The Harvest Season is Winding Down

We still have a plentiful supply of fresh fruit and veggies.  Today our lunch salad included heirloom tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, green beans, farmer's cheese, apples and pecans dressed a balsamic reduction and a generous amount of olive oil.  This was served over a thin slice of whole wheat spoon bread.

However, Fall has arrived and the first frost is right around the corner.  Since we are eating local, we'll soon have to switch from our fresh veggies to our canned ones.  We are canning like crazy here and another batch of tomato sauce came out of the canner this morning.

Our First Homegrown Peaches

Last year I chronicled our planting of a tiny backyard orchard.  The peach trees bloomed their heads off this spring and were covered with tiny little peaches.   Sadly, one of the trees dropped every single one of its fruits.  However, the other tree managed to hold on to about six peaches. 

We allowed them to grow and I've been diligently checking on their status.  Today I went out to find that three of the six had disappeared (squirrels?) and that their remained three perfectly ripened peaches.

I quickly snatched them from their branches and commenced eating.  Now these were not your perfect, food store, pesticide protected, peach specimens.  We did not expect this.  They were covered with blemishes.  Despite their imperfections, once picked, washed, and skinned they were simply divine.  Halfway through my meal, I remembered to stop and snap a picture of this historic harvest.

Next year may bring more bugs and disappointment, but this year gave me high hopes for our future crops of homegrown, backyard, Maryland peaches. 

It feels as though we've one the lottery.

Everything in its time...

We've eaten tons of asparagus, lettuce, carrots and strawberries.  Sadly the asparagus are done for the year; the strawberries have slowed down and what few we have are being consumed by the birds; the lettuce is getting bitter with the heat.

However, for the past two weeks we've been eating deliciously sweet, homegrown broccoli.  Here's a picture of what we harvested today.

First Carrots of the Season

What a delight to pull and taste the first, oh-so-sweet

First Carrots
of the 2014 Season

carrots of the 2014 growing season.  These carrots were planted inside one of the cold frames very late last fall.  As hoped, the seeds germinated quickly and then did not grow much until early this spring. 

Many of those planted are still too small to harvest, but these two made the grade.  We will definitely plant more "coldframe carrots" next fall in order to get a jump on the growing season.

Breakfast from the Garden

Our Morning Harvest = Sunday Breakfast

This year I am not going to track the weight of everything coming from the garden.  However, we have had a bountiful harvest of lettuce and asparagus and now the strawberries are coming on strong.  This morning we will enjoy fresh asparagus, strawberries and quail eggs fresh from the garden.

Seven Potato....MORE!

Our 2013, 50 Lb. Potato Harvest

In 2013 we planted seven pounds of potatoes and harvested 50.  We were very proud and we naively believed that they would last us well into winter.  Boy were we ever wrong. 
We went through those yummy spuds in just a month and a half and we ended up having to purchase another 100 pounds of organic potatoes from our Mennonite friends. 

The tubers we purchased were good enough and we are still eating them.  However, they did not compare to the ones grown in our own backyard.

This year we will be planting 20 pounds of seed potatoes in hopes of harvesting between 150-200 pounds of yummy spuds.  To that end, we have purchased 10 pounds of Kennebec potatoes, five pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes, and 5 pounds of Red Pontiac potatoes.

 

 

 

Onions and Leeks - Germinating and Planning

Tiny Onions Just Beginning to Emerge

The onions and leeks are starting to come up!  One hundred seeds were sown in each of the pots, so there are many more seeds to germinate. 

Rather than planting our onions in one bed (as we did last year), I've decided to plant them throughout the garden alongside those plants with which they are most compatible. 
 
Here's a clip from a great book I'm reading called Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte:

Onion (Allium cepa) 

Onions and all members of the Cabbage family get along well with each other. They also like beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, summer savory, and chamomile (sparsely), but do not like peas and beans. Ornamental relations of the onions are useful as protective companions for roses.   

Since onion maggots travel from plant to plant when set in a row, scatter your onion plants throughout the garden.  

Leek (Allium porrum) 

Leeks are good plants to grow with celery and onions, and also are benefited by carrots. Returning the favor, leeks repel carrot flies.

And the winner is.....

The First 2014 Seedlings

The first seeds to germinate and pop up were the broccoli seeds.  I can't tell you how good it was to peer in the flats yesterday and see the tiny broccoli plants peeking back at me.  This morning the Mexican Mint Marigolds were up as well, but the first place prize definitely goes to the broccoli.

more seeds

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
-  Robert Louis Stevenson

Expecting Wonders

Though I do not believe that a plant 

will spring up where no seed has been, 

I have great faith in a seed. 

 Convince me that you have a seed there, 

and I am prepared to expect wonders. 

Henry David Thoreau  

I started a bunch of seeds today so it's official....the 2014 growing season has begun and I am expecting wonders.  

Into the pots and seed starting trays were sown Broccoli, Bell Peppers, Celery, Celeriac, Mexican Mint Marigolds, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Artichokes, Forget-Me-Nots, and Oregano seeds.  I'm praying for excellent germination and can't wait to experience the wonder of seeing those tiny seedlings push through the soil.

A New Growing Season Begins

A Treasure Chest of New Seeds

It has been a record-cold winter, but the days are lengthening and despite the cold, I can feel Spring approaching.  We used up most of our old seeds last season, so we ordered new seeds this year.


We will still be using some remaining seeds from last year, but here's what our treasure chest of seeds contained:

NOTE:  * means we have either never tried to grown this...or have yet to succeed at growing it.

Asteraceae

*Artichoke (Imperial Star)...We are not giving up on artichokes!

Lettuce, Red Summer Crisp (Magenta)

Lettuce, Green Romaine (Coastal Star)

Brassicas

 Broccoli (Green Magic and Bay Meadows)
*Brussell Sprouts (Diablo) 




Cucurbits
Cucumbers (Diva Specialty)
Melons (San Juan and Sarah's Choice)
*Squash, Spaghetti
*Squash, Winter (Delicata and Sunshine Kabocha Orange)
Squash, Zucchini (Costata Romanesco)


Herbs

*Arugula (Astro)
Basil (Genovese)
*Chervil (Vertissimo)
Cilantro (Calypso)
*Cumin
*Fennel (Orion)
*Marigold, Mexican Mint - seeds failed last year
*Marjoram, Sweet (Common)
Parsley (Giant Italian Leaf)
Sage (Common)

Legumes

Beans, Snap (Amethyst Purple and Cosmos)
Peas, Shelling Type (Penelope, Sienna)


Miscellaneous

 Celery, Stalk (Tango)
Chard, Swiss (Bright Lights, Multicolor)




Nightshades

 *Husk Cherry (Goldie)
Pepper, Bell (Green to Orange and Green to Red Varieties)
*Pepper, Hot Drying (Red Rocket)
Pepper, Jalapeno (Jalafuego)
*Tomatillo (Toma Verde)
Tomato, Grape (Five Star)
Tomato, Red Short Vine (Defiant)
Tomato, Salsa/Sauce/Drying (Paisano)


Roots

Carrots (Nelson)
Celeriac (Brilliant)
Leeks (Lancelot)
Onions (Pontiac Yellow Storage,  Ruby Ring, Cabernet and Sierra Blanca)