This week I thought I’d bookend this post with my daughters favourite harvests of the week. To begin we have her ‘helping’ photograph the vegetables. She often ‘helps’ although this usually involves more of her and less of the vegetable. On this occasion we have reached a happy medium.
Once this ginger’s use as a shadow puppet was exhausted it was used in a couple of curries. As were the below curry leaves. I’m making the most of the curry tree at the moment before the leaves yellow in the cool of winter.
We are still harvesting a few of the summer vegetables; the occasional tomato – its really only the Rouge de Marmande which is still cropping. Some eggplants and a capsicum which I was sick of waiting for it to turn red. And of course some chillies – this week scotch bonnets and jalapenos.
My latest plantings of lettuce and salad leaves are beginning to mature. The basket includes: rocket, mustard, parsley, basil, lettuce, and baby beetroot leaves. It also includes some fairly invisible beans. My jade plants are still producing – they might not germinate well but they sure produce for a good long time.
As you will have noticed there was also a radish in the basket. That one was harvested before my 2 year old son decided to make ‘soup’ with the remainder of my crop – here are some I saved from the pot. A pot which also contained much mud, sand and who knows what else.
They went into salads. The mint and spring onions below became a fresh chutney to serve with curry. I am a big fan of mint chutney and made it twice this week.
I started harvesting my Tuscan Kale this week, that and the potatoes became the Caldo Verde I posted about last week. I also continue to harvest beetroots – this one I went into spiced vinegar and into the fridge.
My final harvest – and my daughters favourite was something of a surprise as I didn’t think any were quite ready yet. I found this beauty on the lawn under the tree and it was perfectly ripe. Welcome to tamarillo season!
For other harvests from around the globe get yourself across to Daphne’s.
Fabulous harvests for this time of year! Very exciting about the tamarillo – I have never actually tried one.
I don’t know how you stay so disciplined with photographing everything – I forget constantly!
Simple answer is I don’t everything- I miss a lot of potential photographs but seem to manage to photograph a bit of most things each week. I think because I enjoy taking the photos that helps.
You’ll have to share that recipe for ‘soup’ – I believe I made that when I was younger!
I’m with L. How do you manage to get so many good harvest photos? I usually remember at meal time, when I least want to pause for them.
Take one part chook poo, a pinch or two or sand, some dirt, ground up biscuits from lunch and mix with water until you a achieve a good coating consistency then apply liberally to all manner of things – clothes, furniture, toys etc.
What is a “jade plant” and what does it produce? I only know the jade plant grown as a houseplant. I have seen tamarillo in the market but never tasted one.
Sorry for the confusion – Jade is the variety of beans which are still cropping.
That ginger looks like a donkey! LOL! That is so neat. You’ve got a nice mix coming in right now and your green onions look awesome…I love those.
Donkey, interesting – I think its like clouds everyone sees a different shape. To me its more of a camel…
I have never even heard of Tamarillo?! Wonderful variety of harvest this weeks. That ginger root definitely would be good for a shadow puppet. I am attempting to grow some ginger in a pot in the greenhouse this year. Odds are stacked against me as we don’t get seriously warm around here – but I am trying it anyways!
We are pretty marginal for ginger too but there’s nothing wrong with giving it a go. Tamarillos are also known as tree tomatoes and are Solanacae.
Tamarillo is something I’ve been wanting to try. I’m on the cusp of the growing area but if you’ve ever read my blog I tend to try things here I shouldn’t. LOL. But if I don’t like it I don’t want to spend time growing it, either. *shrug* Love the ginger! Beautiful harvest. I have some jade beans to plant so I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the heads up!
I would have thought your climate would be fine for a Tamarillo – I don’t think its that dissimilar to mine is it?
What a great harvest and a cute little girl! I don’t think I ever head of a curry plant and I’ve never tried tamarillo; what do you use it for?
The curry plant is a curry leaf tree – Murraya Koenigii. Tamarillos I really enjoy raw but a Columbian friend of mine was telling me that there they drink the juice a lot and also have them dressed with sugar water.
More info on the Tamarillo please…I think I’ve heard the name but never seen or tasted it…
Its a member of the Solanacae family, also called a tree tomato. I wrote a post of growing them at some point last year i think. They taste a bit like a tomato but the texture is different. They taste a bit like a passion fruit but again with a different texture. I think if you like tomatoes and you like passionfruit you’d probably enjoy them. They are definitely at the more savoury end of the fruit spectrum. My kids and I really like them – my partner is less keen.
You have so many unique varieties. I love ginger, had no idea curry came from leaves, and like the other comment requests, please share more about the Tamarillo!
I have replied to some of the previous comments with info on tamarillos but also check out the post under the tag tamarillo. Curry is generally a mixture of spices, curry leaves are called curry leaves because their flavour resembles a spice mix.
We have the same thinking this harvest monday. I was sick of waiting some capsicum to turn red and invincible bean. Your puppetmaster and puppet very cute. Many nice varieties this week.
My capsicums have been ridiculously slow. I’ve been collecting chilli seed so should be able to send you some soon if you want to email me with your address.
Great harvest Liz. As you are winding down I am dieing to get my plants in the ground. Will be a while however. How did you potatoes fair in the buckets?
My spring planted ones were great. The summer planted ones less so but I think it got too hot for them to set tubers. I have planted again and will be interested to see how the Autumn planted ones do.
Wonderful photo of girl + ginger, beautiful smile! Have you already posted on mint chutney? It might help me convince the Gardener to devote more space to this favorite herb…
I don’t think I have posted on mint chutney. I was thinking it might be time for a fresh chutney post soon – I just need my mint to grow a bit.
That ginger is looks a bit like a bucking emu! I would have said horse but it has a beak!
He, He , my 2 year old thought dragon but then he thinks everything looks like a dragon.
Cool shadow puppet and very nice variety of harvests this week. I have never heard of a tamarillo before. What do they taste like?
A bit like a cross between a passionfruit and a tomato which is only helpful if you are familiar with passionfruits…they are fairly savoury, like one of the sweeter tomato varieties but with a different texture. The texture is more like that of a mango but with seeds.
I agree with the numerous others–please tell us what tamarillo tastes like. I have seen it in a catalog or two, but have no ideas about it.
And I had no idea that curry came from any type of tree. How cool!
The leaves of the curry leaf tree are used along with other spices in lots of curries in South India. The first time I tasted them I found them a little strong but now I adore them.
You had me googling tamarillo.. never seen or even heard of it. You grow so many interesting things! I’m also impressed with having a curry tree and ginger and that beet is about the size of 2, maybe 3 of mine. I saw beets in the grocery store the other day and now mine seem pathetic in comparison… I must pull them too soon. Anyway, you had a very lovely harvest and nice pics too!
I do love my curry leaf tree it has to be said. We have a very nice mild climate which does mean we can grow a pretty wide variety of stuff.
Mint chutney sounds wonderful. I haven’t the foggiest what it is, though. I’ll have to track down a recipe, since I love anything with fresh mint.
You have a gorgeous harvest this week.
http://planetpooks.com/?p=4552
Mint chutney is basically mint, spring onions, lemon/lime juice with a little garam masala and then blitzed. It is used as a dipping sauce for things like bhajis and samosas or as an accompaniment to curries.
Wow! Such a great variety! The ginger and tamarillos and curry leaves! OK…I’m with everyone else…how do you eat a tamarillo???
Slice in half and then spoon out the contents is my prefered method. The skin is really bitter so you don’t want to eat the flesh right next to it.
I grew up in New Zealand and mum would stew the fruit with sugar (skin discarded). Yum, too tart without a bit of sugar added! We ate it with breakfast cereal or pudding.
I have only had them cooked a couple of times, but then I’ve never had more than one or two available (until next month with any luck….). I will certainly try this thanks Andrea.
Liz, I can’t think of anything sensible to add! Your blog is a mine of useful information these days, and it’s so nice that you have the patience to answer all the eager questions that people are bombarding you with. The National Tamarillo Council will soon be coming to you for advice! 🙂
Funnily enough I believe there is a Kiwi association called the Tamarillo marketing board – clearly they aren’t doing that well…
Always good to have a helper in the garden…………….
All looking good this week , fresh mint relish sounds good will have to wait till mine grows a bit more before i try that one.
This week i have two very small green peppers growing…….can’t believe it took this long to produce fruit…………….now to dig them up and overwinter.
My mint is looking a bit on the sad and sorry side at the moment. I might have to stop chopping it for a bit…. I’ve decided I’m going to try some new varieties of capsicum next season so I’m not overwintering any. Hope yours do well.
Wonderful harvest. I love the ginger. Some year I might even try to grow it in a pot so it can be brought inside.
So far all the ginger I’ve harvested this year has been grown in the garden but I’m looking forward to harvesting my pot grown stuff. It looks bigger and healthier than the garden stuff.
Cutie pie and ginger puppet, love the picture. Very nice and varied harvest as always, maybe some day I can grow most of the herbs for homemade curry (wishful thinking).
Its the cumin that I’m struggling most with. Next spring I think I’ll try again and sow seed every fortnight from September onwards and see what happens.