blueberries on the bush! WAHOOO!!!!! I can't wait for another week or two until I can show you the little tykes.

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 2.13.12

This week was a crazy week! The weather was insane and the bounty shows for it!

Tatsoi, lettuce of every kind, daikon, turnips, onions, peas, radish, and strawberries in the first batch

Limes, cilantro, parsley, spinach and more peas in the second batch

A nice bowl of broccoli and some carrots rounded it out. The bowl of strawberries didn't make it into pictures. I made beryberry muffins and they didn't make pictures either. I ate six in one sitting. Don't tell anyone. They wouldn't believe you anyway. LOL. 

I'll try to remember to take some pictures of the muffins though. I do love them so. There is certainly more in my future. Of course right now I'll be recovering from a HARD FREEZE instead of a simple frost or two. Grrrr.... SO the berry plants will take a little while to regroup. That doesn't make me happy because they were absolutely LOADED with fruit and flowers - but the warm weather should be here to stay now so it normally takes them about a month to get back to full performance. March is peak berry season for me normally anyway.  I'm looking forward to it like always.

Tally for the week: Lettuce 3lb 2.5oz, Spinach 2lb5oz, Tatsoi 5oz, Carrots 1lb, Cilantro 4.5oz, Turnips 10oz, Peas 8oz, Green Onions 8oz, Broccoli 1lb 1oz, Limes 6oz, Strawberries 8oz

Next Monday isn't looking so promising after such a hard freeze - but I'll see what I can dig up. Maybe some turnips or carrots - at least that is something. My peas may not like it quite this cold!

Linking into Daphne's Dandelion's for her Harvest Monday Linkathon. Be sure to stop by and check out what everyone is harvesting all over the world!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Tucked Away

Two nights of frost predicted and possible freeze. All tucked away for the night. Hopefully safe and snug.

When I said I wanted a few more degrees cooler I didn't exactly mean this!

Weather and Traditions.

'Round my house we have a little tradition.

When the weather finally warms up enough that we think it's warm enough in the evening to eat ice cream we all grab our jackets and head to McDonald's for a hot fudge sundae...with nuts. It's just one of those 'THANGS' that we do. It's kind of preemptive Spring. And, wouldn't you know it as soon as we do the weatherman forecasts one last zip of cold weather to blast our way....

And lookey there.... just like that we are back int he 30's at night! WHAT THE?!?!?!?!

Oh, I give up. But - We did enjoy ourselves on the 60 degree evenings. Guess you can blame me and the kids because 4 days ago they didn't forecast anything below 55! Sorry y'all!  My only hope is that this will help all my cool weather veggies hang in there a little longer.

My peas are setting. :-D Looks like I'll get at least a week - 10 days of them. That gets me giggling.

Oh - and since it's been so warm the bugs are celebrating. I've already seen my first adult leaf footed bug and that doesn't make me happy but I've also seen plenty of lady bugs, butterflies and a few of these little soldiers

At least so far the good and bad are balanced. I get the feeling as the summer continues the bad may be in the winning circle. BLAH.

Meanwhile.. I'm still REALLY enjoying the Orchid trees. Soooo beautiful. *sigh*

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 2.6.12

February - the month of LOVE is here!

This harvest Monday the pictures are still scarce. I concentrated on taking the (probably) last of winters pictures of the garden instead. I can tell you that most of my harvests looked a lot like this each day:

I also gathered a few colanders full of assorted lettuce and one overflowing of spinach for my quiche and a side dish. MMMMmmm... believe it or not broccoli and spinach are the two things my kids fight over as to which is their favorite. :-D

This is the other 'harvest' of sorts from my house. The Hong Kong orchid tree has gone insane! We trimmed it back a few weeks ago since the freeze didn't touch it. It responded with GUSTO!

We are even getting these bean things from it. We live a full zone North of it's perimeter because we are too far inland to grow it - and yet here it is. We had to protect it the first 3 years of growth but now that it could have outgrown our house if we didn't keep it trimmed back it's actually trying to reproduce. This is also the first year that we did not even try to protect it from the freeze. Every previous frost or freeze - even with protection damaged it severely. It has matured nicely and certainly is putting on a show for us this Spring. :-D

So tally is: 6.8oz Peas, 8.1oz Strawberries, 9oz Spinach 1lb 2oz lettuce

Hong Kong Orchids- THOUSANDS... and counting. *teehee*

Linking into the party at Daphne's Dandelions. Be sure to stop by her place to check out what people are harvesting all over the world!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

This post is brought to you by the letter 'P'....

It must be P week here. Pirates, Princesses, now Peas!

I'm so stinking happy I can't contain myself. Look what I've got....

Blooms everywhere. Not only are they blooming but these suckers? They are MASSIVE! (I've never grown anything but dwarf peas before) 4 fingers across! Wowsa, I'm impressed. The blooms are doubles and triples and if they don't set fast and start pumping out those precious pods soon I'm going to lose my mind.

Luckily I've got a handful of these to keep me busy for now. Beautiful red globes of sweetness. Most don't make it inside. I'd like to blame it on the kids, but hands down I eat more than my share. The pea pods, too. LOL.

OH`OH`OH! I almost forgot to mention something else new for me....

These are planted too close so I'll get to try some while they are young... and hopefully I'll like what I try. Moreso hopefully some of the others in the house will like them too.

The lettuce and spinach has taken off to new heights this week. I'm happy, and the kids are thrilled. I'm looking forward to a good quiche for breakfast soon. :-)

The infant plants from last weeks post are filling in as well. My empty salad bowl planting is starting to look like a real garden again!

 

Even the youngest are off to a good start.

The new expansion planter is filling in nicely finally. Seems strange - but I think it's all for naught. The weather is so warm the summer veggies would be fairing better now... Mother Nature sure is fickle.

Currently I'm debating if I can get a round of potatoes in before needing the 4X4 planter for the tomato seedlings. 80 days.... Hmmmm..... It leaves a lot to be desired for succession planting, but on the other hand the beans that were just there would  be great for the tubers. Decision time. The first batch of slips are ready and the weather is absolutely perfect right now!

'Till next time!

Barbie~

From PIRATES! To Princesses!

This weekend was not only Pirates, but Princesses as well. I told you we were busy. I certainly wasn't lying! Friday night was Homecoming. Yes, Homecoming. Our school is tiny. Only 1 class for each grade and we do not have a football team - we have basketball. So the Homecoming processional is done centering around basketball season rather than football and that means winter instead of fall.

I gotta tell you though - a court processional is a WHOLE lot easier than a field processional. :-)

'Our school' is a homeschooling extension program - What? You've heard this mumbo jumbo before? It's church based... you know that, too. The teachers are great. yeah yeah yeah OK so get on with it you say? FINE. The WHOLE school gets involved with Homecoming. NOT just the High School. It's K-12.

One of my littles got voted onto the court....

 AWWWWW... (SAY IT! You know you want to!)

How stinking CUTE is this?

A homecoming princess at this age? O.M.G. I'm so eating this up... and her twin....

Wouldn't let me take a picture because she was too busy being a stinker. She was only slightly jealous she didn't get to do it, too. Moreover she was jealous that she didn't get a flower. So when Annah's rose fell plum off the stem it tickled her to no end. Sisters unite! LOL.

*Sigh* Well, I suppose sibling rivalry comes in all shapes and sizes.

Theirs is red and rose shaped.

At least I thought enough to get them matching dresses so that neither were left out that way.

It's been busy here at home and work is keeping me super busy, too. But even more so we are looking at a new school for them next year. I'm ready, but SO NOT ready at the same time. I want them to stay in this school but its so far out of the way and so hard on us financially as well. We have big decisions coming soon. Lots of schools to consider and plenty of options to weigh. This year could be a big turning point for us, and for the kids future. We might be able to get 2 of the 3 funding all the way through college - Oh what a dream it would be. It will be a hard road for the next year though, and losing this school will be so emotional for all of us. Choices.

 'Till next time!

Barbie~