Harvest Monday – 11th Feb 2013

Last week was definitely my best harvesting week of the year thus far.  Pretty much all my summer crops are producing at the moment (except for some very late planted corn) and I’m really enjoying the harvests.

Harvest

This week the beans have been really abundant, especially Majestic Butter which is doing really well.  There seem to have been a few in every basket I picked this week.  Incidentally I resolved some of the puzzle around the non production of my runner beans – something is eating them.  I noticed some set the other day and then the next morning they had all vanished stork and all.

I’ve started harvesting from my new batch of rainbow chard.

Harvest

I continue to harvest most of my tomatoes green, or as they are just starting to colour, to keep them safe from pests.  Although, as you can see from the Tigerella below, not completely safe….

Tomatoes

I harvested most of the remaining Borlotti Beans this week, along with some Purple King which I left on the vine until they got to drying point.  I have to say I am impressed with their flavour and its lovely to have a variety that you can happily eat green or dried.

Drying Beans

Aside from the chard I had quite a lot of firsts for the season this week.  I harvested a golden nugget pumpkin.  I’ve yet to eat it but I was excited to get one after the first few were eaten by the rats.

Harvest basket

Another first was raddichio.  I found this one buried under my bean plants in something of a sorry state, its pretty small but frankly given its position I was glad to get anything out of it at all.

Not quite a first but going from one or two to an abundance were the Lemon cucumbers, thanks to Bek for the seeds.  This week I harvested at least 10 from the solitary vine I grew.

Lemon Cucumbers

These peppers are also mostly firsts.  I have been harvesting mini Mama’s for a while but the rest are firsts.   Cherrytime Capsicum (the roundish red one), an Alma Paprika (the crinkly yellow one) and a Hungarian Yellow Wax (the long yellow one).  Thanks to Diana for the Cherrytime seeds and L for the Alma Paprika seeds.  I wasn’t expecting the Cherrytime to have any heat but it did, a nice mild warmth.  Ditto the Hungarian Yellow Wax.  The Alma Paprika is sweet.  I enjoyed them all stuffed with a feta, ricotta and herb mix.

Peppers

My final ‘new’ harvest of the week were some garlic chives which were really good in some rice paper rolls.

Garlic Chives

Otherwise it was more Catalina Pickling cucumbers,

Catalina Pickling Cucumbers

and loads of basil, rocket, and the first lettuce I’ve had for a while.

Basil, rocket

That’s it for me for this week but for more harvest head over to Daphne’s Dandelions where she hosts the fabulous Harvest Mondays.

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31 Responses to Harvest Monday – 11th Feb 2013

  1. Barbara Good says:

    Wow Liz, I am immensely impressed and jealous particularly of the beans. Mine have picked up a little to give me ten beans a week instead of three…. Love all the ‘new’ harvests, bet you don’t need much from the green grocery these days, just some fruit perhaps?

    • Liz says:

      The kids are fruit fiends but fortunately I got a big bag of plums from mum and dad at the weekend that’s keeping them quiet for the time being. Otherwise I’m buying carrots (Mr 3 is mildly addicted) and I’m about to have to start buying onions but otherwise all our veg is from the garden.

  2. Have you found out what is eating the runner bean flowers. Must be something that flies in as you would expect them to take the French bean flowers being more easily accessible.

    I know some bees bite into the back of the flowers to access the pollen and nectar but they don’t take the whole flower.

    • Liz says:

      I think its mice (hopefully not rats which I like to think have vacated for the time being) as they are eating the newly formed beans not just flowers. I can’t think of a flying creature that would eat pods- can you?

  3. What a gorgeous variety, am envious of even the zucchini! Have been wondering… how large is your garden, and is a lot in containers? Do you do much succession planting, or all at one go? Inquiring minds want to know 😉

    • Liz says:

      The veg growing area is about 20 sq metres plus pots. I have my dwarf citrus trees in pots plus my peppers and a few other things. The rest is in beds. It is a reasonable amount of space I guess. As for succession planting I try in a haphazard kind of way. I do succession plant beans, as well as lettuce, spring onions and little things like radishes. I succession planted cucumbers without meaning too as a few died from my intial planting so i replenished the stock. Otherwise I tend to just put it all in in one go. I do sow seed over a number of weeks but that is due to space in the laundry rather than anything more systematic.

  4. pooks says:

    Since the Dallas weather is just barely beginning to get dependably warm enough for planting some cool weather spring crops (and we’re still at risk for freeze, so I’ll be covering everything if that happens), I love seeing your beautiful harvests. The peppers particularly made me want to reach through the screen.

    Does the lemon cucumber have a lemony taste, or is it only the appearance that gives it its name?

  5. Michelle says:

    Oh my, what a wonderful bounty of fresh vegetables, I am so envious. I’m sorry to hear that the pest problems are continuing, so truly frustrating. At least you managed to rescue a pumpkin!

    • Liz says:

      I will savour that pumpkin I can tell you. There is another one on the vine which they are currently leaving alone (touchwood) so I may end up with a grand total of two.

  6. Shawn Ann says:

    Loving your harvest baskets! Beautiful color. I really like you new peppers! I am always on the lookout for good sweet pepper varieties for the kiddos!
    My lemon cucumbers have always taken a long time and some years I get a bunch and sometimes not too many!

    • Liz says:

      Thats interesting about the lemon cucumbers. They have done well for me this year, but the Lebanese cucumbers that normally do well for me haven’t been as good but they’ve done fabulously for mum and dad. Slight climactic variations seem to make such a difference.

  7. Lovely harvests this week, Liz. I love the basket of beans. I have never tried any yellow beans. The Majestic Butter beans look great. I always enjoy having beans that you can use at any stage, too.

    • Liz says:

      I really like butter beans – nice mild beany flavour but slightly different to green beans. Definitely worth a go if you happen across some seed.

  8. Mark Willis says:

    Yes, that is certainly an impressive harvest. It makes me really want to get on and sow something. Perhaps you should have words with your local rat population concerning the missing Runner beans…? The Lemon Cucumbers look very wierd – almost as if they have been blanched. I hope they taste better than they look!

    • Liz says:

      Yeah it could be the rats but I’m thinking more mice in this case – I think the rats have vacated (touchwood) for the time being as although things are still going the rate has slowed considerably.

  9. Frogdancer says:

    You’ve done so well!!

  10. Sarah says:

    Another great harvest, everything looks so healthy. In summer I always end up with lots of holes in rocket leaves but yours look perfect – do you grow it under fleece, or are there no flea beetles in Australia?

    • Liz says:

      We do get flea beetles in some parts of Australia but I haven’t come across them in Melbourne (yet…). My rocket seems weirdly immune to most things, it is quite a large patch though (it occupies about 1 sq metre) so perhaps I just don’t notice things feeding on it.

  11. Fantastic! You are inspiring.

  12. kitsapFG says:

    Sorry you are still having to wage war with the rat infestation. Darn things are a royal nuisance. Your harvests are amazing this week despite them! Oh to be enjoying fresh green beans rather than the frozen ones fro last summers garden… (sigh).

    • Liz says:

      They have subsided a little to the point where I’m now wondering if its just mice which are eating things now. Mice I can handle – annoying but lacking the full on destructive poser of the rats.

  13. The Shroom says:

    I also have planted my first lemon cucumbers this season, but some seedlings got sat on by the cats (at least I don’t have rats :)). I managed to get a vine going and it should be flowering, but it seems to be more interested in taking over the whole garden at this point – soon I’ll have some lemons too!

  14. Dave's SFG says:

    It’s a pleasure to see what’s coming from your garden, given the 2 feet of snow on the ground here. Is the Tigerella damage a bird peck? I’ve never grown the lemon cucumbers, which are popular everywhere. This year I do have seeds for the similar Crystal Apple, a New Zealand heirloom I am looking forward to trying.

    • Liz says:

      No caterpillar damage – I like to pretend the birds in my garden are harmless (yes i know I’m a little deluded.). My daughter loves the lemon cucumber, I like them but find the skin a little tough and the interior a little seedy for my tastes. Summer Dance on the other hand which I’m also growing for the first time I’m finding pretty much perfect although not as prolific as the lemon.

  15. Daphne says:

    It looks like you had a fabulous harvest week.

  16. HelenB says:

    Yes!! This is pretty much the stage at which I would pick/recommend picking lemon cucumbers. 🙂

  17. Bee Girl says:

    I am finding myself longing for fresh-off-the-vine lemon cukes. Is it wrong to long after veggies?

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