Monday, August 1, 2011

End of July Harvest

I can't believe that July has come to close, which means that we only have one full month of reliable warm weather left this year. I'm really hoping for a hot August as most of our slicing and paste tomatoes are still green on the vine. We're down to about five jars of tomato sauce from last year and it would be a shame if we weren't able to preserve as much this time around. Then again, I did cut down the amount of tomato plants this year to 20. We'll see if that was a wise decision.

In no particular order, here are a few things we harvested this week:

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We picked and ate our first ears of Argent corn today. Out of all of the veggies we grow, I think we look forward to the first corn harvest the most. It tasted just as I'd remembered from last year. Unlike the bland, tough and overly sugary corn you find at the market these days, Argent has an old-fashioned sweetness and a very tender kernel that explodes in your mouth. I plan on growing this variety year after year.

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Another good week for artichokes, I also picked a ton of basil to make pesto.

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The string beans have peaked this week. It took me quite a long time to pick them all. The bulk of this will be blanched and then frozen for future use. I've never eaten frozen string beans before. Hopefully they retain at least some of their crispness.

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Aside from the usual suspects, I picked our first long beans. I have a feeling they will continue to produce for us long after our bush beans have given up.

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I'm still waiting for the BIG one. Hopefully it'll come soon.

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I keep forgetting that I have scallions in the garden. These grew well while the red onion sets I planted this spring were a complete bust.

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I'm very happy with my savoy cabbages. They took much longer to head up than I'd expected but are of a good size now.

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Finally, I pulled all of my Paris Market carrots. I love the round shape of these carrots and have a feeling they'll be very tasty roasted.

25 comments:

  1. Aren't those first ears of home-grown corn just the most succulent?
    Your garden is producing nicely. You must have been getting more rain then we are. Ours is a bust this year.
    I want to comment on your trip to Shelburne Farms. What an interesting place and so child friendly. You and Marc do a wonderful job providing positive experiences for Jonathan with memories that will last a lifetime. You are a lovely family!
    When I read about the cows and the cheese producing, I thought, 'I wonder if....' and then a few sentences later, YES! Thomas is going to make cheese!
    Can't wait to see the pictures. You are going to show pictures? Right???
    Please!!!

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  2. So impressive Thomas. Especially the artichoke. I would never have thought you could grow artichoke in the northeast. The corn looks perfect.

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  3. Beautiful harvests Thomas! I'm so jealous of your artichokes....and I'm not going to show them to "The Italian"!! Hopefully, I will have the soil in shape at the plots next year and try to grow them again.

    The frozen beans will be great...just don't blanch them too long!

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  4. Whoa. Those are some faaaaat carrots!!

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  5. What beautiful harvest - those artichokes look divine, and the tomatoes....its winter here which is nice but I definitely have vegetable envy over those tomatoes...

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  6. The carrots look sweet and juicy. I have some to plant next month and I'm really looking forward to tasting them!

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  7. Your harvests amaze me! Such beauty and diversity! Congrats on your corn! I can't wait for ours to be ready! And artichokes?!? All I can say is WOW!

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  8. Those look awesome, you take great pictures.
    We have 22 tomato plants and have been canning what we can't eat, which is most of it! We roast and then cook the sauce a bit to drive some of the water. Looks like we'll be doing it weekly for a while--the Bella Rosas are doing well but the Amish Paste are not. I LOVE the Gold Medal and the green sausage. I'll have to post a pic. Anna in MD.

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  9. Wow! What a fabulous harvest. I am really jealous of those artichokes. They looks so good!

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  10. Oh wow, those are some amazing harvests. You're still waiting for the big one?! I'm still waiting for one, of any size (boo hoo).

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  11. all of my early planted carrots look much like your Paris Market, and I planted long varieties! The corn looks delicious. I don't have room for it, so I buy at the farm stand up the street. They usually have wonderful corn, but this year they've been picking it too mature for my liking. Anyway, all of your veggies always look so wonderful.

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  12. Wow...I did not know you could grow artichokes in your zone! I adore that last photo of your carrots, too... :)

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  13. We had our first corn this week too. My ears didn't look nearly as pretty as yours. I think they struggled in their location. It really isn't very sunny there, but at least they produced something. The later corn was planted in a more sunny spot so we will see if they grow more normally. At least they are all tasty.

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  14. You and Daphne always take the best pictures!

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  15. Great Harvest Pictures! Looks like you are having a great artichoke year.What do you end up doing with all of them?

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  16. Your corn amazes me! The artichokes are really pretty in the box with the basil, maybe I will try at those next year.

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  17. Beautiful harvests,Thomas..this is my first time seeing those type of carrots. very interesting.:)

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  18. Artichokes? Wow, those look so gorgeous. I didn't know anyone who grew them. Your harvest is really very nice. You must spend an awful lot of time in the garden - picking and taking care of them!!

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  19. Absolutely beautiful corn! Man, I bet it tastes great...

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  20. We are growing much of the same stuff! Except for the chokes, how the heck did you get them to grow in Mass.?! I will have to search back in your blog to see if you mention it. Also I notice your Dragon Tongues (I assumes that is what they are) are light yellow with light purple streaks. My first batch was much for purple streaked but my second batch looked much like yours. Was wondering if you experienced the same thing?

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  21. What a beautiful and diversified harvest! The corn is particularly nice looking. Ours is silked and probably about two weeks away yet for us - but the promise of fresh corn is in the air! Your family should be eating well right now with a harvest as plentiful as this. :D

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  22. Leslie - regarding your question about Dragon's Tongue beans, in my case, the purple only really comes out when the pods are exposed to sunlight. The ones that develop in the shade are pretty much yellow with only light shades of purple.

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  23. This is very informative post sharing and it may be very helpful all of them.Because how can be harvest the crop in ending the July and how can be prevent against moisture and temperature so that can be protective crop.

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  24. Oh wow! Your harvest is so impressive! I absolutely love the artichokes! Impressive.

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  25. Yeah ours was shaded by corn. I will have to be really good about weeding our 3rd planting that should be coming up soon.

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