Harvest Monday - 21 November 2022

Hello again from Eight Gate Farm! I decided to do one last harvest post for the year, even though Dave, our Harvest Monday host, is taking a well-deserved break. I find it useful to look back at these posts to see when I've harvested crops, so documenting the last harvest makes sense.

This week I did a first and last harvest of leeks. I planted many more than what I got, but most didn't make it. And these are on the small side. Still, I love leeks, and am happy to get a few at least.

'Jumper' hybrid leeks

 I also did a first and last harvest of late-summer-planted spinach. Again, not a huge quantity, but it's something else I really love. I'm going to try to overwinter the plants and get an early harvest next year.

Fall spinach

I took all the remaining Swiss chard. On the whole this normally-dependable crop was lackluster this year. But it sure is colorful!

'Oriole' and 'Peppermint' chard

I pulled all the rest of the spring-planted carrots, getting a good haul in time for Thanksgiving dinner. We also gave away quite a few.

'Mokum' hybrid carrots

And the parsley I cut down practically to the ground a few weeks ago amazingly re-grew. 

Italian (flat leaf) parsley

I also cut the three stalks of Brussels sprouts that I nurtured all year from seed. But I'm not going to show them. For we found they were completely infested with disgusting tiny gray aphids. I'm guessing there was maybe 2 - 3 pounds of sprouts we could have gotten, all thrown away. I don't like them, but The Kitchen Goddess really does, and was hoping to serve them for Thanksgiving. So she was very disappointed (and grossed out). To punish me for my failure, she went right out and bought a small package at Whole Foods (grrrrr!).

Same with the last kale, all ruined by the aphids. I've never before had an aphid infestation on any brassicas. Where did they come from so late in the year?

So the gardens are completely empty now, and it's time for our winter hibernation. It was probably the best year ever for production. Either the conditions were ideal, or I'm finally getting the hang of this gardening thing, after doing it all my life. Next year will tell!

For those in the US, I hope enjoy your Thanksgiving feast and celebrations this coming Thursday. It's my favorite holiday. For all readers, thank you for reading my posts over the year, and commenting. See you next year!