Monday Harvest – 29th April 2013

My crops this week are definitely showing signs of seasonal change, I harvested a few new things this week but also some I’ve been harvesting for a while – like these chillies:

Chillies and Capsicums

I continue to harvest herbs, silver beet and spring onions as well as these tamarillos :

Tamarillos

All of which were promptly devoured by Mr 3.

My other crops this week were roots:

ginger  Horseradish

Ginger and Horseradish.  The ginger I used straight away in a curry, the horseradish I was going to process during the week but things got away from me and I didn’t.  It has now gone a little soft so I’m not sure what to do with it – try.and revive it a bit I guess.

Daphne hosts Monday Harvests – head over to see what is being harvested all around the globe.

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36 Responses to Monday Harvest – 29th April 2013

  1. Our peppers are just tiny seedlings at the moment!

  2. Mark Willis says:

    That Horseradish looks a tangle! I bet it is quite tricky to process. The stuff you see for sale in the shops here looks like very tough parsnips.

    • Liz says:

      A tough parsnip would probably be easier to deal with I have to say. I generally just give the roots a good scrap and then whizz into the food processor.

  3. Beautiful ginger! I was just checking my potted one, and it has a new shoot though I’m wondering if it needs to be repotted into something bigger…

    • Liz says:

      This year I grew mine in a pot about half the size of last years pot and I look like getting much the same crop – from my very limited experience it doesn’t seem to mind being in a smallish container too much. Having said that mine is still in a 30cm pot.

  4. Michelle says:

    I am going to miss the sight of your bright beautiful red chiles when your harvests are done. My first pepper harvest is such a long way off…

  5. Jenny says:

    Love those peppers! and the ginger looks very nice and juicy.

  6. Daves's SFG says:

    I cringe when I see those horseradish roots. I note from your post on invasive veggies you have discovered how persistent it can be. I grew up in the US Midwest and it had a large German and Eastern European population, so horseradish was an important crop. Those fields are still sprouting horseradish years later. Horseradish was so important that there was a commodity market for it and horseradish futures were traded on the commodity exchange in Saint Louis. There’s an art to preparing horseradish. Apparently exposure to air makes it hot, so some commercial processors grind it under water. I just find a brand I like and stick to that (there are actually “artisan” horseradish makers I can choose from).

    • Liz says:

      I grow mine in a pot now and it works well although the roots still come through the bottom of the pot and try and root into dirt between my paving stones.

  7. Daphne says:

    I want to try some horseradish some year. I hear that I can handle some shade so I’m thinking of relegating it to a large pot in the shade. But not this year. I have enough to do right now.

    • I’ve got a ginger that’s growing a shoot. I’ve read that they’ve be happier inside in our area at this time of year. What’s your take on that? I can’t wait to plant my chillis!

      • Liz says:

        Yeah I reckon bring it in, although you could probably leave it out for another month but that is really about all. I have never tried bring mine in. I usually just harvest it all and then start again in late Spring/early Summer. Something to experiment with I think.

    • Liz says:

      Mine grows in a pretty shaded spot (about 2-3 hours sun a day) and whilst I might get bigger roots in a sunnier spot I certainly get enough for my needs growing it where it is.

  8. Sarah says:

    Each week I read your Monday harvest and wish I was gardening in a climate similar to yours – having the perfect weather for growing brussels sprouts isn’t really what I’m wanting!

  9. Your harvest looks so exotic compared to mine. I’m still revelling in a purple sprouting glut but there isn’t much else yet. I’m with Sarah of the garden deli, warmer climes are looking very tempting!

    • Liz says:

      Having gardened in the UK as well I do count myself very lucky to now have a lovely temperate climate to garden in. Makes things much easier and the things we can grow much more varied. Having said that PSB is pretty nice too.

  10. Bee Girl says:

    I’m with jenny…I’ll miss your beautiful red peppers! I have my fingers crossed that we’ll get some red peppers (ring-o-fire cayenne) from the garden this summer!

  11. Andrea says:

    Now you have just reminded me…. I have planted horseraddish somewhere in the garden but forgot where!! Oh those little chillies look great, their on my list for next year!!

  12. KL says:

    You have such lovely harvest. Do you grow them from seeds? Can you please do a write up of the soil and methods you use to grow them from seed? Any tips on growing ginger? Mine seems to refuse to grow.

    • Liz says:

      The peppers I do grow from seed. I sow seed in punnets in late winter potting up in early Spring. I sow in a mixture of potting mix and perlite and sand and pot up into straight potting mix. I do all my veg and herbs in the same mix which isn’t ideal but frankly I’m too lazy to keep changing mixes for different plants. I find ginger really slow here. I often don’t get it to sprout until early Summer but it does eventually. Basically it likes warmth, food and water and as much as possible of all 3.

  13. Shawn Ann says:

    Right now all I am looking at in my garden is green, so I am drooling over all your beautiful red! Very nice!

  14. The Shroom says:

    We also stuck a ginger root from the grocer in the soil – it just started making shoots when the chickens unearthed it 🙂 Your ginger photo reminds me that we should try again next season here in South Africa!

  15. Diana says:

    Your ginger reminds me of the fresh finely grated ginger I had on one of the local Chicken Rice shop we had in Sabah. The shop provided the side flavouring with the grated fine ginger and I mix it with light soy souce to enjoy the chicken rice was so yummy. Made me want to grow more ginger too. You always have amazing pepper harvest.

  16. Sam Colligan says:

    Hi Liz,

    Love your blog. We moved north of melbourne(about an hour north) one year ago, and have spent that whole first year getting a veggie garden up and running. My goal, like your is to try and feed us, as much as possible from the garden. I am interested in your potato efforts. I planted in sept last year, and had a fairly disappointing harvest in January, but I perhaps should have researched a bit more. I did raised beds, and grew King Edward and Pink eye, which were both delicious, and bug and disease free, but I wish I had more !, I am about to plant some in the next 2 weeks, to see how they go in winter!
    Cheers

    • Liz says:

      Hi Sam,

      I definitely find the potatoes do better if planted in late Winter rather than early Spring and that they always seem to like more feeding than I think they are going to. I too am experimenting with growing the spuds over winter. My dad did last year and the results were mediocre but his climate is cooler than mine – not sure what yours is like? I will be really interested in your experiences.

      • Sam Colligan says:

        Hi Liz. We get pretty frosty in the winter, that worries me, so i am going to put up a kind of mini poly tunnel thing(!) if I can make it work. I want to grow as much of evrything I can. It’s all a bit of trial and error. Gues, but. Am very interested in reading your experiences too, thanks for all the info you have put up. Will let ou know how I go
        Cheers !

        • Liz says:

          I think you definitely learn most through trial and error. good luck with it all – I reckon a poly tunnel thing should help. My parents get frost (albeit not a great deal) and their potatoes survive winter and they crop but the yield isn’t sensational but at least they crop.

  17. kitsapFG says:

    Love the chili peppers and the ginger harvests. I have some ginger growing in a pot in my greenhouse but it has not made an appearance yet. I don’t grow horseradish because we just don’t eat but a minute amount of it in a year. I would be swimming in it and not using it.

    • Liz says:

      I have to say I have been reconsidering bothering with horseradish as we don’t use that much of it either. But it is just so easy….

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