ex gardens

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. I’ll start this week with a weather report, since it is big news in the U.S. The remnants of Hurricane Helene dumped quite a bit of much needed rain on us here. It rained pretty much non-stop for 48 hours, and we got just under four inches total. Thankfully there’s been little to no damage around here and we are lucky because so many others were not so fortunate. It might help the summer veggies a bit, and it will definitely help the fall plantings. The weather station tends to under report rainfall, and I dumped 3.8 inches out of my official CoCoRaHS gauge over the period. weather station console As for the harvests, they are slowing down but there are a few new items in the mix. I cut the first batch of the fall planted turnip greens last week to use in a dish with scrambled eggs and other veggies. Topper is a fast growing turnip that makes greens in a short period of time (40 days for this b...

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. We continue to suffer from moderate drought conditions here, though we did get a few showers yesterday. It wasn’t enough to make a real difference though, and I continue to use the soaker hoses as needed to keep the fall crops going. I did manage to get a few more pole beans picked though, before the vines completely dried up. And I found another mature Centercut squash to bring in and finish curing. harvest of beans and squash The hot peppers are still producing loads, especially the one Sugar Rush Peach plant that I started last year and overwintered indoors. I have gotten five pounds of peppers from that one big plant! I also harvested more of the Aji Rico and Aji Colorado peppers, plus a lone Biggie Chile. Most of these will go into hot sauce, and I will dehydrate the Aji Colorados for chile powder. And in case anyone wonders – I make a lot of hot sauce! And since I usually make a ‘thin’ sau...

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The summer harvests are winding down here, I’m that’s not really a bad thing. I will miss tomatoes and eggplant the most, but we have had plenty of both this year and I can’t complain. I’m watering the fall crops of kale, collards, turnips, radishes and lettuce to keep them going until cooler weather and rain return. With any luck, we can feast on them in the months to come. We did get a little bit of rain last week, but not very much. September harvest tomatoes and peppers Hot peppers are still ripening now, and I got a nice mix of the Aji types that included Sugar Rush Peach, Aji Rico, Aji Delight and Aji Dedo de Moca Yellow. We’ve had plenty of the hot ones, even if the sweet peppers have (again) been a disappointment. hot peppers I’ve been busy turning the hot peppers into various sauces. I made a couple using fresh green jalapenos, and the rest used fermented peppers. I got 1.5 pints...

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. Our drought conditions persist here, and we’ve gotten no significant rain in over a month. The summer vegetables are withering in the heat, and I’m concentrating on keeping the fall crops alive until it cools down and we finally get some rain. Meanwhile, I am still getting a good amount of veggies in the harvest basket – including beans, hot peppers and eggplant last week. early September harvest I also got a good harvest of tomatoes, including one variety I’m trialing called Strawberry Fields. The jury is still out on this one, but since 2024 has been a challenging year here for tomatoes I might give it another shot next year. I’m just not sure it is an improvement over the other red slicing tomatoes I grow, including Better Boy, Damsel and Garden Treasure. Juliet, on the other hand, is a long time favorite and is still pumping out loads of fruit. I dehydrated most of this batch. Strawberry F...

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The garden is still suffering from our hot and dry conditions, though we did get a brief shower Saturday that cooled things off a bit even if we didn’t get a lot of rain. The pole beans have not done as well as usual this year, but I did pick several pounds of them last week. I saved some out to cook for dinner one night and froze the rest, where they often wind up in winter soups. pole bean harvest The tomatoes are slowing down too, which is not unusual for late summer here. I got a nice haul of Raspberry Drops and a few slicers last week. Benevento is a tasty striped tomato, and the red Better Boy is one of my long-time standards here I can always depend on. Raspberry Drop tomatoes Benevento and Better Boy tomatoes We are enjoying the tomatoes while they do last, since the season is never long enough for me. I sliced up a Benevento and a Chef’s Choice Orange to go with a wrap I had for ...