It's been a while since I've done a harvest post. I returned home from Florida Friday night and was struck by how cold it was. I can't believe 2010 is coming to a close already. They say that having a gardening and watching things grow make you more aware of the passage of time. If that's the case then I must have been dreaming for most of this year. I hope things will slow down a bit next year. (My early 30's are just flying by!) In any case, I was glad to find Saturday morning that there were still some things to pick from the unprotected garden, including these leeks, radishes and broccoli shoots.
This will undoubtedly be the end of this year's fall broccoli. I have to say that this year's crop was a great success. Next year, I'd like to try growing some inside the hoop house. (Christmas broccoli would sure be something!) I even found a green cabbage worm on one of them. Who knew that they could tolerate freezing temperatures so well.
I also picked a big bunch of Japanese turnips, which will keep in the fridge for a long time. Amazingly, the voles haven't bothered them a bit - unlike my carrots, lettuce and radishes. I'm looking forward to growing an early spring crop of these.
Finally, December just wouldn't be the same without the odd bunch of radishes. One benefit to growing a late crop is that they are very mild this time of year. These will taste good in a salad.
Oh - and I shouldn't forget to mention the celery. My two remaining plants were started in early February and have been in the garden since April. They seem to tolerate the cold weather pretty well inside the hoop house.
This week's totals:
Leeks - 1.25 lb
Broccoli - 0.42 lb
Radishes - 0.97 lb
Turnips - 1.38 lb
Celery - 0.65 lb
Oh - and I shouldn't forget to mention the celery. My two remaining plants were started in early February and have been in the garden since April. They seem to tolerate the cold weather pretty well inside the hoop house.
This week's totals:
Leeks - 1.25 lb
Broccoli - 0.42 lb
Radishes - 0.97 lb
Turnips - 1.38 lb
Celery - 0.65 lb
Total harvest this week - 4.57 lb
Total harvest so far this year - 683.80 lb
Total harvest so far this year - 683.80 lb
Excellent harvest! I skipped growing leeks for two years in a row and am going to make a point of getting them back in the garden this year. Leek and potato soup sounds so good and unfortunately all I have is the potatoes.
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed by your December harvest. Truly outstanding. I love how radishes and turnips do so well in this cooler weather. We just harvested some radishes too. Those turnips are so pretty. What do they taste like?
ReplyDeleteHow do you know when is the right time to harvest broccoli? I still didn't harvest mine, but I am always worried that the flowers will start to open and that will be the end of it...
ReplyDeleteWhat nice veggies in the garden to come home to! I'm leaving my leeks out in the garden until I have another craving for leek and potato soup. I didn't realize that you can leave the celery in the ground so long. I harvested all of mine during the summer. Maybe I will leave some in the ground next year.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work :)
Wonderful harvest. I like your turnips. Ours are only half the size of yours. The broccolies look cute with their leaves attached.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that about radishes. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnd congratulations on your harvest! Looks great. :)
Meemsnyc - The turnips are very mild (unlike the larger conventional ones). To me, they taste a lot like cauliflower.
ReplyDeletevrtlarica - You want to pic the broccoli when the buds are still tightly bound to the crown. They push apart as the crown matures. Personally, I try to let it go as long as possible in order to get a larger crown. Don't worry though - the buds won't burst open with yellow flowers overnight. You'll see the signs and know that you have to pic. I actually prefer to let the buds get a bit larger before I pic my broccoli. It has a better texture when eaten this way if you ask me.
Wow! What a great harvest!!!! Love those turnips! How do they taste? I've always found turnips to be strong tasting... but maybe it depends on the variety!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to add your blog to my "Blogs I read" section!
Beautiful harvest. I love all the late root crops too. I noticed that some of my turnips had finally started getting big enough. I thought I planted them way too late, but the good weather helped me out.
ReplyDeleteGreat harvest! I love the radishes and turnips.
ReplyDelete-Mary
Beautiful looking harvest Thomas! It's great to see so much coming from your garden this late in the year. It encourages me to look into season extending practices for my plot for next season.
ReplyDeleteThose radishes look as if they could jump of my screen and right into my mouth. Yum!
Another gorgeous late harvest. Glad you returned home safe & sound.
ReplyDeleteThat is a really nice harvest for December! Nice work :-)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful harvest, love those leeks, I didn't have patience for them this year, maybe if I put them somewhere out of sight they will grow bigger for me next time.
ReplyDeleteThat sure is a good looking harvest. Hard to believe that's a December harvest from a Massachusetts garden. Good work.
ReplyDeleteFabulous, simply fabulous! You are putting this gardener with too many years of experience to shame (where did my 30's and 40's go??).
ReplyDeleteBTW, would you like some seeds for that kale that I harvested last week? I saved a lot of seeds for it this year and have plenty to spare.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I would love some!!!!!! :)
ReplyDelete