Harvest Monday - 15 July 2024

Time for a weather complaint. It's been so hot for days now. When it isn't above 90F (32c), it's darn close to it. And such humidity! Gardening is a pain in this weather. Sure we expect some warm days in July, but not like this. And the rainfall we've gotten has been so scant.

Despite this, some more "first harvests" have been coming in. 

I'm always skeptical of tomatoes that promise to be extra early (be the first on your block, be the envy of your neighbors!). The "Fourth of July" variety comes to mind. Probably conditions have to be perfect for the promised maturity to happen. But I got a free packet of this one, "42 Day," and gave one plant a try. Well, it wasn't 42 days, more like 56 days since transplanting, but I got some! Having tomatoes by mid-July is a treat.

"42 Day" determinate tomatoes

Taste-wise, they are on the acidic side. But we like that. We enjoyed them.

Zucchini made its first appearance, in quantity too. This hybrid variety, called Pantheon, tastes just as wonderful as its cocozelle-type parent, but has better growth habits. I love the nutty taste and the looks of this variety.

Pantheon (F1) zucchini

Another first harvest was a fennel bulb. This wasn't the largest, but the plant was starting to look unhealthy, so I pulled it.

"Orazio" fennel

I took the first bell pepper, in the green stage. I'm hoping it will stimulate the plant to get bigger. We used it along with a store-bought red bell, plus onions and zucchini from us, in a lamb kebab. It tasted great.

Ace (F1) bell pepper

The season has progressed to the point where I can show "group photos." This was Thursday's harvest. Note the pea pods--I was wrong when I said the vines were done.

Thursday harvest

And here's Sunday's harvest, featuring another, larger fennel bulb.

Sunday harvest

That's all for now. It's supposed to get even hotter this coming week. Oh joy. Thanks for reading, and thanks to Dave at HappyAcres.blog for hosting Harvest Monday.