Carrots!

We've had some amazingly warm weather over the weekend.  Both days reached to 60 or so.  By Sunday morning, so much had melted that all my beds were uncovered and even defrosted.  I was so excited to check the carrot beds.  They hadn't gotten covered properly and I was anxious to see how they did.

Some had gotten soft from all the freezing, but many of the carrots had made it through unscathed.  It was like digging for buried treasure.  Overall, about half of the carrots made it.  After our hard, cold, snowy winter, they were a welcome sight. 

I got them cleaned up and ended up with a good little crop.  The 2 on the left are huge.  There were quite a few that had forked.  That was surprising.  These beds are raised and have loam and compost in them.  There are really no rocks.  I'm not really sure why they forked. 

The strawberry plants were also starting to peak out.  I started to pull the shredded leaves away from them, but they were just too wet to get very much done.  It was nice to see that they had made it through quite nicely though.  What a mood booster to be able to spend a few hours outside and in the garden.  There is still a little bit of snow at the top of the driveway from the plow guy, but it should be gone very soon.  The weather is predicting highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s all week.  That's pretty typical March weather for us and its nice to see the progression in the temperatures.  Spring is almost here!

This post is part of Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions.  I'm so excited to have a post finally!  Head on over and see what else is being harvested and what everyone is using from last year's harvests.

Meal #3 lot of stored veggies from the garden.

I woke this morning to a dusting of snow.  The kids were excited to see even the coating that we got.  The week is supposed to bring flurries most days this week, with no meaningful accumulation.   Right now, I'm really happy with pretty, but not inconvenient.  Tomorrow is the solstice and I'm planning to plant some things to celebrate.  For now, we still have lots of stored veggies from the garden. 

Last night we ate some more of those veggies.  I decided to make a roast in the rotisserie oven.  You will remember the infomercials from 8 or 10 years ago.  Hubby bought me one long ago and it is in sad shape.  The plastic arms that hold the door on have broken.  Hubby had taken it into the fire station once and we're now missing parts as well.  It still works though, and I refuse to throw it away until it completely dies. 

As you can see, the roast was a perfect medium rare.  I never make roasts and when we order our half cow from Den Besten farms, I always account for that.  There are always a few that I allow, but generally even those get turned into jerky.  The sides are the Rio Grande russets from the garden with raw milk from a local farm.  The sugar snap peas were frozen from the garden, along with the beets that were harvested in July. 

It's amusing to set a plate in front of my family and have them ask for more veggies before they even eat.  The garden veggies have that effect on us.  Somehow the store veggies just don't taste quite the same.  These will run out eventually, so I'm planning a trip to the Providence farmers market with some good friends in January.  It will be nice to see all the other lovely things they have as well.   Dark Days meals aren't so tough when your pantry and freezers already hold so many wonderful local things.  You would be hard pressed to find a meal we eat that doesn't have at least something from one of the local farms. 

This post is part of Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions and The Dark Days Challenge at The (not so) Urban Hennery. 

Harvest Monday Dec 6, 2010

This week I went and pulled enough carrots to get us through a few weeks.  The fall harvest has been gorgeous.  It's really getting cold here lately and the ground is starting to freeze.  I have a feeling this will be my last harvest for quite a while.  There are still some odds and ends in the ground, but I will most likely leave them there until the next thaw.  I love looking at all the greens that everyone is harvesting and we have a few in the garden.  Unfortunately, my family only eats greens under protest.  It's all about babysteps. 

The rest of the garden has been put to bed for a few weeks, so nothing to report there.  I'm starting to plan for next year and will be adding another raised bed in the last space I have in my side yard.  There is a free planner on the Mother Earth News site that is very easy to use, so I've been playing with that.   The seed catalogs are dribbling in.  I've gotten 2 so far, one from Pinetree and the other from Totally Tomatoes. 

This post is part of Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions.  Head on over and see all the wonderful harvests. 

Harvest Monday Nov 29, 2010

It's really cold outside!  My garden has a heavy layer of frost on it, but I still have a harvest for the week.  Last Tuesday I decided to harvest the rest of the broccoli.  I'm leaving the stalks in the ground just so I have something to look at, but they're done for the year. 

We've done lots of eating from our garden this week though.  The canned tomatoes and sauces have made an appearance in many dishes.  Potatoes and carrots have also been big this week.  I made my Vegetable Beef Soup this week so all of the above was used, along with some frozen green beans from the garden. 

The remainder of the garden will stay in.  There is still some cabbage, although the heads never got very big.  The carrots are gorgeous and will be pulled whenever I can get them out.  The beets didn't get very big and will also be harvested when the ground thaws a bit. 

Head on over to Daphne's Dandelions to see what everyone is harvesting this week.  It's amazing to see what people are getting in this cold weather.

Harvest Monday Nov 1, 2010

Brrr!  It is certainly November here in New England.  It was 25 degrees when I woke up this morning.  The kids were bundled up in winter coats and the heat was turned on.  The living room was 58 degrees, so there was no messing around today.  As a result, I decided to harvest a few things that I was unsure of.  Tonight is supposed to be just as cold.

There was quite a bit of broccoli and a few beets that were big enough to harvest.  I left the broccoli in to see how well it does.  There are a few more heads started and some side shoots that may develop.  Since I've never had anything planted this late, I'm not sure how well they'll do.  The beets are not sizing up as well as I would like, so I thinned them and we'll see what happens.  I know both broccoli and beets are ok with some cold, but I'm not sure when they'll be destroyed.

The rest of the greens, cabbage and carrots are looking good, so they'll stay in the ground.  My Pac Choi has gotten far too big, so the chickens have been enjoying it instead.  The cabbage is still forming heads, I'm curious to see what will happen with them.  It would be great if the cabbage, beets and carrots would continue to size up, the light is getting scarce though.

This post is part of Daphne's Dandelions, head on over and see what everyone is harvesting this week.

Harvest Monday Oct 18, 2010

The harvests are slowing down mightily here.  It seems as they slow down, I get worse about actually photographing what I get.  Most of the time, I end up running outside to grab something out of the garden to make dinner.  

This week, the only things I actually harvested were some broccoli and swiss chard.  Since my computer won't let me upload the one picture I took, I don't even have that to show you.  Is anyone else having issues with the new changes to blogger?  I hate the way they have photos set up now.

Edited to add that blogger finally allowed me to post the picture of the swiss chard that I harvested.


Anyway, the broccoli went into a casserole and the chard into the soup, both of which I made in the previous post.  This time of year I'm ready for the garden to be done.  I'm hoping my teenaged friend will come back one more time to finish spreading the manure.  Since I still haven't managed to get the garlic and onions planted, that really needs to get done this week.  After that, it's just enjoying the last of my harvests and all the yummy things that I stored.  I'm not sure that I'm cut out for year round gardening.

Head on over to Daphne's Dandelions and check out what everyone is harvesting this week.

Harvest Monday Oct 11, 2010

The potatoes are finally all in.  The russet bed was the one I was most interested in.  They're our favorites.  In all, I ended up with close to 200 lbs of potatoes.  It sounds and looks like a lot, but they'll be eaten in our house.  We love our potatoes. 

Unfortunately, so do the groundhogs who dug a hole in my potato bed.  They took bites out of around 20 pounds of potatoes that then ended up in the compost.  The stinkers built their hole by the back fence where I couldn't see them.  Toby couldn't get to them because his electric fence is inches from their hole and he would get shocked.  There isn't anything for them to eat now.  I'm sure they will disappear until next year.

The week saw the last of the tomatoes and peppers that were pulled.  I have to admit, I was so sick of tomatoes that many just got composted.  I'll probably regret that next year.  Not pictured is broccoli and a few more carrots.

All that is left now are the fall crops.  They're doing very well, so they'll be regular players from now on.

This is part of Daphne's Dandelion's Harvest Mondays.  Head on over and check it out.

Harvest Monday Oct 4, 2010

We've been getting lots of rain and wind over the past week.  As a result, I still haven't been able to harvest the last bed of potatoes.  We've been getting plenty of other harvests though.

The tomatoes just keep on coming.  Although, the plants themselves are looking awful.  Most of them are fully diseased and looking awful, but they're still pumping out plenty of tomatoes.  If we get a break in the weather this week, I intend to pull them out.  I got a load of fresh cow manure yesterday, so I can put the garden to bed now. 

While I was looking at the tomatoes with a neighbor, I decided to take a closer look at the carrots that I had planted in between the rows.  They looked far better than I had anticipated.  The variety is a shorter type, so many of them are a decent size.  I'm not a fan of carrots, but my family had them for dinner last night and said they were incredibly sweet.

The broccoli continues to do well also.  In addition to the head pictured, there was also a meal of side shoots that I didn't get a picture of.

Head on over to Daphne's Dandelions to see what else is being harvested this week.

Harvest Monday Sept 27th 2010

It's all about the potatoes this week. 

First we dug the rest of the All Blues and the Yukon Golds.

A few russets for dinner.

All of the Kennebecs.  We now have over 100 lbs of potatoes and I still have to dig the russet bed.  It looks like a ridiculous amount, but I keep reminding myself that these will be our potatoes for the year.  I'm hoping that I'll have some to plant in the Spring.  It will be interesting to see how much we truly use for the year.

Another butternut, some broccoli side shoots and more tomatoes.

I really can't believe how many tomatoes and peppers I got this year.  They just keep coming with no frost in the forecast yet. 

Head on over to Daphne's Dandelions to see what else is being harvested this week.

Harvest Monday Sept 20, 2010

We returned from vacation on Friday, so all of my harvests have been in the past 3 days.   I didn't post to Harvest Monday the week before we left, but did get the first broccoli then.

When we returned, the tomatoes were looking a little rough.  The plants are starting to get diseased and tired.  I'll be ripping out the Legends this week.  It has been an amazing pepper year for me as well.  The ananheims and jalapenos were just crazy.  I have so many frozen, I'm not sure I'll plant any next year. 

This is just a sampling of the 20 pounds of my All Blue potatoes dug so far.  There are still a couple hundred pounds of potatoes to be dug.  I'm taking my time.  Last night we had blue mashed potatoes with garlic from the garden.  My little one didn't like the color, but after some coaching decided the potatoes were ok after all. 

This morning's haul.  Those tomatoes keep coming and my one and only acorn squash. 

This post is part of Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions.  Head on over and check out what everyone is harvesting.

Harvest Monday Aug 30th 2010

It's not a huge harvest this week.  The tomatoes are slowing down and a majority of the rest is done for the season.

The second round of cabbages was enjoyed in cole slaw this week.  We also wrapped things up with our corn.  The jury is still out on whether we'll do it again next year.  The pumpkin may be our one and only this year.  All around we didn't have a good pumpkin and squash year. 

Tomatoes are still coming in, but at a slower pace.  I'm hoping to can up a few more qts this week, but we'll see. 

This post is part of Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions.  Head on over and see what else has been harvested this week.

Harvest Monday Aug 23rd 2010

The first corn of the year came in this week.  It was a mixed bag.  There is still a bit to be harvested.

Tomatoes are still ruling the day.  This week I harvested about 50 lbs.  I'm starting to see a possible end to this, but would like it to go on for at least another 3-5 weeks.  Maybe in a slightly smaller capacity though.

It hasn't been a good pumpkin and squash year for us.  This is a very small Cinderella pumpkin that ended up getting composted as a result of damage.  There is also a very small Waltham butternut.  Maybe next year we'll have a good squash year.

The peppers are still coming in very nicely.  The egg is of course from my girls.


Head on over to Daphne's Dandelions and see what else is being harvested this week.

Harvest Monday Aug 16th, 2010

It's tomato time!  After 2 really bad tomato years, we're celebrating here in the northeast. 

That's not even half of what I harvested this week.  They're coming on quite strong and we're loving every minute of it. 

I'm also still harvesting potatoes as needed.  These are Kennebecs that were used for a potato salad.  We had a big birthday party to celebrate the kid's birthdays with family and neighbors.  Since they're so close together, we always have one big party for the both of them.  It was nice to have all the vegetables come straight from the garden.

This is the second harvest of beets.  There are still quite a few more to go. 

What isn't pictured are the cucumbers, beans, green peppers, jalapenos and anaheims. 

We're finally getting some rain this week, which is wonderful.  I'm hoping these harvests keep up.  We're well on our way to having a majority of our vegetables come from my garden this year. 

This post is part of Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday.  Go check out what everyone is harvesting this week.

Harvest Monday Aug 9,2010

This post is part of Daphne's Dandelions' series for Harvest Monday.  Click on over and check out what everyone is harvesting this week.

We're really into the heat of summer here.  Some things are starting to give up and others are just coming into their own.

These are the first of the Yukon Golds.  I'm only harvesting as I need them.  There are tons of potatoes (hopefully!)  still awaiting harvest, but the longer I keep them in the ground, the longer they'll keep in the house.  Most will probably stay there until October or so.  In the meantime, we'll continue to eat fresh potatoes every so often.

A typical harvest for this time of year.  The cucumbers are not looking terribly healthy these days.  I should get a few more from them though. 

Hubby had a hankering for swiss chard in his eggs the other day.  It is holding up remarkably well despite the heat.  This is actually a volunteer that showed up in the bean patch this year.  The beets need to be frozen.  They are such a winter veggie in my mind.  Can you see my sourdough starter in the background?  I'm very proud that I started that little guy myself.  It's happily bubbling away.  When it gets a bit stronger, I'll post more about it.

These poor green tomatoes are casualties of war.  I was desperately trying to tie up my overgrown vines and lost a few tomatoes along the way.  They'll ripen up nicely inside and be gobbled up just the same.  The green beans are looking to make a comeback with lots of new fruit forming these days.  I'm glad I didn't pull them up yet.

Harvest Monday July 19th 2010

This post is part of Harvest Mondays at Daphne's Dandelions.  Head on over and check out all the wonderful harvests posted there.

There is lots of harvesting going on here.  I didn't take pictures of all that I harvested, but you will certainly get a good view of what is going on.  The heat continues here in New England with yet another heat wave this past weekend.  So far most things are holding up. 

There have been lots of green beans.  These are Blue Lake bush beans.  They have always been big producers for me.  I have a 4x6 patch planted and am harvesting about 3 quarts of beans every other day. 

Cucumbers are also really coming in these days.  They are mostly being eaten up in salads, but I can foresee pickles in my future.  Peppers are earlier than they ever have been.  I didn't get a picture of all the jalapenos that I've been harvesting as well.  In the picture are bells and Anaheim.

My onion harvest has been less than stellar.  I've never done terribly well with them.  Considering that these have been babied along since January, I'm not impressed.  There are still more to go, but none of any size.  I'm thinking about either potato onions or forgoing them altogether next year.

This is today's harvest.  It seemed much more impressive earlier.  The last of the Pac Choy and Tatsoi were harvested.  They are starting to bolt finally and will be yummy in stir fry and egg rolls this week.  There are a few beets, cabbage, cukes, eggs from my girls, green beans and a few more onions. 

This week will be all about fall planting.  The bed that contained all my early cabbage, Asian greens, onions and lettuce will be completely ripped out.  In their place will go some of the seedlings started on the deck.  I'll also be direct seeding many other things. 

Harvest Monday

This is part of Harvest Monday, which is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions.  Go and check out what else is being harvested.

 This is a sampling of what has been coming out of the garden these days.  We have Cascadia sugar snap peas that are being saved for seed, Gold Rush zucchini, Boston Pickling cukes, Detroit dark red beets, jalapenos, Anaheim peppers and Blue lake bush beans.  We've also still been harvesting pac choy and tatsoi. 

Things are really moving along now.  I love this time of year.  The harvests far exceed what we need in any given day.  This means lots of yummy veggies to eat and lots to put up for the winter.  It won't be long before I'm completely overwhelmed by produce and the need to preserve it somehow. 

The big harvest of the week was garlic.

I harvested 44 gorgeous heads of garlic.  Hubby has been going around sniffing the air and sighing with contentment.  The smell is just amazing.  These are all hard neck varieties and I love them, but I'll also be adding some soft necks for next year for their better storage properties.  Between the garlic scape pesto and all these beautiful heads of garlic, it will be a long while before I need to purchase any from the store.  We'll see how long the hard necks store, I'm hoping they hold out for at least 6 months or so.  In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye out for preservation recipes.

Harvest Monday

This week is much the same as the past few weeks.  I'm picking the last of the first planting of Cascadia Sugar snap peas, some Winter Density lettuce and a few more garlic scapes that weren't ready before.  Things are really starting to get going now.  Hopefully that will mean a more interesting harvest in the coming weeks. 

Today I'm off to replace the sprinkler and hose feeder that seem to have disappeared from my shed.  The veggies need a good feeding of fish emulsion now, so they'll get that this evening with the watering. 

Check out the other harvests at Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday.

Harvest Monday

Now is the time that things are really starting to come in from the garden.  It's so exciting and actually quite early for New England.  Above is a pound of garlic scapes.  These were made into garlic scape pesto and frozen in cubes for the year.  Absolutely delicious!

Some lettuce is also making an appearance.  It has not been a good year for lettuce in my garden.  I don't think it's liking all the heat we've had.

Lastly are the sugar snap peas.  These joined some of the garlic scape pesto in a wonderful chicken and pasta dish last night.  The peas are 3 weeks early this year.  We're loving every minute of it. 

Check out who else is posting over at Daphne's Dandelions for Harvest Monday.

My first Harvest Monday

While cleaning up the garden beds, I found some parsnips.  They look a bit hairy and ugly, but tasted lovely.  The weight came to 12.5 ounces, so I'll start a tally in the side bar.  The remainder of my lettuces and spinach are still a week or so away, but I was anxious to join in the fun at Daphne's Dandelions. 

It's been a busy few days here.  I apologize for not getting posts up in a timely manner.  We were busy with Hubby's birthday and a several other large happenings. 

The weather is continuing to be odd.  We hit 90 yesterday with muggy and 80 today.  This is July weather, not May.  The 7 day forecast seems to be showing above average temps the whole week.  At this point, it seems that our last frost day for the year will be April 28th.  That is almost 2 weeks early for us.  I'll be starting to harden off the tomatoes and peppers this week and planting the majority of the direct seeded crops as well.  Lots to do and lots of fun as well.