Monday, September 28, 2015

Harvest Monday - 28 September 2015

Welcome to another Harvest Monday report from Eight Gate Farm. When I got up this morning (Sunday) the temperature was at 38 degrees F. (~3 C.). It didn't stay there long, but still, it was a sobering moment. Here's a sample of this week's harvests.

A Monday picking. The kale and leek went with some of our potatoes into a tasty, healthful dinner that night.


The very last of the sweet corn, in convenient bite-size form. Not perfectly-formed ears, but still incredibly sweet and crunchy. This will be missed.


A Tuesday harvest. The muskmelon is a "Minnesota Midget," living up to its name at 1.25 lbs. We never get much in the way of production from melons, but the taste is fantastic.


Minnesota Midget Muskmelon
Running out of freezer space, The Kitchen Goddess has started dehydrating the carrots. These will go well dropped into my favorite comfort food, homemade chicken noodle soup. Pounds of carrots shrink down to several ounces.

Dehydrated Carrots
A bonus harvest of soup peas. I had some leftover seed from the spring planting, but not enough for next year. I sowed them in the Survival Garden and promptly neglected them. They responded accordingly. Still, it shows that you can get some production from a summer planting of a traditionally spring crop.


The final harvest of the week. From left, carrots, chard, leeks, Rutgers tomatoes, raspberries, watermelon radishes, and the last of the summer crisp lettuce. As I write this, TKG is making a quiche from some of the leeks and chard. Hey, when do we eat??


How will I know the first true frost has happened? The coleus planting will tell me. I grew these six plants from seed, and they have been brightening a corner of the patio all summer. But with the first nip of frost, they will wilt to nothing.

Coleus planting

That's all for this week. Thanks for reading! For more Harvest Monday, click on back to Daphne's Dandelions, and please show your appreciation for hosting this fun and informative gathering by leaving her a comment.

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10 comments:

  1. Jenny RottingerSeptember 28, 2015 at 8:42 AM

    Very lovely harvest, love the carrots and melon

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  2. David VeltenSeptember 28, 2015 at 10:36 AM

    Nice harvest, Will. Dehydrating vegetables is a good strategy and they keep a long time (so the regular garden can complement the survival garden). I mix carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, and peppers together for my own soup mix. Throw a couple of handfuls into a pot of stock and you have dinner.

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    Replies
    1. Eight Gate Farm NHSeptember 28, 2015 at 3:44 PM

      Thanks, Dave. I was not sure how well dehydrated vegetables keep.

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  3. Dave @ HappyAcresSeptember 28, 2015 at 12:09 PM

    I like the idea of the dehydrated carrots too. We do a lot of fruits, but not many veggies except for tomatoes and peppers. That quiche sounds good (it's lunch time here), have a bite for me!

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  4. MargaretSeptember 28, 2015 at 2:00 PM

    Oh...as soon as I saw your first sentence, I quickly checked the weather network as I had not looked in a couple of days. It's that time of year and the weather can turn on a dime.

    Wonderful harvests & (adding to the chorus) that's an ingenious idea to dehydrate the carrots! I'm thinking of all the other veg you can do that to - that would make winter soups so easy! That coleus is beautiful, btw. I'm looking forward to eventually having the time to dabble in growing ornamentals from seed.

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    Replies
    1. Eight Gate Farm NHSeptember 28, 2015 at 3:46 PM

      Thanks, Margaret. I think our frost danger is a few weeks away based on the long range forecast.Coleus is easy to grow, so go for it!.

      Delete
  5. Daphne GouldSeptember 28, 2015 at 5:46 PM

    One of the weekend nights hit 41F for us. It got me thinking the season is about ended too. I need more sun on my squash to make it mature faster.

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  6. MarciaSeptember 28, 2015 at 7:18 PM

    Lovely cantaloupe. Yum! My daughter in Cornish Flat, NH had frost last night. Did you get it too? We are looking forward to visiting them in mid October.

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