Harvest Monday July 29, 2024

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The weather here of late has been seasonally warm and mostly dry. That has helped most of the summer vegetables to thrive, and I am harvesting things mostly on a daily basis. It has been a great year for cucumbers, eggplant and squashes, and the first small-fruited tomatoes are ripening now as well. I got one big Tromboncino squash last week, which was so long it was hard to get in the photo! I cut it in half so it would fit in the frig. We spiralized one half for a side dish and the rest went into a ratatouille where it made a great stand-in for zucchini. I got another smaller head of cabbage too, which I froze for later use.

July Harvest

another July Harvest

But really, when the first tomatoes of the season start ripening it’s pretty much all about them for me! The first cherry and plum types are coming in now, and they are a real treat.

Raspberry Drop and Sun Sugar tomatoes

Later in the week I got a bigger haul of tomatoes. This batch included Sun Sugar, Cherry Bomb, Raspberry Drop, Plum Drop and Purple Zebra. Purple Zebra is a favorite here, and while it may be smaller in size this 2022 AAS Winner is big on flavor. We sliced these first ones up to use on a BLT sandwich.

assorted tomatoes

Purple Zebra tomatoes

I’m growing Plum Drop tomato for the first time this year. Like Purple Zebra, it is also from the Cream of the Crop line of tomatoes, as is Raspberry Drop. Cream of the Crop Tomatoes is a joint project between A.P. Whaley Seed Company and Frogsleap Farm. Plum Drop has a nice balance of acid and sweet flavors, and my wife and I have certainly enjoyed these first ones.

Plum Drop tomatoes

Raspberry Drop(L) and Plum Drop(R) tomatoes

We have lots of cucumbers still, plenty for our own use and enough to give some away to friends. I’m growing all these in the greenhouse, where the plants can take the heat and be free from disease and pest problems as well.

L to R: Itachi, Corinto and Nokya cucumbers

Itachi is a long, slender white Asian type cucumber that is mild flavored and crisp. It is somewhat of a shy producer for me though, so we enjoy every one we get.

Itachi cucumber

We did our best to make good use of all those veggies coming in. Eggplant sandwiches are always a favorite. We slice the eggplant thin, spritz with olive oil and bake until tender. This batch went on Mini Naan bread and was topped with cheddar cheese.  I made a cucumber and sour cream salad to go with the sandwiches.

eggplant sandwich and cucumber salad

I also made a quinoa salad last week that had our cucumbers and cherry tomatoes plus a few dehydrated tomatoes from last year. It made for a cool companion dish to my wife’s Curried Chicken Salad we had for lunch one day. We’re always looking for new ways to use the cucumbers, and this treatment has become a favorite.

Quinoa Salad with Curried Chicken Salad

Harvest Monday is a day to show off your harvests, how you are saving your harvest, or how you are using your harvest. If you have a harvest you want to share, add your name and blog link to Mr Linky below. And please check out what everyone is harvesting!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Harvest Monday September 8, 2025

Image
It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. We got some much needed rain last week, breaking our drought that had lasted for seven weeks. We got 1.5″ in total, and that should keep the vegetable garden going for a bit longer. In a first, I got the first of the fall lettuce from my greenhouse plantings. lettuce and hot peppers And in what will likely be a last, I got an assortment of tomatoes from our mostly dead plants. And I got the one and only Centercut squash I harvested this year. It has been a terrible year here for both tomatoes and the squashes, though I have brought in 51 pounds of the tomatoes. That is about half of what I got last year. last of the tomatoes The peppers and eggplant have done reasonably well this year, and I got more of each last week. I’ve been making hot sauce with the hot peppers, and we’ve been enjoying the sweet ones as they ripen. peppers and eggplant With eggplant, peppers and tomatoes f...
Read more

Harvest Monday May 12, 2025

Image
It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. The asparagus slowed down a bit last week, but we’re still getting plenty of it to keep us supplied. We’ve harvested nine pounds of it so far, about on par with last year’s haul. The spears are trending smaller too but still quite tender and tasty. daily asparagus harvest Needless to say, asparagus is on the menu often! Asparagus Mimosa is one of our favorite treatments, and makes for a light but filling lunch when served with some of my focaccia bread. We also roast it for a side dish quite often, tossed with olive oil and topped with a bit of grated Parmesan cheese. Asparagus Mimosa roasted asparagus The lettuce is hanging in there too, and I cut a big head of Grazion last week for our salads. I am surprised how mild tasting the leaves are, given the sometimes hot temps in the greenhouse this time of year. Grazion lettuce I also cut baby greens from our container plants of...
Read more

Harvest Monday July 21, 2025

Image
It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. The weather has been hot and miserable here, and then it started raining pretty much every day. We got just under six inches alone last week, which is more than we would normally get in the whole month of July. I have accepted the fact it’s going to be a horrible year for gardening here, and I will try and be thankful for whatever we can harvest. That said, the eggplant and cucumbers are keeping us well supplied, and I got a few tomatoes plus the last of the spring planted kohlrabi last week. morning harvest cucumbers and eggplant We have been roasting the eggplant and used it to make eggplant sandwiches one day for lunch. We use a piece of toasted naan bread for a base, spread with mashed avocado. Topped with pieces of roasted eggplant and a slice of cheese, it makes for a tasty treat we really enjoy. roasted eggplant sandwich The summer lettuce is hanging in there. I have more...
Read more