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It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. The wet, warm weather has kept the asparagus coming up nicely, and we’ve pretty much been cutting it on a daily basis. The daily harvests are only a few ounces, but they add up! We’ve cut over three pounds of it so far this season. asparagus harvest One of our favorites dishes is Asparagus Mimosa. We had it for lunch one day last week. I steamed the asparagus until just tender, then topped with a grated hard-boiled egg, sea salt, a few capers and a drizzle of good olive oil. Served with some of my Liguarian focaccia bread, it made for a light and tasty lunch. Asparagus Mimosa And another dish I made last week with the asparagus was a Chicken and Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry . It had chunks of chicken along with mushrooms and the asparagus. A light lemon and soy sauce perks up the flavor, and I served it over some black rice I cooked up for the occasion in the rice cooker. Chicken and...

This is the latest in a series of posts that I’ve done about my favorite varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs we grow at Happy Acres.   To see my other Spotlights, and those from other garden bloggers, visit the  Variety Spotlights  page. Today’s Spotlight is on a kale I’ve been growing called Green Curls . It was bred for good flavor as well as compact size, and it has done quite well for me here the last couple of years. I have it growing in a container that is 24x8x5 inches, planted in a mix of potting soil and compost. I’ve not tried growing it in the ground, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t do well growing that way, especially in compact spaces. Actually, I think it is pretty enough to be grown for its looks alone! Green Curls kale growing in container The flavor is mild and sweet, especially when grown in cooler weather. The leaves stay small too, and can be harvested individually in a ‘cut and come again’ manner. That lets the plants continue to grow and p...

It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. Last week was a happy time here at Happy Acres, because we picked the first asparagus! The first spear led to others, and we cut almost exactly a pound of it in this first week of harvest. Last year we got 12 pounds total, and that was plenty to keep the two of us supplied for fresh eating. The warmer weather we’ve been having of late should help it to get going and growing. I do see one of our favorites dishes in our bear future – Asparagus Mimosa! first asparagus of 2025 more asparagus I also made a big cutting of curly kale from the greenhouse planting which has bolted. I pulled the Starbor plants, and kept the more tender leaves while the rest of the plants went on the compost pile. I chopped these up and cooked in a bit of olive oil until tender for a side dish. Starbor kale And I made a cutting of the Speedy arugula I have growing in a greenhouse container. That wound up o...

It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. It was a week for good news here last week. It finally dried out a bit for one thing, and I had a post-op visit with my surgeon who gave me the all-clear to resume normal activities. I’ve been easing back into gardening, mostly potting up seedlings in the greenhouse and other light duties. I did get some curly kale planted in one of the cold frame beds behind the greenhouse, after my wife had worked up the soil for me earlier. The kale varieties are Darkibor and Scarlet. I will interplant with lettuce in a few days, which should maximize the space in this four foot square bed. I can cut the lettuce as needed and cut kale leaves too as they size up. I’m covering the bed with bird netting to keep deer and other critters from getting in there. kale plants As for harvests, it’s still greens here at the moment. They are staying tender and mild tasting with the cool-ish conditions we are hav...

It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. The big story here last week was the historic flooding rains we got. Over a four day period, I dumped 8.66 inches/22cm out of our CocoRaHS rain gauge. Areas to the south of us got even more rain. Thankfully, our property sits up on high ground and the water flows away from us and our gardens. The greenhouse is dry too, and I harvested both lettuce and salad greens last week for our use. Starfighter lettuce mixed salad greens I also made a cutting of collards from the greenhouse plants that are bolting now and will need to be pulled soon. collard greens The parsley is also beginning to flower, and I made a big cutting last week to go in a tabouli salad I made. I pulled a spring onion while I was at it for use in soup. parsley and spring onion And speaking of soup, I cooked up a pot of vegetable soup last week using our veggies I froze from last year’s garden. With cranberry ...