We will start this post off with not a beet photograph. Lots of squash this week, with the Romanesco now producing eight fruit per week to Dunja’s three.
Here is the requisite beet photograph. Just a few more left. I need to replant these and hope I get some for the fall.
The escarole is starting to bolt, so I harvested two heads. And I am still getting some lettuce. When I removed the bolting lettuce heads, I found smaller plants crowded underneath from inadequate thinning, which I left. They are now harvestable size, proving that laziness has some usefulness in gardening.
The endives are also ready to harvest. The inside of this head is nicely blanched, which makes it more tender and less bitter. The frilly leaves are really hard to clean , however. Lots of hiding spaces for slugs, earwigs, pill bugs, and just plain debris.
More squash and tomatoes.
Despite my problems with bean diseases, I am still harvesting plenty. This is several pounds and I picked a like quantity on Sunday which I did not photograph.
I am finally starting to get some peppers. On the left are three Hungarian Paprika, then an orange Yummy Belle, and three Jimmy Nardello. I also picked some (too) large Padron peppers, which did turn hot.
More tomatoes are starting to ripen.. On the left are two Opalka, one with some BER. The green shoulders on it are typical. The large orange tomato in the center is my first Sunkist, one of the smaller ones. It has a touch of anthracnose rot on the stem end so it is going to get cut up and used today. The two rose colored cherry tomatoes are the first Sweet Treats. I like their color.
After clearing out the bed of Super Star onions of all that had formed bulbs, I was left with these “onions” with very straight and thick stems. I showed these in a photo a few weeks ago and wondered how big the bulbs were going to be, given the diameter of the stems. Well, they are not forming bulbs. Last week it suddenly became obvious. These are not onions but leeks. Apparently Dixondale Farms mixed some leeks in with the bundle of Super Star onion plants. I am not upset, I can always use some more leeks.
Finally, this is a satellite view of my house and its so-called yard. This should explain why I can not garden at home and have to drive to the town’s community garden/allotment. The house is located in a stand of climax Eastern white pine on top of a pile of rocks forming a knob off the side of the Vaughan Hills. East is the lower right corner. The land slopes to the left down to the town road. Elevation is enough that I have driven home in the rain to find it turning to snow as I go up the driveway. The “soil” is several inches of forest duff on top of a clay-like mixture of rock powder and pebbles left by the glacier. My first “gardening” tools were a chain saw, pick ax, and my favorite, a heavy five-foot pry bar. Thank goodness for the community garden.
That’s what happened in my garden last week. To see what other gardeners around the world are doing, visit Daphne’s Dandelions, our host for Harvest Monday.
Great harvests, Dave. Congrats on the nice red peppers. And thanks for the satellite shot--it puts things in perspective. I think I see you waving down there. Actually I did not know you don't garden at home, and I can see why. It would take a long time to clear those pines and get the soil in order.
ReplyDeleteNo soil, just rock. I tried raised beds but the pine roots invaded the beds and sucked them dry.
DeleteWhat a great satellite pic, some beautiful country I suspect. And a wonderful harvest, so many great colours. I'm growing jimmy nardello peppers for the first time this year but mine are all deformed. Now I know what they are supposed to look like and I'll have to figure out what's going on with mine.
ReplyDeleteThe Jimmy Nardellos tend to curl like that, so yours may not be deformed at all. They are kind of ugly but also cute. This year they grew a lot larger before ripening than years past. Maybe it was the mycorrizhae?
DeleteBoy, you do have a challenging site at home. Still, it seems like such a tranquil setting, being surrounded by all of that wilderness.
ReplyDeleteThe squash are just beautiful - of course, it's what I don't have that I covet the most! And lucky you having red, ripe peppers - I think I will be waiting a while before any of mine start turning red. The same fortunate accident happened to me with the lettuce, although it was only one plant. I left it to continue growing and am keeping an eye on it just in case it decides to bolt as I still have plenty of lettuce in the fridge from the "final" harvest.
Some of teh smaller peppers like the Nardellos ripen quickly. Still waiting for the Carmen peppers to ripen.
DeleteGreat looking harvests - your peppers are ahead of mine! Your lot might not be conducive to gardening, but it looks like a great site for a house.
ReplyDeleteNice colorful harvest. That first photo seem so much like summer to me. OK maybe it is missing beans to make it complete, but you have those in another photo.
ReplyDeleteHow nice of you to show us exactly where you live - and to describe the difficulties which face you! In terms of the produce, I am most impressed with the Endive. This year I have not yet managed to produce even one single mature Endive. They have all bolted. Maybe I will have more luck in the Autumn.... The happy accident with the Leeks is amusing too!
ReplyDeleteKnew you would like the endive. Some of that went in a salad with hot bacon dressing and I used your suggestion of some blue cheese crumbles. My wife admitted she actually liked it.
DeleteWow, what amazing harvests! And I'm envious of your homestead even if it doesn't offer the best gardening opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh about the pry bar, I've got one of those too, along with the piles of rocks that it has loosened.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Romanesco! I think yours is outproducing mine. I had a few off types in my Dixondales this year also, but not that far off, some of the Red Candy Apples turned out to be Tropeas.
Nice abundance harvest, I love any variety of peppers they are so cute and pretty.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know you cannot garden at home, hope the community garden is not too far away.
Lovely colourful mixture of harvest
ReplyDelete