Bolting toward Harvest Monday

Even though the overwintering crowd has started to bolt toward the barn doors, they remain plentiful and tasty.

The Brussels Sprouts are popping open in small explosive blooms, spurring me to pick clean a few of the plants. Nature works, though. I didn't get them all. Some had bolted entirely, some I just missed. These would bloom if left to their own devices, and may still, though it will be from the compost bin.

One cabbage came indoors, the last remains in the field, its seemingly chaotic splatter of long-packed-together leaves reaching in every direction. The chard is putting on new growth, the kale stretches skyward and the rest of the garden residents are trying to remain unseen as they edge toward the doors.

Spring is near, though it is under a cover of frost this morning.

Leeks, sprouts, spinach and chard await the pizza stone.
The sauce is from our canned summer stores.

We still have squash in the larder. This pint is being
dried to satisfy work snack cravings.

(Go see what else is bolting at Daphne's Harvest Monday site).

Harvest Monday

We, through not aggressively eating our way through the garden, are still pulling much from it.  There are still beets, a few cabbages, loads of kale & collards, green onion, and Brussels. The carrots are mostly gone and the last of the broccoli was picked and its bed cleared in preparation for peas.

This post is part of the Harvest Monday collection over at Daphne's Dandelions. Head on over to see what is left of other people's winter gardens.

From a Brussels' point of view

Cabbage and Brussels on the block for the wok

Harvest Monday

Our sole Danish Ballhead. All of the others
are a savoy type that I need to pin back to
an actual name.

We picked the first of the cabbages this weekend. It was on the small side, but it was more than enough for the pumpkin curry recipe it was plucked for. The pumpkin curry isn't pictured, but it certainly warranted being captured. I have some for lunch today and I expect that it'll be as tasty as before.

Also not pictured are some truly gorgeous Collards that Shari picked yesterday (their leaves are a deep uniform green and look super healthy and tasty after the recent frosts), as well as the smattering of carrots, chard and onions that made it into the week's meals.  Not pictured for better reason are the few straggling tomatoes we managed to pull from the greenhouse. Actually they probably should have been posted, just to commemorate their fortitude.

For many well pictured posts, head over to Daphne's Dandelions for many Harvest Monday contributors.

A squash per week

Squash is a super-food, packed with vitamins and 'good stuff' according to nutrition writers. I don't doubt this at all, but I don't think that one vegetable thrown into an unhealthy diet is going to save a person. Everyone should throw in handfuls, gobs, mounds and mountains of greens, reds, and oranges. That'll lead to profound changes.

As for us, we need to eat at least a squash a week if a have any hope of making it through our stores by the time spring is upon us. It is a good 'problem' to have. Last year we lost several to freezing temperatures. Without a cellar, it is a challenge to find storage. I will try to insulate them better this year.

Pictured is a sunshine kabocha. The meat is dry and sweet. They are supposed to be good keepers. I can tell you, so far, that they are good eaters. A simple steaming was all that was required for this one to be super tasty.

Also pictured is my other sunshine, in front of a mound of chard that is awaiting the wok.

This post was added to Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday entry. Go take a gander and see what's growing around the world.

Harvest Halloween Monday

Sized up for winter.

Not many photos these week
The garden remains productive. I noticed that many of the broccoli seems to have another round of side growth of good size. I definitely will be growing more Fiesta next year. The Chard is superb this year. It tastes like Spinach, which I hadn't noticed before. Maybe I just wish I had more Spinach in the ground.

Carrots
The late plantings of carrots seem to have grown out to a good size. I hope that these are good representatives. We have about 15' of carrots. Also in that bed are beets, chard, and leeks. Many of the beets are of picking size also. I'm not expecting a lot more growth of of any of these this year.

Sweet Potatoes
We also dug the sweet potatoes. The yield was underwhelming to be generous. Many of the tubers did not fill out. They were the right length, but remained thin. Shari peeled, steamed and froze what we got. Next year I'll put them under plastic for the entire season. The undersized tubers may have a use. I am going to try to ave and sprout them in the spring.

Happy Halloween

Harvest monday, night

The last eggplant, super tasty.

The last eggplant is on the left of the board, snuggled up with the broccoli. A handful of chard are on top, their stems below. The eggplant was sauteed with the chard stems, tomato and some green onion. It was then tossed with a red sauce and some penne. The chard leaves were lightly steamed. The broccoli was for Luke. I was inspired by Diary of a Tomato. While not following it exactly, I ended up with a very tasty dinner last night and lunch today.

The season of broccoli

We continue to go to our backyard store prior to dinner these days. There are green onions to pull; broccoli, chard and cauliflower to cut; and what can only be called gobs of tomatoes to graze on. Some things have been picked clean. I cooked up the last of the green beans tonight, finished picking over the front bed of canning tomatoes this week, harvested the jalapenos and the last couple eggplant. On the maintenance front, we had a nice weekend. I was able to take advantage of it, cleaning and prepping beds for garlic and winter. 

It's a long way up, but he'll make it.

It is a nice time of year. The garden is more relaxed, less demanding this time of year. It is still growing, be is slowly, but still providing plentifully. 

Our broccoli has is the clear over-achiever these days. Our dozen plants have been producing consistently for a few weeks now. The second variety, Fiesta, has put out huge heads. The one here is 4lbs. I don't think we'll get much more out of these, but the other variety, Packman, are still full of side shoots. We should get another couple weeks of of those. Many have started to go to seed, but that hasn't deterred me. I can say that broccoli flowers are just as tasty as their non-flowering siblings. Eaten raw or in stir-fry, they are just as good. Don't let a little flower deter you.

Luke's vegetable sculpture. 

Just over 4lbs of peppers - jalapeno & Big Bomb,
neither really much more spicy than a bell,
unfortunately.

Harvest Monday

Relegated to hang out with the recycling and garbage cans.
Thankfully, this isn't from this year. This technique (or is
it a trick?) did work. Most of these tomatoes found
their way into canning jars. 

Back to the present, here's an interesting mix of summer
and winter pickings. There are still a few eggplant
after this one. This butternut was on the small side, but
went very well with the potatoes, broccoli and beets
that shared my dinner plate.

Each of these beets was a pound. I was afraid
that the may have turned tough, but
was happily disappointed. They were excellent.

The last of the beans were tasty, along with mounds of
broccoli, chard, and tomatoes and jalapenos in last night's stir fry for
today's lunch.

The chard is plentiful and sweet all the
way to the end of the stalk.

Head over to Daphne's Dandelions for more Harvest Monday folks.

Harvest Monday, October 3rd

If you haven't been to Daphne's Dandelions yet, you should check it out (http://daphnesdandelions.blogspot.com/). She has a nice set-up and a nice set of links contributed each Monday. I linked back here this morning, though I don't have many new photos to add for the past week, regarding what we harvested. We did process another 40 pounds of tomatoes last night. They are in the pot, ready to be reduced and canned. Our harvest Monday this week is really regarding the stored potential of the garden as we enter the Fall. The garden is in pretty good shape now and hopefully will continue to contribute into the winter. The post below contains a walk-through of our various beds and me rambling about what's there.