Harvest Monday – 19th March 2012

Like me (in my third trimester), it’s slowing down in the garden again this week. I hoped to harvest the second crop of edamame soybeans, but it didn’t quite happen.

 

The tomatoes are almost finished and I’m keen now to get the front bed stripped out because the brassica seedings are ready and I want to get the shelling peas and root vegetables sown soon.

 

1kg tomatoes

I’m finally getting some joy with the tomatoes. I’m keeping more than I’m giving to the chickens thanks to the fruit fly exclusion bags. A follow-up crop of black cherry tomatoes is just starting to produce too, so there’s a mixture of Black Cherries, Grosse Lisse, Brandywine and Rouge de Marmande. My real regret has been the failure of my San Marzano crop, which I would loved to have bottled.

 

I used these in a curry, on sandwiches and in a tomato salad on Saturday night.

 

I have recently transplanted the winter tomato seedlings (Stupice) into the garden bed, so I hope with a bit of care that these will provide me with tomatoes through winter, when hopefully I won’t have to contend with fruit fly.

 

1 handful of oregano

Some of the strong, flowering leaves in the tomato salad.

 

4 Cucumbers

2 Lebanese and 2 Double Yield. More bread and butter cucumbers – I can’t get enough!

 

3 Carrots

Shredded into some okonomiyaki on Thursday night.

 

A few mulberries

Picked off and eaten as I (and a few others) wandered the garden.

 

8 Eggs

We have a second chicken laying! Not sure which one yet, but on Saturday we got 2 eggs instead of our reliable 1, and the second was quite a bit smaller and very pale. I’ll have to keep my eye out for who’s responsible. The photo above is of J with our definite layer – she and the other cross-breed are truly the most patient hens. J man-handles them like this several times a day, and they never get sick of it, or even try to run away. They just patiently let her pick them up, and even seem to enjoy the company. The pure-breds on the other hand are terrified of her.

 

4 Beetroot

I’ve run out of pickled beetroot and desperate for another batch. I’ll try to track down a few more in the back garden tomorrow to make up enough for a batch.

200g green beans

Some from the bush beans, and a small handful from the self-seeded lazy housewifes. The next crop of dwarf beans is coming close to production now.

 

1 piece new ginger

I realised that I had run out of ginger when I was cooking a recipe this week. Rather than resorting to the powdered stuff I thought I’d ferret around and see if my plants has actually produced any rhizomes. Not a particularly impressive result in the almost-full-shade location, but easily enough for my recipe. As a bonus, the rhisome was split into 3 other very easily divisible plants. I took the opportunity to split these and relocate to somewhere more favourable.

 

For more great harvests from all over the world, check out Daphne’s Dandelions.