Monday, June 26, 2017

Harvest Monday - 26 June 2017

Greetings from Eight Gate Farm, and welcome to another Harvest Monday update!

Starting as usual with "first" harvests of the year, we have turnips:


This variety is called "White Egg." It seems to grow very well for us, and not only produces tasty roots but also an abundance of delicious greens, as you can see. I also planted "Purple Top White Globe," and after two years of trying I don't feel like planting it again. It grows much slower and weaker than White Egg, so why bother?

Next up are snap peas:


I tried "Super Sugar Snap" for the first time this year, and so far I like it better than conventional Sugar Snap. It produces earlier, with equally tasty pods, and is not supposed to get as tall as Sugar Snap. I've had problems with Sugar Snap vines overtopping the 6-foot trellis, and without support, they tend to bend and break. Also, Sugar Snap has always had a consistency problem; a large proportion aren't true to type. So let's see if Super Sugar Snap makes the cut.

For continuing harvests, strawberries are blessing us with an abundance.


We are literally giving them away now, freezing many pounds, and eating them with practically every meal. Case in point, yesterday's breakfast of French Toast with our own maple syrup:


I'll tell you, after a breakfast like this you don't feel like rushing out and working in the garden!

Salad greens are still going strong:


We took the last Ching Chiang, and some more garlic scapes.


Those ingredients and more, including our own mint and basil, went into Vietnamese Spring Rolls by The Kitchen Goddess:


Finally, a weird-perspective picture of a particularly notable berry:

Big strawberry, small cat.
Thanks for reading, and please check out all the posts on Harvest Monday, hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres.

12 comments:

  1. I know the "why bother" feeling ... I absolutely cannot be bothered to try growing cauliflower after 3 years of trying with zero results.

    Nice strawberries! We've had quite a rainy season and the local growers have struggled, but I still hope to pick some up this week.

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    1. Yes, I've had the same lack of results with cauliflower.

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  2. Still getting strawberries? Must be nice. The deer have found my strawberry planter and are keeping it trimmed closely. The spring rolls are a thing of beauty.

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    1. Thanks, Mike. Our strawberry beds are pretty well protected, fortunately.

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  3. Super Sugar Snap has always been a winner for me, never an off type and extremely resistant to powdery mildew which is a scourge here. Lucky you to have the Kitchen Goddess go to the work of making spring rolls!

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    1. Right, I forgot to mention the resistance to powdery mildew, which I will shortly put to the test!

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  4. That photo of breakfast has my mouth watering! I can't blame you for wanting to take it easy afterwards. I'm with you on the Purple Top turnips. There are so many better hybrid turnips, though I haven't tried White Egg. I'll have to check it out.

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    1. I got the seeds from Baker Creek. I don't think they're a hybrid.

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  5. Lovely berries! And home grown syrup? Oh my rich indeed.

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  6. Your strawberry kitty photo reminds me of one of my own:

    http://howsrobb.blogspot.com/2008/08/adventure-of-strawberry-headed-league.html

    Beautiful harvests!

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  7. Your turnips are beautiful, and turnip greens are such a tasty treat. It's wonderful you're getting such a large haul of strawberries. I've never actually tried making spring rolls before even though I definitely enjoy eating them.

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