This year is a fabulous year for the garden! I am getting far more than I can keep up with. I am still trying to come to terms with the 150 lbs. of produce (yes, that should read 150, it is not a typo) that came out of the garden while we were on vacation. On top of that we are picking twice a day to stay on top of things.
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| Morning harvest |
Here are some of the things we are getting out of the garden now.
We are still getting some lazy wife beans.
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| Lazy wife beans |
Last week the deer found our pink eye purple hull peas. Seems they liked them a lot. There were still plenty left over for us. This is a small picking from today. Last week we got around 1 lb. shelled.
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| Pink eye purple hull peas |
The eggplant are also cranking out produce. I came home to 12 eggplants last Sunday and now I have 5 more to dispense with!
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| White lightning and Lisa da Gandia eggplant |
The cucumbers are slowing down. When I got back they had both downy and powdery mildew. They are still giving me a few each day. I think they may last about a week more.
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| Salt and pepper cucumbers with some relish in the background |
Unbelievably, the squash and zucchini are going gangbusters. I have never had them last this long before!
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| White scallop squash |
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| Zucchini that I picked this morning |
It seems right now I am picking about 1-2 lbs. of tomatillos a day. These are tougher to give away since none of my friends and neighbors have any idea of what to do with them.
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| Tomatillos and jalapeños |
And of course, the best for last...tomatoes!
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| Ripe tomatoes |
Make sure to visit the Harvest Monday blog hop hosted at
Daphne's Dandelions!
I can understand how the tomatillos would be harder to give away. They look great. Have you thought of making salsa verde?
ReplyDeleteYep Cristy, that is the one thing we use them for. I love it with chard on tacos.
Delete150lbs? That's sooo much! What beautiful produce you harvested this week.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much.
DeleteBeautiful tomatoes! And nice blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much David. I enjoyed your blog too!
DeleteGreat harvest! I'm jealous of your zucchini (yes you heard correctly) we lost all our zucchini plants to a wilt so I don't think we will have a single one this year! :(
ReplyDeleteHi Stoney. I am conscious of the fact that I am sort of complaining about zucchini. I have never, ever, even come close to producing this much zucchini. This is a very anomalous year for us in terms of zukes.
DeleteWow! Impressive harvest amounts and variety. How have you been using your bountiful harvests. Are you preserving the zucchini, using it all fresh, or giving it away (or all of the above)?
ReplyDeleteYes, all of the above. I finally bit the bullet and started canning. I am going to put up some pickles today and more salsa tomorrow! Also, everyone who is even remotely nice to me has been gifted produce lately.
Delete150 pounds just while you were gone on vacation?! Wow, your garden must be huge! What a great looking bunch of produce.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, it s not really that big. The real issue is that the person who house sat had a very different vegetable picking philosophy. I like young and tender while they went for bigger is better. I am still trying to use up some very large zucchini and squash.
DeleteWow, so awesome that your garden is doing so well!
ReplyDeleteMy best friend is allergic to tomatoes, but she can eat tamatillos. We have been known to substitute the tamatillos for tomatoes in recipes when we have them. You can throw them into stews or soups or any other cooked dish that calls for tomatoes. They taste a little different, but the texture is similar enough that they work well. Or maybe as you give them away also give your favorite salsa verde recipe so there is no excuse...
I think I have talked some of my more adventurous friends into trying some. They also freeze well so that is what I have been using them for.
DeleteNice harvest, beautiful eggplants, how's the texture and taste on the white variety compare to the regular purple eggplants? I've heard of lazy wife's beans but have never seen a picture of it, thanks for sharing the photo.
ReplyDeleteHi Mac. You know, I am not an eggplant expert so I can't really comment on the differences. I may have to cook them up and do a taste test.
DeleteOh my, 150 pounds just while you were on vacation! My garden hasn't produced that yet for the year. I'm not sure how I would deal with that much produce in so short a time. It's all beautiful. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle! I was pretty overwhelmed when I came home and saw it all. I realized that I should have identified one veggie a day and worked on doing something with it. That would have been much easier to deal with mentally.
DeleteBeautiful basket... How about the food bank. Anything you can't use, they can!
ReplyDeleteJust donated to the local homeless shelter! So happy to find someplace that accepts produce donations.
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