Monday, August 25, 2014

Beans and Squash and Tomatoes, Oh no …

It’s August in the garden, so the harvest includes the usual suspects, beans, squash, and finally, tomatoes in large quantities. The beans I did not bother to photograph, and I only show a sampling of the tomatoes.

 

beets&turnips

 

Some more beets and a couple of turnips. A rabbit in the garden has discovered that beetroot tastes a lot better than just beet leaves and has been nibbling the beets. The ones above were the only survivors. I need to set a rat trap in that bed since I have more beets and spinach seeded there.

 

cukes&squash

 

I finally got my first broccoli. This is Bay Meadows, which Fedco raves about. It was very slow to start and only now has decided to put on a growth spurt.

 

tomatoes

 

The ugly tomatoes on the left are Cherokee Purple from the vine that fell over. The big fruit there was 12 ounces.

 

cucumbers

 

Finally getting a few cucumbers. Others have had a banner year, but not me. Bacterial wilt has wiped out a large number of the vines. The large cuke in the center is a Poona Kheera, an Indian heirloom variety that is new for me. I picked the first one while still white and small, thinking it was the Crystal Apple. This one I let get bigger. When mature they are supposed to turn yellow and then brown, but all this thing did is get bigger. I have no idea how big they get, so I picked this one (it already weighs a pound) since they are still edible at any stage. I haven’t tried it yet since it takes a little planning to figure out what do do with a one pound cucumber.

 

richmond_cukerichmond_cuke2

 

The Richmond Green Apple cucumber above is an Australian heirloom that produces small roundish cucumbers, similar to Crystal Apple and Lemon. They can be eaten without peeling, just like an apple, and are sweet and crunchy. The Crystal Apple cukes were to small to pick one for comparison. For some reason both varieties were very late to produce fruit this year but the remaining vines not killed by wilt are now growing rapidly up the trellis and setting lots of fruit. So it’s a race with the cold weather to see if I get any more of these.

 

peppers

 

An assortment of peppers. The red pepper in the middle is my first Lipstick, next to a couple of Carmen. I thought these two varieties were roughly equivalent, but they are not. Carmen is much larger, much more productive and ripens faster than Lipstick. At the bottom, my first Poblanos. The one on the left has turned yellow as it starts to ripen but I picked it anyway because I want these for Chiles Rellenos.

 

squash

 

An assortment of squash, including my first Tromboncino and just the second Costata Romanesco.

 

Brandywine

 

The Brandywine tomatoes are starting to color and these were picked to lessen the load on the vines.

 

Pineapple

 

Pineapple tomatoes above. The biggest one unfortunately cracked badly.

 

Sunkist_etc

 

Finally, more Cherokee Purple on the left, to get them off the ground where things have been eating holes in them And the remaining Sunkist on the right.

 

That’s all from my garden this week. To see what is happening in other gardens around the world, head over to Daphne’s Dandelions, our host for Harvest Monday.

18 comments:

  1. You know, I think the less regular (aka "ugly") veg are often the best-tasting ones. I do like big knobbly tomatoes a lot more than I like smooth round ones. I had some great Cherokee Purple ones last year, but this year they have been pretty poor - though that is mainly because of the issues I had with compost.

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    1. I agree, that's why I grow them. But I am getting a little tired of all the waste from the cat-facing, green shoulders and cracks.

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  2. Yay for loads of tomatoes! My big fruited ones are just starting to get some color. That Indian cucumber is a curiosity, is it meant for fresh eating at all stages or are the mature ones meant to be cooked?

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    1. I believe you can use them fresh at all stages, but they also can be used in pickles, chutneys, and even in stir-fries

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  3. I second Mark - I usually much prefer the irregular shaped tomatoes as well. That Green Apple cucumber looks great - how do you find it in comparison to the Lemon? Also LOVE the assortment of peppers - I have yet to harvest a red one.

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    1. I haven't had a Lemon cuke but it is similar to the Crystal Apple. Sweet and juicy and if you don't let them get too big, the skin is edible.

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  4. Lovely harvests. And lots of variety. I hope you write about eating that one pound cucumber. I'd love to know what it tastes like compared to our normal ones.

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    1. I will, once I figure out what to do. They are supposed to be sweet and mild at all sizes and never bitter.

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  5. I'm with Daphne, I want to hear about that Poona Kheera too! Hopefully the other cukes win the race against cold. I hope you nab that wascally wabbit too. Just one of those can do such a lot of damage.

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    1. Just have to get that trap in place. The beets can spare a leaf or two, but when they start eating the root, it's war.

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  6. I've noticed that the slower broccoli for me usually put on the biggest growth spurts when they do start producing. G/L! I hope you get loads of off shoots.

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  7. Dave- That's a great harvest this week. I am really interested with that indian cuke in the middle. It is just beautiful , Please report on the taste and how you used it :)

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  8. Nice and varied harvest, I'm interested in the Indian cucumber as well, is it crunchy with a melon texture? Many years ago I grew Lebanese cucumber, it's crunch and tastes like melon, I like it a lot.

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  9. Great harvest! Bacterial wilt was such a huge problem in my old garden. Cucumber beetles are a tough pest to deal with. My heirloom melons succumbed to them this year but fortunately, my cucumbers did fine.

    I'm growing lipstick peppers as well but none of mine seem to want to turn red. They are very sweet and one of the best peppers I've ever tasted. Enjoy!

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    1. Yeah, I hate it when the peppers just want to hang around in the garden and avoid their ultimate destiny, salsa!

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  10. Great harvest, looking forward to reading more about your Poona Kheera cucumber, love that you sure are growing so many different variety of cucumbers.

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  11. I love all the varieties you grow. I tend to find something I like or that works and stick with it. Mainly I don't like to see seed go to waste.

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    1. i have varieties I grow every year, but I also like to try new varieties. It's a trade-off.

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