Harvests

It's late June, and the garden is in full swing.  We were gone for 4 days on a trip, and it got ahead of us, even with a substantial harvest the day before we left.  Here's a zucchini that can double as a home defense weapon...

Tomatoes are coming in strong.  We're getting a half dozen a day of regular size varieties, and a dozen a day of the grape and cherry tomatoes.

Here's some of our other harvest pictures.  Here's today's harvest...4 days of growth.  My parents did pick some while we were gone.

Some other harvest shots from earlier picks...

Turnips were, and are, fantastic

This was the harvest before we went on the trip.

More from pre-trip picking

Angelia calls this section of the garden "The Jungle."  She won't do in there unless she's in long pants.  I admit that it's a scary place, but I've been going in barefoot and in short pants.  I've really got to feel my way through there to pick the veggies.  I planted stuff way too close together.  Another lesson learned for next year.

Turning Green into Green

Angelia & I have decided to sell produce from our garden: cucumbers, radish, lettuce, yellow squash, turnips, and from the herb garden: basil, cilantro, mint, & dill. There will be some that's already picked, and some that we (or you and your kids) can pick fresh. So, stop by if you're in the area SATURDAY FROM 8-1PM. No charge to see the amazing 9 foot mammoth sunflowers and 57 tomato plants.  We will have a sign out.  Send us a message if you need the address.

Week 14 & 15

We've been very busy in the garden.  Angelia got on a ladder and took this shot.  The garden is fully planted.  Turnips and spinach will be harvested in full soon, and then I'll probably replant those same crops in those same spots, and continue that process as the summer progresses.  I do need to put in some melons, once I can make some holes for them.

I never thought turnips would do so well, or be such a hit on the supper table.  Angelia and Jacob both like the turnips greens cooked my way.  My way is...saute onion in bacon grease, then add chopped up greens, let them cook down a little, and add vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.  I've been using my hot pepper infused vinegar in the turnip greens.  I prefer the turnip bulbs mashed...You peel them, chunk them, and cook them until fork tender in sugar water, then drain and squeeze out the excess water.  I use a big clean handerchief, tie up the cooked turnip inside and then press down hard on it with a potatoe masher.  Then add butter, heavy cream (milk works too), salt, peppere, chives, and blend.  I actually prefer mashed turnips this way over mashed potatoes.

Here's Angelia standing next to her sunflowers.  These plants are over 8 feer tall.  The seed package said "Mammoth" Sunflowers, but this is a little ridiculous.  Towards the bottom, my hand won't go all the way around the stalk.

Here is the shot of the garden from the viewpoint I've been using.  The orange string is for the peas to climb.

Tomatoes on the left, hot peppers in the middle, yellow cucumbers in homemade "cages" on the right.  Metal cucumber cages are expensive.  I got some plastic fencing and 1 by 2 flashing and made something that will work.

Newest stuff here...butternut squash and crooknect pumpkins were planted using seeds taken from produce from last year.   Summer squash and cukes were from unused seed I had on hand.

This end of the garden is super productive...onions, broccoli, turnips,radishes, beans, lettuce, cabbage, and cucumbers.  There's maybe 10 or 12 cucumber plants in there and they are producing like crazy.

We have picked 3 ripe tomatoes so far.  In a week or two the tomato harvesting will start full-bore.  It's gonna be crazy.

We planted a row of poppies and daisies.  The poppies have started to bloom.  They were from a 25 cents packet of seeds at Dollar Tree. 

The harvest today: radishes, lettuce, basil, a tomato, yellow squash, mustard greens, cukes, turnips, baby carrots, and a handful of greeen beans.