Sunday, October 16, 2011

A Mid-October Harvest

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Is it really mid-October already? In a lot of ways, it feels more like Spring as we've had so much precipitation lately that the garden is now covered with mud and standing water. This generally only happens in early March when the ground is still frozen and the water has nowhere to go. The soil in my growing beds resembles a saturated sponge. Hopefully, our veggies won't rot from the excess moisture.

Another great week for harvesting carrots and turnips - these have been very tasty roasted.

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I harvested half of my cauliflower crop this week - 4 heads. They're not huge but are still the best I've grown so far.

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I love cauliflower simply steamed and finished with a bit of butter. When you have veggies this fresh, it doesn't really make sense to add too much seasoning.

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The broccoli is starting to produce a generous amount of side shoots. I like to harvest the young leaves as well as they are very tender.

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Salad greens - I didn't grow a mix this fall like I did in past years. This time around, I just walked around the garden and just sniped what looked good - several varieties of lettuce, beet greens, baby spinach, basil, parsley and some Red Russian kale.

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Yesterday, I found this little guy tucked away in the melon patch. I didn't have much hope that it would be any good but I picked it anyway.

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To my surprise, it was ripe when I cut into it. Aside from having somewhat of a hollow heart, it was actually quite good. In fact, I dare to say that it was one of the sweetest and crunchiest melons I picked all year long. It was indeed an unexpected delight.

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I also picked too lovely heads of tatsoi. The slugs have had a field day with my Asian greens this fall but these two have made it through relatively unscathed.

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Finally, these Poblanos are undoubtedly the last peppers of the year. They're too small to roast and peel but will be tasting sliced and cooked in a stir-fry.

The fall growing season is just flying by. I can't wait to see what you all are harvesting this week!

11 comments:

  1. You really make me regret forgetting to put in my turnips. I so love the Japanese turnips.

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  2. Wonderful fall harvests Thomas! I am going to have to admire your cauliflower as my fall crop doesn't look promising.

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  3. Nice harvest. That melon looks really good! I prefer cauliflower and broccoli steamed as well. Either with a bit of butter or cheese.

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  4. What a great harvest for mid October!

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  5. What an incredible surprise for mid-October, watermelon! I sure hope our cauliflower comes in so well.

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  6. Your harvests are beautiful week after week... never ceases to impress me.

    Your melon was indeed a hidden treasure! What fun to find it and then to find out it was really and truly ripe.

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  7. Beautiful harvest, gorgeous califlower.

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  8. Isn't that fabulous amidst what in Australia would generally be regarded as cool season crops you have a melon - and a beautiful looking one too. Its fascinating what grows where when. Enjoyed the photos.

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  9. Your melon is smiling at you :)

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