Harvest Monday?

Yup. I know. I blew it. Again. I keep forgetting to post my Harvests on Monday. Not like i haven't been doing this long enough to know by now. So. I guess today it's Harvest Tuesday! Wahooo!!!

We've been extremely busy around the house lately. Not just with harvests but lots of other things too. I havne't posted much the last few weeks and soon enough you'll find out why.

Meanwhile - The harvests right now are centered around my fruit trees. Persimmon and Pomegranates are the majority of what I am bringing in, but citrus and figs are also hitting the table pretty regularly as well...

My fruits are generally no spray. These pomegranates are no exception. Because I don't spray the outside rind of them gets speckled, and a bit ugly. But on the inside the arils are nice, plump and perfectly wonderful. These 6 below made nearly a gallon of arils. They are heading to the juicer tomorrow. :-) I can't wait for breakfast.

The persimmons turned into persimmon cake... This was better the 3rd day. It started out a little dry, but ended up nice and moist, a real treat!

OH! I nearly forgot. Also being harvested once again - EGGS! I'm SO incredibly happy about this. I had to break down and BUY eggs the last 2 months. Whats up with that? LOL.

That's it for my wonderful harvests. I know I had a few more that I didn't get pictures of, but my poor memory can't manage to keep track any more. I'm off to do some weeding!

See you soon!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 10.14.13

It's the middle of October and I can't believe it! Welcome back to Harvest Monday. Thanks Daphne for always being such a great hostess. If it wasn't for you we wouldn't all get together to celebrate the harvest that are happening all over the world!

The last few weeks I have lost almost all of my bean plants. I think I also figured out why - but that is another post. I've replanted my green beans (AND my winter squash) 6 different times this year to no avail. All the seeds come up the seedlings look great and then - poof they just disappear into nothingness. Deader than a doornail. It's been frustrating to say the least. At first I chalked it up to our extreme weather. This summer, more than any other we've had enough rain to continually drown out the plants. But, I garden in raised beds and while the rain would still cause issues and allow certain types of plants to die off this amount of destruction was unprecedented. We've had more than 6 months in a row with over 10" of rain each month. You'd think that would be enough to cause the problem after all!

But, I have been able to harvest some beans. The lady peas and black eyes made it through OK, but even those are no starting to succumb to diseases. I can't wait to plant out my fall plants. I sure hope they do better!

This weeks harvest? BEANS... well, southern peas but it is still a bean. 

 

Don't let the pictures fool you. That is not a plate they are on. This is a very large serving bowl. The first picking was just over a half pound, the second a pound and the third a good 2 pounds. The green ones weigh more because they are not dried, nor will they be dried. They'll be used as snaps in my beans.  For a reference the green beans on the side of the bowl are 6-7" long.

 

Yes, I also harvest a few handfuls of green beans each time I harvested the southern peas and a couple lemons as well. They continue to trickle in a couple every few days. But, I've only got a few green bean plants that made it so the pickings are slim. I'll probably just throw them in the pot along with the beans and make some cornbread to call it good. Nothing like it!

 

Unfortunately like the rest of the year has been my harvest is not varied. (Thank goodness for eggs!) I sure hope to cure that with the cooler nighttime temperatures upon us now. Hope all is well in your garden.

 

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 10.31.11

Linking in with Daphne for Harvest Monday. Don't forget to check out her blog and see what people are harvesting this HALLOWEEN!!!!

HOT PEPPERS

They are still ruling the garden. There are also a few green (purple and yellow) beans coming in but not too many. The french beans have blossomed out and are beginning to set nicely as well so those will be int he tally shortly. Not much in the way of pictures this week. This momma was super tied up with pink poodles and newly FIVE year old twins. (YIKES! When did that happen)

The best part is the second berry patch was completed. The blueberries that have been long suffering in their nursery pots after being rescued in the 50% off bin are finally getting what they deserve. A good peat mossing and their roots are stretching as we speak. They instantly looked happier. In with them are the Sweet Charlie strawberry plants that were sent to me via trade for some onion sets from Darcy. The other blueberry bed has the Festival strawberry plants and they are only about 2 weeks ahead so this will be an interesting spring! I have easily tripled the number of berry plants. :-) I can't wait!

The rest of the garden expansion isn't going quite as planned. This weekend was the deadline for having the grass turned under and next weekend there is a delivery of compost and topsoil scheduled. Guess we might have to rethink that.

'Till next time!

Barbie~

HARVEST MONDAY 10.24.11 !!!

It's Harvest Monday and I am FINALLY BACK! Linking in to Daphne's our most gracious hostessat Daphne's Dandelions. Don't forget to check her site out and see what everyone is harvesting and maybe even what they are doing with their harvest!  

 Scarlet fever is a real bear at 30 something (OK more towards forty but still thirty something darn it!) It's something that doctors don't normally see any more and when they do they see it in kids - not adults. HA! Well leave it to me to throw a wrench in that. I've been gone a couple week so I do have quite a bit to share. LOADS of Limas, a few bells, tomatillos are back on the menu, too! Hot peppers of course, and also back on the menu are green beans. Unfortunately there aren't very many of them just a handful - but enough to appreciate. A couple little deformed but yummy cucumbers and some Okinawan spinach while I am waiting for the real deal to germinate.

 

Basil made a come back and PESTO has been eaten - a LOT of it I might add. :-)

The rice peas are done for the year. In an experiment I cut back the bushes (REALLY LONG VINES) to see if they would start again but hope is dwindling and I'll be pulling them next week if no growth has been spotted by then. The night time temps have been dipping into the 50's each night and they don't like that at all.

Since I've been laid up the last few weeks there has been lots of soup- and I declared one day GUMBO DAY! Okra, bells, hot peppers and onions from the garden safron rice and meat from the grocers - and yummo!

Lots of seeds have been sown. Carrots and radish, spinach, cabbage and onions are all beginning to sprout. S~L~O~W~L~Y.... but hopefully surely. Oh, and I have tomatoes on the vine again. YIPPEE!  It's almost time to finish clearing out the beans and put in the rest of the winter veggies. I'll have to update with pics soon.

'Till next time!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday! 10/4/10

It's that time again! Harvest Monday. Thanks Daphne for hosting Harvest Monday's. Link up so everyone can see what is ready for harvest where you live!
This weeks harvest is just that. Quite week. I didn't take many pictures. I'm missing a colander and a handful of okra that look just like the one posted. A handful of green beans and an extra large cucumber that tasted delightful! I was quite shocked. Hubby got ahold of it and had eaten half before I could even snap a picture. He's the cucumber guy. He loves all things cukey. :-) Found a beetle on my beans yesterday so that is not good. It could be in he that hurt my beans as a juvie...to bad there is no JDC for those things. LOL. Anway... here you go!

Don't mind the puny radish. It was a test. It was H~O~T, too! Rich enjoyed it, and Troy complained that it was too small. LOL. It's a French Breakfast so I'm quite sure he'll have his fill sooner or later.

The okra is still hanging in there. Not doing well at all plant wise but still producing! The main plants have quit entirely and shed all their leaves. I'm going to cut the centers out so they can continue a few more weeks. The weather is much cooler and dryer and oddly enough they are the only thing in the garden not appreciative of that!

The tabascos are ready for a few weeks of big harvests again. I can't say enough about this 'little' plant. It's made it through the spring, ans summer and still producing more than we can eat. At 4' tall it's about maxed out in height, and everyone comments on it's beauty. It's been such an easy plant that I think next spring I will have to start 3 and put them in the front garden bed. All of my other peppers that pettered out over summer are just begining to fruit again. I got one baby bell that i accidently knocked off the plant this week, and there is one more on still. The jalepenos, serranos, hungarians, all of them are flowering beautifully, but the fruit is very slow to set.

I may or may not have my first pumpkin on. I know I've said that before a dozen times but so far it looks good. Time will tell. In 3 days I'll have something growing larger each day or something stunted. I'm trying to reroot near the pumpkin so I can cut back the main vine. It may be a disaster waiting to happen, and I may lose the one pumpkin that I manage to get set but i have to try. The plant is very diseased now. It's outrunning it, but if I cut back the leaf skelatons that are left it will leave the vine too vunerable to the sun, and pests. So this is my experiment I suppose. I'm going to tie some ribbons on the vine and trace it back trying to cut out only the other vines but I've done that before and cut the wrong one at the last minute. My spring crop suffered horribly for this. I nearly cried myself to sleep as I had 3 beautiful Jarrahdales that has sized up nicely on. I'll keep you all posted as to how this turns out. Not only to share the info, but for future reference for myself as well. I like being able to look back and see what worked and didn't.

'Til next time!

Barbie~