Harvest Monday 1/27/2014

Sad as it is to say this is the first Harvest Monday for the year. It's not that I haven't been busy in the garden. It's that I haven't had access to my blog or emails until this past week. It's really amazing how dependent you are on the providers. Even when you think you aren't. I rarely used my Yahoo account or gmail either. But, when they went down simultaneously I discovered that a lot of my other accounts are based on those not only existing but functioning. My email server on my phone, this blog, facebook, my address book....etc. So even though I only used each account minimally it still affected me in a big way.

Now that I have a new gmail account things are looking up again. This harvest report is long overdue. So I will show you what I can!

Woah- turns out the picture uploader has changed since I was here last, too. WOW. That was much faster than the old way. LOVE it! 

So loads of fruit, and a few veggies, too. 

Pomegranates are absolutely beautifully sweet this time of year. Just the right balance of sweet and tart. They are darn good in the summer, but the winter ones are sublime! Lemons continue though the tree is looking bear now and I'm almost ready for it's annual trim-a-thon. The tree is still suffering form greening but the aggressive pruning and fertilizing seems to be keeping it going.  Once this tree succumbs I will not replant citrus outdoors. I have a few indoors (Key lime and red lime) That will have to do for now. Our area is just too infested with this disease. 

Purple sweets were pulled after the first frost took the vines down a notch. The one featured int he photo by itself? Monstrous. That sucker weighed over 2 pounds!

I harvested a head of broccoli at 6.8oz... so deceiving to see something so large be so light weight. Unfortunately my hens harvested 3 heads of broccoli as well as 2 plants of just forming brussel sprouts. They did some damage to the cabbage plants but nothing that will ultimately affect those harvests. (lucky for them!) 

Figs are coming one at a time every 2 or 3 days. It's a small harvest, but a sweet one. I have a new (purchased a few months ago) Celeste fig that will be added to the fruit trees this year. I waited to transfer it as the plant was having some serious issues. Wilting being the most worrisome, even right after watering. Once I decided just to up-pot it I found the problem. The root ball combined with the crappy soil in the pot was shedding the water faster than concrete, so water I might but the roots weren't getting anything to drink or eat. Now that it has had it's first re-pot it hasn't wilted once so I am now quite hopeful. I'll be looking into propagating figs soon, as we really want some in Alabama as well. Oh! Speaking of which, we planted out the first 4 trees into the orchard there. I'm so excited I could pee myself... oh wait.... *nevermind*

;-) 

Believe it or not I still have one tomato plant hanging on. The frost cloth has been wonderful for it - even though the rest of the plants have all succumbed to the cold. It's a toss up on if the cage is helping more (allowing the cloth to barely touch the plant) or if it's the location (in the high beds) of the plant. Either way I'm not complaining! The fruit may be small, but they will be ripening soon and I'm all for home grown tomatoes!

WOW, that's long. Sorry for the length. I guess after being gone for so long I had a bit to tell y'all. I'll be back shortly with pictures of my boy.

See you soon!

Barbie~

Ripe figs?

I guess the title sums it all up here. I had a few figs on the tree and being that I have no real idea what type of fig tree... (heheh tree. Its like 18" tall - bush) I have in my yard I have no idea what to expect when it comes to picking the fruit of this 'tree.' So this morning was the first morning that I saw the fruit had finally turned and the squirrels hadn't beaten me to the treasure.

 

So, I did what any self respecting gardener would do.

I snatched that sucker off that tree and pranced around the yard singing all the while - 'Nah Nah Nee boo booo... I got it and you didn't' Well, much to my husbands dismay. He was watching me. He was waiting in the car to take the kids to school. Well, summer camp - it's much the same to me. Especially when you turn around and realize that 4 people are staring at you when you've just completed your victory dance of squirrel  redemption that looks something like I would imagine a zombie trying to do the Dougie. Of course, I've actually never seen 'The Dougie' I've only heard of it through my son who tells me I'm just not cool and hip and with it...No not in those words but that is the message I got.

 

I digress. The point is this: I got this fruit that I don't know when it's actually ripe. So I snagged 2 fruits. (What it's just fruit, right I mean fruit is the plural of fruit? I'm confused) One that was definitely different in color that the unripe fruit that it was next to, and one that was possibly over ripe because it was squishy. Either way the victory dance? Totally worth it. I still got fruit that should be worth eating. At least that is what I was thinking at the time.

 

So. Here is my stash.

 

One nicely chartreuse fig, and one slightly brown and squishy fig.

 

Now, I did have to fight the little tree for the chartreuse fig. I suppose that should have been my first clue. But because the slightly brown fig was eh- slightly squishy I just didn't let it deter me.

 

Understand I've only had either dried figs, or figs of the Newton variety. I've never experience fresh figs. I almost typed Newton. LOL I guess that tells you just how brainwashed a society we are. It took me 3 tries to type fig instead. When most of us think of figs we think of those cookie/cake things.

 

I believe that there figs that are supposed to be eaten when they are that chartreuse color, and figs that supposed to be brown. I think there are even some that are a purple type of color. Well, I know from the first immature fruits last year that this little bush wasn't the kind that would offer me purple fruit, but I was still unsure if the fruit would be eaten at what stage. SO I sliced these two figs open and was absolutely amazed and the beauty inside.



Unfortunately for you, I was so amazed that I completely forgot to take a picture. It was beautiful. It was pink and white, and purplish and....and.... and....

Photo courtesy of My kitchen is my Playground


 



Juicy and succulent and amazingly sweet. I couldn't just no show you SOMETHING! It may not be my picture, and honestly I think my figs were a little prettier on the inside. Glossy and the color was just a little different but this definitely does it justice.

Both figs looked wonderful, but the brown fig was a bit glossier than the green fig. Upon tasting the brown fig was also sweeter, and a little more dare I say it? More mature tasting. It was as if I had opened a bottle of wine and chugged it instead of allowing it to breathe.

Eh- that's another bad analogy for me. I really can't stand the taste of wine. It gives me the heeby jeebies. Go figure.

 

So if you have some fruit you are unsure of try two, and make sure one of them seems to be overripe. Because apparently dome fruit(s?) are meant to be eaten that way.

Now I'm excited for next year when I should have enough fruit to try to make a fig jam.... MMMmmm. That should be tasty. Another first for me, but I can't wait to try it.

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~